THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY MANIFESTO “We will seek to protect those persecuted for their faith and implement the Truro Review recommendations.” (p53) [The Truro Review recommendations in full] THE LABOUR PARTY “At home and abroad we will ensure all Foreign Office staff receive training on religious literacy. We will ensure British embassies and high commissions in…
According to the Parliamentary rules governing the election period, All-Party Parliamentary Groups must suspend all activity in the period between the Dissolution of Parliament (which takes place on 6 November 2019) and the Return of Parliament (Monday 16 December). While the House is dissolved, there are no Members of Parliament and therefore we can have…
The APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief have published their 2019 Commentary on the current state of Freedom of Religion or Belief. It is the second time this report has been provided, alongside other publicly available information, to support both Posts and country desks in the Foreign Office to assess actual and potential…
Debate on the Queen’s Speech House of Commons 14 October 2019 Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con) Defence is linked to foreign policy. Britain is respected around the world for the values it stands up for. One of them is freedom of religion or belief. It is not mentioned in the Queen’s Speech, but yesterday…
The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief welcomes the appointment of Rehman Chishti MP as the Prime Minister’s new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. The APPG welcomes the decision to make the Special Envoy position a dedicated one, thereby increasing the number of people working on the…
Religious Minorities of Pakistan: Report of a Parliamentary visit 27 September 2018 – 3 October 2018 Authors: Professor Javaid Rehman, FRSA, FAcSS, Professor of Law, Brunel University, London Councillor Morris Johns, All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Pakistani Minorities Amro Hussain, All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief Full report Intro and Executive…
A Foreign Office media release today announced that Rehman Chishti MP would succeed the current envoy, Lord Ahmad, to further the government’s work to promote the UK’s firm stance on religious freedom and tolerance abroad. The Prime Minister has today appointed Rehman Chishti MP as his new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief….
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…