The organisations listed here support and fund the work of the APPG. Each organisation’s name incorporates a link which will reveal further details and contact information.
If you would like further information about becoming a stakeholder, please contact us.
ADF International is a faith-based legal advocacy organisation that protects fundamental freedoms and promotes the inherent dignity of all people. ADF International advocates for religious freedom before national and international institutions – as well as having ECOSOC consultative status with the United Nations, ADF International has accreditation with the European Commission and Parliament, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of American States, and is a participant in the FRA Fundamental Rights Platform.
Contact: Lizzie Francis, Legal Counsel (Global Religious Freedom team), efrancis@adfinternational.org
Aid to the Church in Need is a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church. Directly under the Holy See, ACN supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted or in pastoral need. Founded in 1947, the organisation is now at work in about 130 countries around the world and every year fulfils about 5,000 projects. These include Christian formation – 51 million ACN Child’s Bibles have been translated into 176 languages – training for seminarians and catechists, media projects, radio, television, support for Sisters and other religious, Mass stipends for poor and persecuted priests, transport, construction of churches, and support for refugees and displaced people. ACN is a registered charity in England and Wales (1097984) and Scotland (SC040748).
Aid to the Church in Need (UK),
12-14 Benhill Avenue,
Sutton,
Surrey
SM1 4DA
Phone: 020 8642 8668
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a dynamic peace-loving Muslim community that was founded in 1889 in Qadian, India by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Al-Mahdi.
The community is spread across 204 countries and is also one of the oldest established Muslim communities in the UK, established in 1913. It is led by its Khalifa (spiritual leader), Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who is based in London and guides the community’s global efforts for peace.
It has faced severe persecution in some countries, particularly Pakistan (where it is targeted by federal laws) and Indonesia, and this has now spread to some other countries as well.
The community has a strong focus on education, integration, human rights, peace and service to mankind and lives by its motto of ‘Love For All Hatred For None’.
National Secretary External Affairs
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK
Baitul Futuh Mosque
181 London Road
Morden SM4 5PT
Email: ExternalAffairs@ahmadiyya.org.uk
www.LoveForAllHatredForNone.org
www.StopThePersecution.org
The Al-Khoei Foundation is an international Islamic organisation with General Consultative status at the Economic and Social Council at the UN, which was established in 1989 by the late Shia-Muslim spiritual leader Imam Sayyid Abulqasim Al-Khoei. This philanthropic foundation operates a number of pioneering educational, social and religious programmes and has offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Iraq and Iran. It implements educational programmes which encompasses religious plurality and community cohesion. The Foundation advocates interfaith and intrafaith relations and also works to promote the role of faith in protecting human values, social development, empowerment of women and countering intolerance and extremism.”
Al-Khoei Foundation
Chevening Road
NW6 6TN
London
Phone: 020 7372 4049
Email: info@alkhoei.org
Twitter: @alkhoei_org
Facebook: /alkhoei.org
Brigham Young University London
The Buddhist Society was founded in 1924, with the object “to publish and make known the principles of Buddhism and to encourage the study and practice of those principles.” It is guided by an elected Council.
The Society provides a range of classes and courses in the Buddha’s teachings, as well as instruction in Buddhist meditation and daily life practice. Details of the regular programme, public talks and special events can be found on the Society’s website.
The Society provides an environment for Buddhist practice and study and increasingly makes use of online services to fulfil its declared Objects and generally to help, advise and facilitate wherever possible. The Society remains small but active, encouraging as a matter of policy the establishment of independent parallel organizations. It maintains close connections with local Buddhist monastic institutions, other Buddhist groups, organisations, and academic centres, including the SOAS Buddhist Forum.
The Buddhist Society
58 Eccleston Square,
London
SW1V 1PH
Email: info@thebuddhistsociety.org
www.thebuddhistsociety.org
CSW works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice. CSW works in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, defending everyone’s right to freedom of religion or belief.
CSW regularly briefs senior policymakers and legislators around the world, and has testified at hearings in the UK Parliament, the European Parliament, the United States Congress and the United Nations. We also regularly work with international media, and contribute comment and analysis to publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times, as well as to broadcasters such as the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Sky.
