Religious Persecution and the World Watch List

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

Thursday 25th January 2024 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (David Rutley)]

It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I normally have the joy of being on the receiving end of your powerful speeches, so it is good that you are here to keep order—although you have not had to work particularly hard in this debate, because we have been probably the most unanimously agreed body I have ever heard in Parliament. We had a pretty good debate yesterday on human rights, too, but it is important to highlight that this one has really brought all sides of the House, and each of the nations, together.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce)—my well-respected neighbour and dear friend—on securing the debate. I pay huge tribute to her, to echo comments from across the Chamber, for the work that she has undertaken as the Prime Minister’s special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, which she has been doing for over three years now—thank you. I am also grateful to her for her moving speech.

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his work as the chair of the APPG for international freedom of religion or belief, which takes him to many parts of the world—he is a strong voice. I know that it is not always customary to pay tribute to people who have not even made a contribution to the debate, but I also recognise the presence of the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms)—we have the Members for both East Ham and West Ham in the Chamber today—for his interest in the subject over many years. It is important that he is here, along with everyone else, to highlight the importance of this area. It is obvious from the debate that, through the work of the APPG and Members present, there is a lasting and mutual commitment across the House to protect freedom of religion or belief. The Government, and my noble Friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who has responsibility for freedom of religion or belief and human rights in the FCDO, share that commitment.

Today, the importance of championing freedom of religion or belief is laid bare in the alarming facts and figures regarding Christian persecution described in the Open Doors world watch list for 2024, which was launched last week. I was able to attend part of that reception. The presentations were incredibly clear, worrying and often harrowing. We are clear that no one should be persecuted, abused or intimidated because of their religion or belief. The Government have long been committed to promoting and protecting freedom of religion for all, but sadly, as the world watch list sets out, many Christians are targeted daily purely for their faith, despite the protections of international law. History has shown us that where freedom of religion or belief is under threat, other human rights are also at risk. We must continue to call out human rights violations and abuses.

Sadly, many of the concerning trends and statistics set out in the world watch list are familiar. The report identifies that one in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide. It is in the most oppressive societies that Christians face the harshest persecution. This year, Open Doors again ranked the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as the place where Christians face the most persecution for their faith. As we have heard today, it is not just the facts and figures that are shocking; it is the personal stories of those who are suffering at the hands of oppressive regimes. My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton highlighted concerns about that country, as did the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) in her moving speech.

According to that report, attacks on places of worship around the world were up sixfold in 2023 and nearly 5,000 Christians were murdered that year. The need for collective action and unwavering commitment from the international community to protect freedom of religion or belief for all remains imperative. That is why FORB remains a human rights priority for the United Kingdom.

The UK is deeply concerned about the scale and severity of the violations of FORB, whatever the faith or belief. Religious intolerance and persecution, whether targeted at Christians, Muslims, Jews or Buddhists, as the hon. Member for Strangford highlighted, are often at the heart of foreign and development policy challenges. No one should be excluded because of their religion, belief or conscience. Discrimination not only damages societies, but holds back economies by reducing opportunities for all.

Countries cannot fully develop while they oppress members of religious or belief minorities. Communities are stronger when they are fully inclusive—a point that is particularly poignant as we approach Holocaust Memorial Day. My mother was raised in occupied Denmark, and she taught me at a very early age the importance of never forgetting the horrors of the holocaust and the bravery of those who fought against it.

We demonstrated the depth of our commitment to FORB in July 2022 by hosting the international ministerial conference in London, bringing together 800 faith and belief leaders, human rights activists and 100 Government delegations to agree action to promote and protect those fundamental rights. My noble Friend Lord Ahmad, who as I said is Minister for human rights, announced new UK funding to support FORB defenders, including those persecuted because of their activism, as well as funding and developing expertise for countries prepared to make legislative changes to protect FORB.

As a result of the conference, 47 Governments, international organisations and other entities made pledges to take action in support of FORB. I was able to attend one of the regional meetings linked to the conference, hosted in Manchester by my faith, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton spoke. It was great to see people coming together in common cause, not just here in this House, but across the country, speaking to each other and learning from each other, as we should.

Since the conference, we have built on that momentum in a number of ways. First, we have been working through international bodies to strengthen coalitions of support and to protect freedom of religion or belief for all within the multilateral framework. Secondly, we have been using the strength of our global diplomatic network to encourage states to uphold their human rights and FORB obligations. Thirdly, we have been working to embed FORB considerations across the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

My hon. Friend, who I have to say was quite forceful in some of her asks—that is a common theme in the way she works, and quite rightly too—asked important questions around sanctions. I want to respond to her and to the House to say that we use our global human rights sanctions regime as a lever to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses around the world, including those carried out against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief. That includes the sanctioning in December 2022—in the wave of sanctions that we put in place, which we talked about in yesterday’s debate—of Mian Abdul Haq, a cleric responsible for the forced conversions of girls and women in Pakistan.

My hon. Friend also talked about SDGs. The UK is firmly committed to achieving those SDGs, as affirmed in the international development strategy. It is vital that the SDGs get back on track, and to achieve that the world must work in partnership to recommit to reform, and to accelerate our work. We are pleased that our commitment to FORB was included in our international development White Paper, published in November, which has been noticed and noted in this debate already. She also asked about mandatory training on FORB for diplomats; they are well briefed on the matter, but I will take that point away and determine how we can do more on it.

