Cemeteries offer vital links between the living and the dead for religious community members. Cemeteries, as holy sites, are governed by religious laws and customs that dictate the location of, appearance of, and activities and behaviours allowed in the burial grounds, Additionally, country and international laws aim to protect such sites. Here, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) examines the rising pattern of defilement of cemeteries in several countries, and explains how different religions have rights to have their own cemeteries as a fundamental human right.
