Earlier this week, RFI President David Trimble joined The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio to discuss ongoing persecution in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Anti-Christian violence is sweeping across [western and central Africa] more than anywhere else in the world,” remarked Trimble. Noting the deeply contrasting realities on ground, he explained that while “Nigeria is the world’s deadliest country for Christians,” this region is also “one of the most alive parts of the world in terms of people turning to faith in God.”

Trimble pointed to a range of Islamist groups perpetrating violence against Christians and, as he later indicated, against many disfavored Muslims as well. He also observed that the Christian persecution raging in Nigeria and the DRC is being referred to by some as “a silent genocide.”

Turning to possible U.S. government responses, Trimble referenced ongoing deliberations in the Trump administration and in Congress regarding the designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC). Though by no means a comprehensive solution, such a move would make available to the U.S. Department of State an array of more effective tools for dealing with governments in these countries, which are often complicit in the persecution unfolding within their borders.

The mineral-rich environment in western and central Africa, however, remains an impediment to the United States pursuing policies that would hold government leaders more accountable when they fail to intervene against, or even enable, violent persecution. China and numerous European countries have economic interests that drive them to seek mineral resources in Nigeria, DRC, and surrounding states, which complicates U.S. diplomatic interventions there. But America’s foreign policy must not allow economic considerations to compromise humanitarian concerns, especially the defense of religious freedom amid conditions of violent persecution, which we are morally and statutorily obligated to uphold.

Listen to the full interview on The Drew Mariani Show.