Washington, D.C: January 21, 2010. ICC has ranked the following countries as the world's worst persecutors of Christians in 2009: Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, India, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Nigeria and China. International Christian Concern (ICC), a Washington DC based human rights group, has released its annual Hall of Shame report. The Hall of Shame is a list of the world's ten worst persecuting countries of Christians. This report calls attention to the trend of Christian persecution which continues on an alarming scale. Communist and former Communist states are becoming less antagonistic towards Christianity (North Korea being the exception) while persecution continues to increase in Islamic countries. Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, "This report reminds us that constant vigilance is needed in the struggle to defend the fundamental human right of religious freedom. The Hall of Shame is a mere glimpse of the immense persecution endured by Christians worldwide. Most Christians suffer in quiet, their circumstance unknown and their voice unheard. Those of us fortunate to live in countries that grant religious freedom must not forget nor neglect the plight of Christians who are unable to worship freely and are hence condemned to suffer for their faith. We call on journalists and every concerned individual to help expose religious persecution in 2010."