Email: admin@csw.org.uk
Phone: 0845 456 5464
Website: www.csw.org.uk
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in the United Kingdom in 1837 where there are now around 190,000 members, part of a global community of over 16 million. A key tenet is religious tolerance: ‘We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all . . . the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.’
Church representatives are active participants in worldwide FoRB forums, including at the EU and the UN. The Church supports the work of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (Provo, Utah, USA).
Church Communication Department
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Saltisford
Warwick
CV34 4TT
Phone: 0121 712 1161
Email: Malcolm Adcock adcockmp@churchofjesuschrist.org
Website: news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org
Coalition for Jewish Values is a rabbinic civil society organization which promotes religious liberty, human rights, and classical Jewish ideas in public policy.
Based in Hertfordshire, The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in the United Kingdom is the headquarters of the Advocacy, Development, and Communications and Media Offices for the United Kingdom and Europe.
The advocacy work of The Centre is both reactive in its timely response to current topical issues and proactive in its periodical release of press statements, published articles, news interviews, and briefings to both governmental and non-governmental sectors on matters of international justice, human rights and religious freedom.
Additionally, the comments and views of His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom (and director of the Centre) are frequently sought on matters of human rights, civil liberties and international religious freedom, particularly in relation to the situation in Egypt and the Middle East. His Grace is also the founder and convener of the Asylum Advocacy Group which works closely in partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom or Belief.
The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre is a hub of activity that also utilises its resources to cater for a wide variety of spiritual, youth, community, pastoral, and ecumenical activities that engage at the local, national and international level.
Phone: 020 7193 7728
Email: Advocacy@CopticCentre.com
Website: www.CopticCentre.com
The Elim Pentecostal Church is a growing Movement of more than 550 Christian congregations in the UK and Ireland. In a world that can feel like a desert, our 21st-century churches seek to be a place of spiritual resource within their communities.
Hindu Matters in Britain state their aims and objectives as the following:
1. As a Hindu ethos based organisation, engage in dialogue with other faith organisations;
2. Act in the best interests of the UK, and India and engage with politicians and government wherever helpful.
3. Provide academic and other commentaries, as needed, for policy recommendations as regards Sanatan Hindu understanding
4. Engage where possible to ensure that news and researches as regards Hindu community and/or India is impartial, honest and true.
5. Distribute knowledge of Santan hndu Dharma.
6. Engage and promote good quality research, informing the public.
7. Never be associated with any matters or persons that spread hatred.
There are many people in our communities who need to be shown hospitality, including those experiencing loneliness, homelessness, and those seeking asylum. There are millions of people fleeing conflict, persecution, famine and climate disaster that are in need of a safe place to call home.
The recent crisis in Afghanistan has seen the UK take in thousands of Afghan refugees, many of whom remain in temporary accommodation whilst they await resettlement. Meanwhile, we have seen the largest planned migration since Windrush with the arrival of HongKongers to the UK. Across the world, there are millions of people fleeing conflict, persecution, famine and climate disaster that are in need of a safe place to call home. In the UK, anti-immigration rhetoric has divided communities, whilst the Government’s New Plan for Immigration, including the recent Nationality and Borders Bill, presents an unprecedented change to the UK’s refugee and asylum framework. Now is the time to speak up and practically demonstrate compassion and hospitality.
Founded in 1896, the Humanists UK (formerly British Humanist Association) is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. We promote Humanism; provide services, support and representation to the non-religious; and promote a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.
Email: info@humanism.org.uk
Website: humanism.org.uk
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies is a global academic leader in the field of international religious freedom. Founded in 2000, the Center is part of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, one of the largest private universities in the United States. The Center’s mission is to “help secure the blessings of religious liberty for all,” through scholarship, networking, educational activities, and law reform efforts.
