Statement by Archie Young, UK Ambassador to the UN
General Assembly, at the UN General Assembly meeting to
commemorate International Day to Combat Islamophobia
Firstly, I wish Ramadan Mubarak to all those who observe.
The United Kingdom celebrates the role of faith in our national
life, including the contributions of our vibrant Muslim
communities.
We are committed to building a United Kingdom where all our
religious and non-religious communities feel safe and valued and
we are dedicated to promoting inclusivity, understanding and
respect across our society.
The United Kingdom reiterates its strong commitment to protecting
and promoting freedom of religion or belief or “FoRB”.
We remain deeply concerned about the severity and scale of FoRB
violations and abuses in many parts of the world.
We continue to work hard to shift the dial on FoRB for all
everywhere, as we stand up for the rights of all individuals.
This commitment includes the work of our recently appointed UK
Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David MP.
We are clear in our position: the UK unequivocally condemns
incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, wherever
this occurs and we denounce hatred on the basis of religion or
belief.
No-one should be targeted because of their faith.
Like many countries, we have seen an increase in Islamophobia,
anti-Muslim hate crime, alongside a rise in antisemitism.
Again, we reiterate our strong position: these incidents have no
place in our – or any – society.
The UK is working to address hatred and intolerance at its roots.
This year we committed over £1 million to monitor Islamophobia
and support victims of anti-Muslim hate crimes.
As part of our work to combat Islamophobia, last month the
UK government launched a new working group to provide a
definition of anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia.
This new definition will allow us to better understand, quantify,
and tackle anti-Muslim hate crime, while also ensuring that the
right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to critique
religions and religious beliefs, remains protected.
People must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely,
challenge their governments peacefully, exercise the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion and speak out against
violations of human rights wherever they occur.
Mr President, we recognise the vital role of interfaith dialogue
in supporting communities and combatting intolerance.
We have dedicated funding for projects that encourage such
dialogue. Last year, following the UK's Inter Faith Week, which
we were pleased to support, we have funded the UK's Faith and
Belief Forum to deliver a post-Inter Faith Week consultation and
analysis project.
This will strengthen our understanding of the interfaith space
and inform the development of effective, future-facing policies
to support interfaith relations across the UK.
There is still much work to be done to address Islamophobia.
The UK remains committed to promoting mutual respect between
different religious and non-religious communities in the UK and
globally.
Today is a reminder that we must work individually and
collectively with our religious communities and with each other
to build understanding and fight against hatred.
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