The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling for religious freedom in China.

The call comes as reports detail the increasing persecution of various religious groups by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“May the freedom of the Chinese Church and the rights of all religious minorities in Chine be respected,” the USCCB wrote in a Nov. 18 Twitter post.

Radio Free Asia reported earlier this year that Christians in China were being held at “brainwashing camps,” according to The Heritage Foundation. The report described how the CCP raids churches that are operating without state approval and captures prisoners, bringing them to secretive facilities. At these facilities, the prisoners are beaten and intimidated to force them to renounce their faith. The CCP has also demolished Christian churches and sentenced pastors to prison. 

Additionally, over 500 Tibetan Buddhists are being held in China as political prisoners, while hundreds of thousands of rural Tibetans are being forced to labor in “vocational” centers.

In 2018, the Chinese Communist Party instituted the practice of Sinicization, which is forcing independent religions to become part of the state, according to International Christian Concern. Churches that operate outside of state approval are illegal, and CCP officers frequently raid these buildings, arresting community members and destroying Bibles and crosses.

BBC reports that the CCP has detained over one million Uyghur Muslims in re-education camps. Reports allege that in these camps, prisoners are forced to labor, women are forcibly sterilized and there are also allegations of torture and sexual abuse. The CCP has also destroyed mosques and tombs. Several countries, including the United States, have denounced China’s actions against the Uyghurs as a “genocide.” The organizations Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have both published reports accusing China of crimes against humanity. 

China has so far denied all of these allegations.