South Asia: Minority Faith Communities

Lord Bishop of Newcastle Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Newcastle]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, for securing this important debate. I also commend the work of my right reverend friend the Bishop of Winchester, who works tirelessly on the issue of freedom of religion or belief. He expresses his regret that he could not be here to contribute to today’s debate. It is an honour to follow the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, who ordained me as a deacon in Oxford nearly 20 years ago.

As outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of religion or belief is a foundational right. A denial of FORB is often a warning sign for challenges and human rights troubles to come. The UK must therefore continue to reaffirm its commitment to FORB, particularly concerning regions where increasing threats to this foundational right are present. South Asia is home to a rich mosaic of religions. However, the religious diversity in this region is being undermined, and I draw your Lordships’ attention to just two countries by way of illustration.

The first is Pakistan. I am particularly concerned about the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws that continue to target minority religions, often resulting in mob violence and extrajudicial killings. Ahmadi Muslims are a major target for prosecutions under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, as the noble Lord has already pointed out; I want to acknowledge the repression and persecution that his own community has suffered and still suffers from inception.

Second is Sri Lanka, a country I have visited and where the previous diocese I held episcopal office in, the Diocese of Leeds, has a formal link with the Anglican church. I wish to highlight the targeting of minority-religious groups, particularly by state authorities. Government policies reflect the Buddhist nationalist movements present within the country through the limitation of the ability to freely worship by creating discriminatory registration processes for places of worship. For 40 years, the prevention of terrorism Act has been used to arrest without charge, detain for indefinite periods of time, and torture Muslims and Tamils. Human Rights Watch expressed its concerns earlier this year regarding the proposed anti-terrorism Bill that is currently being considered to replace the prevention of terrorism Act. Instead of repealing the Act, that Bill would further weaken the legal grounds needed for security forces to arrest individuals without warrants and continue to permit lengthy pretrial detention.

I stress that while today’s debate focuses on the region of south Asia, safeguarding freedom of religion or belief is not a regional issue but a global responsibility. This debate shows the need for the UK to have a permanent Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, as the noble Lord pointed out in his opening speech, ensuring that the UK’s commitment to this issue is turned into action. The appointment of a special envoy must be seen as a matter of urgency. The UK has already missed a significant opportunity to maintain its leading international role in this area by not having a special envoy in place to attend the international ministerial conference on this issue in Berlin earlier this month. I add my voice to those asking the Minister when such an appointment will be made.

Only through tangible action will the UK maintain its reputation and critical role in ensuring the protection of human rights across the globe. This is an opportunity for the UK to regain lost ground in its capacity to command respect and hold a voice in the international sphere. In a global context where many minority groups are under threat, this should be seen as a matter of urgent concern.

Ukraine

Lord Bishop of Newcastle Excerpts

Friday 26th January 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Newcastle]

My Lords, it is very good to be able to participate in this debate. I acknowledge the collective wisdom in this Chamber and the contributions of noble Lords in the preceding speeches. I pay particular tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Camoys, and congratulate him on his most excellent maiden speech, especially his reminder to look up and look out. I also thank the Minister for bringing this debate today.

This is not the time for platitudes and what could be construed as naive statements about hope. Evil and indeed illegal acts that lead to immense suffering demand decisive response. We know also that there is potential for and actual massive cultural damage in conflict, including the destruction of religious sites and a clamping down on the freedom of religion and belief. These and other matters in the Ukraine war require continued engagement and response. Ukraine depends entirely on money and weaponry from the West and our support in this is vital.

In my brief comments, I will focus on the local impact of this war and add my voice to those of other noble Lords in asking some questions about the level of our own preparedness and planning. A Sunday parish visit to a community in the heart of rural Northumberland is not the first place in which you would expect to be confronted by the reality of the war in Ukraine, but this was my experience recently. During a Sunday parish visit, I met a Ukrainian family who are being supported by the local church community. Their trauma is real and ongoing. Inevitably, when this trauma is being absorbed by local communities, there are immediate pastoral concerns.

A recent meeting of one of the Homes for Ukraine networks in my diocese reported back to me uncertainty over the future of visas, many of which are only a year away from expiry, with no information available about how and when they might be extended. The noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, raised that point in her excellent speech. The visa issue is especially concerning, as it affects young people doing public exams at the moment, who need to make decisions about further education for which they are required to have a valid three-year visa status for the length of courses or apprenticeships from the outset.

Comparability of qualifications is another issue affecting Ukrainians with occupational qualifications. Obtaining comparability statements is a key to them being able to get better employment and become less dependent on the state, but there are significant fees involved, which can act as a brake on progress. Another aspect of the visa issue is the additional anxiety for households due to landlords’ legal requirement to verify that tenants have the right to remain in the UK, as many private tenancies are for 12 months at a time. This will soon become a critical issue, potentially resulting in homelessness. What action are the Government taking on these matters affecting Ukrainians, who are being supported by many local communities right across the United Kingdom?

These local concerns have brought home to me how global situations of conflict have a direct impact on local communities. A word to describe this is “glocal”. The glocalisation of conflict means that it is impossible at a very local level not to take an active interest in global matters, not least when so many of our Armed Forces, with which many of us have personal and family connections, are mobilising in eastern Europe in preparation for further conflict. I note recent comments in the other place that we are moving from a post-war to a pre-war world.

My noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leeds recently spoke in this House about having an intention not to escalate conflict, but action taken can, in fact, have an escalatory effect, even if that was not the intention. It is clear that the current system of global governance is struggling to meet the interlinked crises of our current age. What scenario planning are the Government undertaking at this time? What is our capability, as the United Kingdom, to fight an escalated war, given that we are constantly hearing, and indeed very recently hearing, that there are insufficient resources? Do we have the capacity to maintain what we keep promising? Other noble Lords have raised this as a serious issue for consideration.

What preparations are being made now for a future none of us wants? Are the Government—and, in the climate of a likely general election in the near future, the opposition party—preparing now for an eventuality that includes assessing the impact of a change of political leadership in the United States of America and the impact that that would potentially have on a Russian victory? That point was made by the noble Lord, Lord McDonald of Salford. Ukraine has to win and be free to pursue its democratic path, but what if it does not win? I support the Government in their support of Ukraine, but these questions are not merely academic. They have immediate and longer-term implications and require active exploration and planning now.