The Holy See has warned that Christians remain the most persecuted religious group in the world, with hundreds of millions facing violence, discrimination or marginalisation because of their faith.

Speaking at an event at the United Nations in Geneva, the Vatican’s delegate, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, said the scale of persecution was stark and ongoing.

He told the gathering that nearly 5,000 Christians were killed because of their faith in 2025 alone, which he noted amounted to roughly 13 deaths every day.

He warned that one of the most serious global problems remained the failure of authorities to hold perpetrators accountable.

“Impunity remains one of the most serious issues in the global landscape of religious persecution,” he said, arguing that governments must safeguard believers before, during and after attacks.

Religious liberty, he continued, is not merely one right among many but a foundation of human dignity.

Yet, quoting Pope Leo XIV, he said there is a troubling international trend whereby religious liberty was “considered in many contexts more as a ‘privilege’ or concession rather than a fundamental human right”.