It is also right, in the time available, to highlight the multilateral action we are taking through the UN, the G7 and other multilateral fora. We regularly raise situations of concern at the UN Human Rights Council and we hold states accountable—that is another important word that has come out of this debate—on their FORB commitments and obligations through our engagement with the UN’s universal periodic review. For example, the UK was active in its participation in Nigeria’s UPR, published yesterday, and we raised a number of human rights issues, including FORB. At the UN Security Council in June 2023, we led a resolution with the UAE on tolerance, peace and security. That resolution directly addresses for the first time the persecution of religious minorities and other minority groups in conflict settings, which again has been noted in the debate.

Our collective action does bear fruit. Last year, my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton concluded her second consecutive term as the chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. That network of 42 countries, committed to protecting and promoting FORB for all, has published statements on the FORB situation in numerous countries, including Nigeria and Myanmar. As well as statements on specified persecuted religious minorities, with one on Christians published in May 2023, the IRFBA has also conducted advocacy campaigns on individual prisoners of conscience. We have seen several released from prison, no doubt due in part to the work of the alliance. We achieve that success by working together, and I am grateful for the convening role played by my hon. Friend—the role that she enjoys and amplifies so well. She regularly meets with civil society groups and faith leaders, and has been chairing a series of roundtables to bring civil society representatives together with FCDO officials to discuss the FORB situation in individual countries.

Indeed, at the bilateral level, the Minister for human rights, as well as myself, other ministerial colleagues and FCDO officials, do not shy away from challenging those who we believe are not meeting their obligations, both publicly and in private. The UK continues to raise FORB and ongoing insecurity on a regular basis with the Nigerian Government, a point well made by the hon. Member for West Ham (Ms Brown)—she knows more about the situation in Africa than I do, and I am grateful for the comments she made. For example, the high commissioner recently raised reports of serious violence in Plateau state with the Nigerian national security adviser.

My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton raised concerns about the situation in Nicaragua. We welcome the release of Bishop Álvarez and 18 other clergy from unjust detention in Nicaragua, but we absolutely condemn their expulsion from the country, which is something I tweeted about. We know that human rights need to be respected fully, in the round. In my role as Minister for the Americas and the Caribbean, I have been briefed on the situations in Cuba and Nicaragua, and I can assure my hon. Friend that I am committed to making FORB an even greater priority in my work over the months ahead.

The British commission in Islamabad continues to engage with senior Government officials and civil society in Pakistan on the need to ensure the safety of the Christian community at this troubling time, a point that was well made by my friend the hon. Member for Strangford. Representatives from the British high commission in Islamabad visited the Christian community in Jaranwala in December to discuss ongoing support for that community. The hon. Member raised an important point about education; in Pakistan’s universal periodic review in January, the UK formally recommended that Pakistan ensure that school textbooks are inclusive of all religions, and that religious minorities can access suitable alternatives to compulsory Koranic studies.

The hon. Member for Strangford also raised points about India. The British high commission in New Delhi and our deputy high commissions across India regularly meet with religious representatives and official figures. The high commissioner has visited a number of diverse places of worship in India, meeting faith leaders there—including Christian communities, which is important. The Government also show our support to diverse faith communities through hosting iftars to celebrate the important contribution that Indian Muslims and other communities have made in Indian society.

Sudan was also raised by the hon. Member for West Ham. The UK continues to fund and support the office of high commissioner for human rights in Sudan, the UN body that provides a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations, including restrictions on freedom of religion or belief. Since 2022, we have provided around £1 million in funding for that office.

We continue to ensure that the changes we made following the Bishop of Truro’s review of the work the Department has done on FORB are embedded, and we look for opportunities to ensure that FORB is central to our wider human rights work. In that regard, I am pleased to say that our work on FORB is included in the international development White Paper, as I said. As in past years, we marked Red Wednesday by lighting up the UK-based FCDO buildings in red on 22 November 2023 to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians.

I note the private Member’s Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton on international freedom of religion or belief, which seeks to make the role of special envoy for FORB statutory. I know that is something she feels strongly about, and I also know the Minister for Development and Africa, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), looks forward to joining the debate on the Bill tomorrow. The Government’s position will be confirmed on Second Reading, as is the usual procedure.

Before I conclude, I would like to thank all those who work tirelessly defending freedom of religion or belief. We have talked about the special envoy and the chair of the APPG, and we all talked about the important work of Open Doors. I would also like to pay tribute to those who work at the local level in all our constituencies to encourage greater interfaith understanding and activity.

In my constituency, I have to shout out the important work of Hope in North East Cheshire and legends, such as Pip Mosscrop, who spend their lives bringing people together from all faiths. They put into practice what we all know: that we should celebrate different beliefs, learn from each other and work in common cause to tackle the challenges of this world. Even if we have different perspectives, that is the antidote to the intolerance and persecution that concern all of us. I speak in tribute to not just that particular organisation, but the many across the country. We stand in awe of that work.

Let me end by saying that the issues outlined in the Open Doors world watch list are of the highest importance to the Government. We continue to work through all available methods to call out persecution and defend the right of freedom of religion for all, just as hon. Members across this Chamber have said today.