I have today deposited in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament the independent review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) support for persecuted Christians, conducted by the Anglican Bishop of Truro, the Right Reverend Philip Mounstephen.
The review is the conclusion of a project that began in December 2018, when I asked Bishop Mounstephen to carry out this important research with the full support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The UK has always been a leading champion of human rights. In recent years, the FCO has stepped up its work on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). In response to new evidence and as a sign of the UK’s commitment, the Prime Minister appointed Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon in 2018 as the UK’s first special envoy for freedom of religion or belief.
In that role, Lord Ahmad has championed FoRB across Government, through the FCO’s diplomatic network, and in his travel overseas. The UK has raised the rights of religious minorities at the highest levels, including in Nigeria, Iraq and Pakistan. Lord Ahmad has also worked with British diplomatic missions—including at the United Nations in Geneva and New York—to defend FoRB. Furthermore, he has overseen the provision of significant funding through various projects and programmes, including over £250 million to support people who were driven from their homes by Daesh's persecution.
Today, about 245 million Christians worldwide are believed to face persecution for their faith. The evidence suggests the problem is getting worse. The number of countries where Christians face religiously motivated harassment rose from 128 in 2015 to 144 a year later, according to the Pew Research Centre.
The review builds on the Bishop’s interim report published in May 2019, which examined the scale and character of religious persecution. It includes further findings and recommendations about how the FCO might improve its response.
The review draws on information from: non-governmental organisations; Church leaders; reporting from the FCO’s diplomatic missions; interviews with FCO staff and analysts; FCO written sources (including reporting from the network, research papers and policy notes); interviews with retired members of the FCO and with those who have suffered directly from discrimination or persecution. I offer my particular thanks to those who bravely shared their harrowing experiences.
I welcome Bishop Mounstephen’s report and its recommendations. We are working across Government to agree a formal collective response.
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