Promoting and defending human rights, including freedom
of thought, conscience, religion or belief, is a
priority for the United Kingdom.
Over the past year, the United Kingdom has stepped up
our work, focusing not only on combatting intolerance,
but also, crucially, on promoting respect and
understanding between communities. On 12 September
2019, Mr succeeded
as the
Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion
or Belief, and Mr Chishti will now lead the UK’s
efforts on this fundamental freedom.
The UK has spoken up for the rights of religious
minorities across the world, including the over one
million Uyghurs detained in so-called “re-education
camps” in China, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and the
Baha’i in Iran and Yemen.
We have also worked multilaterally with our partners
and friends to defend Freedom of Religion or Belief.
This includes co-sponsoring the Polish-led UN
Resolution creating a new International Day to
commemorate the victims of acts of violence based on
religion or belief, as well as co-sponsoring an
informal UN Security Council meeting in New York on
advancing the safety and security of persons belonging
to religious minorities in armed conflict.
Working closely with faith and belief leaders has
remained a key part of our work. Former Special Envoy
Lord Ahmad met the ; the
Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom; the Grand Mufti
Shawki Allam of Egypt; and many others to hear their
concerns about freedom of thought, conscience, religion
or belief.
The UK also works very closely with individuals and
leaders of no religion or belief, such as Humanists and
atheists, whose safety is under threat in many parts of
the world. Special Envoy Rehman Chishti will continue
this work, to promote religious freedom and champion
the cause of those being persecuted for their faith or
belief.
In December last year, the former Foreign Secretary
announced that he had commissioned an independent
review on the support that the FCO provides to
persecuted Christians globally. The final report of the
independent review presented a series of
recommendations on measures the UK can take to support
persecuted Christians overseas.
The UK Government accepted all of the recommendations,
and work has begun to implement them. We hope that the
review will inspire other governments, including those
with strong track records on human rights, to look at
what else they can do to help some of the most
vulnerable people around the world.
Our commitment to freedom of thought, conscience,
religion or belief, including the right to change or
leave your religion, is unwavering, and we look forward
to continuing our work to defend this human right, in
line with our OSCE commitments.
