Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab) (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the release of political activists and human rights ahead of the elections in Burma on 8 November. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (James Duddridge): I…
As hundreds gathered outside Downing Street in London on Wednesday (4 November) to protest against the visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, The Cairo Post reported that U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chairman Robert P. George said that the religious situation in Egypt has been “complicated” over the past year, although President…
In its submission to the International Development Select Committee that was made public last week, the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has warned that the UK government’s commitment to take 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees from camps in Jordan, Libya and Turkey risks failing to ensure that the most vulnerable are…
On 27 October 2015 the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief held a briefing session for the APPG’s stakeholders with the Foreign Office’s Head of Equality & Non-Discrimination Team in the Human Rights & Democracy Department, Sue Breeze, on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and the new FCO approach to human rights….
On 27 October the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing under the heading The Global Crisis of Religious Freedom. View the hearing The Honorable David N. Saperstein, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom U.S. Department of State gave evidence. Here are some key extracts: During my tenure…
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, last week called on all Governments represented at the UN General Assembly “to respect religious practices by children and their families and support families in fulfilling their role in providing an enabling environment for the realisation of the rights of the child.” “Every…
Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, if any, to promote Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Read the debate in full Watch the debate in full (starts at 2pm) Extracts: Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB): My Lords, today’s short debate enables us to return…
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con) (Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in China, following reports that human rights lawyer, Zhang Kai, imminently faces a severe prison sentence or the death penalty for defending civil liberties. The Minister of State, Foreign…
World Watch Monitor reports that Asia Bibi’s lawyer visited her on 21 October, and she is “healthy and safe.” Her husband Masih confirmed that he had visited his wife with Saif-ul-Malook, and that none of his daughters accompanied them on this visit. He could see “a glimmer of hope” on Asia’s face. Malook said the Supreme…
On 14 October Secretary of State John Kerry submitted the 2014 International Religious Freedom Report to the United States Congress. Now in its 17th year, this congressionally-mandated Report comprises almost 200 distinct reports on countries and territories worldwide and continues to reflect the United States’ commitment to, and advancement of, the right of every person…