Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill

(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)

3rd reading
Friday 17th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

I am really grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) for promoting the Bill, which the Government are pleased to support. It is a pleasure to set out today why the Bill is so important in cementing and supporting our long-standing commitment to freedom of religion or belief—FORB, as it is known for short. I thank hon. Members who have contributed to this debate, and indeed to so many before.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West), mentioned the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon); he found me yesterday to give me his apologies for not being here today. She is right that we all miss his voice in this important debate.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton set out, the Bill will make the role of the special envoy for freedom of religion or belief statutory. Establishing the role permanently and in perpetuity was a recommendation in the Bishop of Truro’s 2019 independent review of the work of the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office on freedom of religion or belief, and the implementation of that recommendation was a manifesto commitment for the Conservatives in 2019.

This Bill will ensure that the special envoy has clearly defined duties, that they will report to the Prime Minister on their work and that a Minister of the Crown must provide resources for the special envoy to carry out their functions. It reinforces the Government’s long-standing commitment to FORB for all, which will support us in continuing to embed freedom of religion or belief within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Perhaps most significantly, it will ensure that the positive work being undertaken by today’s special envoy in this human rights priority area will be continued by future role holders.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton, the current special envoy, for all the work she does to promote and protect FORB globally. She recently concluded her second term as chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. This was the first time in the organisation’s history that a chair was requested to serve a second term, which is testament to her dedication to the role.

As chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, our special envoy established a scheme to raise awareness of a different prisoner of conscience every month. The scheme has championed the cases of individuals belonging to a range of religious and belief communities, and in three cases individuals were subsequently released.

[Fiona Bruce]

I hesitate to correct the Minister but, just for the record, an additional prisoner of conscience was released very recently, which is why I referred to four, not three.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

My hon. Friend continues to demonstrate both why her role is important and why her indomitable presence in the role is of such value to all those who need to be championed.

[Mr Jonathan Lord (Woking) (Con)]

May I put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce)? I am co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Egypt, and she has been such a help on the issues of freedom of religion or belief.

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I thank my hon. Friend.

Another achievement of my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton, with my noble Friend the Minister for human rights, Lord Ahmad, was hosting the fourth international ministerial conference in 2022. This event brought together Government delegations, faith and belief group leaders, human rights actors and civil society from over 100 countries to address the challenges to the right to freedom of religion or belief. This is just a small example of the work so diligently undertaken by our special envoy. Last month, in the other place, I was pleased to hear the Foreign Secretary restate his support for this Bill and acknowledge the excellent work being done on freedom of religion or belief.

On a more sobering note, the scale of abuses and violations of the right to FORB across the world remain deeply concerning, which data, including from the Pew forum and the Open Doors world watchlist, continue to reinforce. And history has shown us that, too often, where freedom of religion or belief is under threat, other human rights are at risk too.

We are firm in our position that no one should be persecuted, abused or intimidated because of their religion or belief, or lack thereof. Protecting and promoting the right to FORB has been a long-standing commitment of this Government, and the FCDO is working on this in a number of ways, including through our multilateral and bilateral work, to embed FORB across our programmes.

I now turn to the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton and agreed in Committee on 24 April. Legislation imposing duties on the Prime Minister is very rare and limited, and the amendments thus remove the statutory duties placed on the Prime Minister, instead placing them on a Minister of the Crown, which is more appropriate in this instance. However, the special envoy will continue to be known as the Prime Minister’s special envoy for FORB. Retaining this title will ensure that the role continues to have the appropriate authority and recognition internationally, enabling future role holders to continue advocating for FORB globally, as my hon. Friend does with such dedication.

The duties of the special envoy have been clarified, setting the same high expectations of delivery for future incumbents as have been achieved by my hon. Friend. The Bill’s title was also amended to Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill so that it refers specifically to the special envoy. This adjustment more accurately reflects the Bill’s scope and content. The amended Bill furthermore removes the requirement to establish a separate office of the special envoy, ensuring that existing resourcing arrangements are maintained.

To conclude, His Majesty’s Government are committed to protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief for all. The Bill cements our commitment to the role of special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, and delivers on our manifesto commitment to implement the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s review. I therefore commend the Bill to the House.