Middle East Concern
Website: https://www.meconcern.org/
Mosaic Middle East’s mission is to bring hope, help and healing in the Middle East. We focus on vulnerable and persecuted minorities, to relieve immediate needs and assist them in securing sustainable futures. The objectives of strengthening and empowering those in need is motivated by Christian compassion. We deliver our mission through livelihood projects initiated in partnership with local NGOs, empowering community centres for refugees, and raising awareness through advocacy both in Iraq, UK and internationally. We are also the main funders of St George’s Medical Clinic in Baghdad, Iraq under the auspices of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, and support the peace-building ministry of the Rev’d Canon Faez Jirjees the first Iraqi Anglican priest in Iraq. We provide emergency relief to those in need, regardless of sectarian division, and strive for peaceful co-existence. We are active on social media and weekly updates, as well as a quarterly print magazine called ‘Restore’ (obtainable here ).
Mosaic Middle East is currently operational in Iraq and Jordan. Mosaic Middle East (FRRME) is a non-profit organisation registered as a charity in England and Wales (Registration number 1133576). We are also registered in Kurdistan.
Mosaic Middle East,
PO Box 229
Petersfield
Hampshire GU32 9DL
Telephone 01730 267673
Email office@mosaicmiddleeast.org
Website: www.mosaicmiddleeast.org
Twitter: @Mosaic_ME
The UK Bahá’í community is made up of thousands of men, women and children from many diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life. The Bahá’í teachings emphasise that all of us, as creations of one God, are part of one human family. Bahá’u’lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith said, “The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”
Office of Public Affairs,
UK Baha’i community
27 Rutland Gate,
London
SW7 1PD
Phone: 0207 019 7780
Email: opa@bahai.org.uk
Website: www.bahai.org.uk
Open Doors is an international charity that supports Christians who face persecution for their faith in over 50 countries around the world. We provide practical and spiritual support to persecuted Christians and campaign for greater freedom of religion or belief for all.
The Advocacy Team
Open Doors UK & Ireland
PO Box 6,
Witney,
Oxon,
OX29 6WG
Phone: 01993 777300
Email: advocacy@opendoorsuk.org
Website: www.opendoorsuk.org
Release International is a UK-based charity which, through its international network of missions, serves persecuted Christians in more than 30 countries. It supports pastors and Christian prisoners, and their families; supplies Christian literature and Bibles; and works for justice. Release has been supporting persecuted Christians since 1968, providing practical aid and speaking up for the oppressed. Join us, be inspired by the faith of persecuted Christians – and make a difference!
Phone: 01689 823491
Email: info@releaseinternational.org
Website: www.releaseinternational.org
Religious Freedom Institute
The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF), founded in 2014 by Dr. Brian Grim, is the preeminent organization dedicated to educating the global business community, policymakers, non-government organizations and consumers about the positive power that faith and freedom of religion or belief for all (including those with no religious faith) have on workplaces and the economy.The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation is a non-partisan, nonpolitical registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the United States with work worldwide. Its signature global events are branded as Dare to Overcome, which aim to build allyship among diverse communities in workplaces and marketplaces around the globe.We help organizations benchmark progress in workplace religious inclusion through our annual Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index, now entering its 5th year. RFBF also produces various Guides to Religion in the Workplace, including a Guide for When a Company’s Public Positions are in Tension with Employees’ Beliefs.RFBF works with people and organizations of all religions or beliefs. It does not take a position on current political debates.
United Copts GB aims at promoting the principles of equality and justice for the Copts in Egypt through legitimate and peaceful means.
United Copts GB tries it best to satisfy the four axis of Activism through lobbying MP/MEPs. United Copts GB participated in several hearing sessions in the European Parliament and United Nations Minority Forums, submitted a study regarding Copts in Egypt to the UN Office of High Commission for Human Right, supported the victims of persecution as refugees in UK or in Egypt, raised the profile of persecution by several TV debates and news programmes as well as legal support to the victims of persecution in Egypt and as refugees.
United Copts GB is founding member of the European Union of Coptic Organizations for Human Rights.
Mobile: 07976710729
Email: info@unitedcopts.org; ibrahimhab@aol.com
Website: www.unitedcopts.org
Morris Johns