All over the world, people – and whole communities – are suffering from persecution purely because of their religion or beliefs. This kind of violence – including attempts to annihilate whole religious groups – is on the rise. In the past five years alone, there have been two mass atrocities which meet the United Nations’…
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ has issued this message for the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion and Belief, observed on 22 August: Over the past few months, we have seen increasing numbers of attacks against individuals and groups targeted simply because of their religion or belief. Jews have…
Human rights: Freedom of religion and belief, and human rights defenders inquiry Inquiry status: open – accepting written submissions; the deadline is Friday 20 September 2019. Scope of the inquiry Terms of Reference This inquiry will examine the FCO’s human rights programmes and priorities, with a focus on its work on two issues: freedom of…
Lord Singh of Wimbledon To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s support for persecuted Christians. The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con) My Lords, the Bishop of Truro’s independent review…
On 16 July, Jim Shannon MP hosted a seminar ‘How the UK Might Get China to Stop Committing Crimes Against Humanity’ marking the 20th year of persecution for Falun Gong in China. The seminar covered the background of Falun Gong, the persecution in China as well as the recent judgment by the China Tribunal and…
House of Commons 18 July Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con) I beg to move, that this House deplores the persecution of Christians overseas; supports freedom of religion or belief in all countries throughout the world; welcomes the work undertaken by the Bishop of Truro in this area; and calls on the Government to do more…
The Pew Research Center’s tenth annual report dives deeper into the ways government restrictions on religion and social hostilities involving religion have changed, from 2007 to 2017. The latest data shows that 52 governments – including some in very populous countries like China, Indonesia and Russia – impose either “high” or “very high” levels of…
In his opening remarks Ambassador Sam Brownback told us that we are launching a global movement for religious freedom, tearing down the iron curtain of religious persecution. Many here will have been disturbed by what they have heard today and be asking what can they do? Thanks to Ambassador Brownback and the Potomac Declaration, and…
Lord Elton That this House takes note of the extent of persecution of people of faith in this century. Lord Elton (Con) My Lords, I cannot possibly do justice to this vast subject; I doubt that anybody could. However, together we may arrive at useful conclusions and certainly spread useful information. The Motion draws attention…
Baroness Berridge To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to recognise the newly designated United Nations Day for commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief on 22 August. Baroness Goldie (Con) My Lords, the Government are deeply concerned at both the scale and severity of acts of violence…