Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB).
I value freedom of religion highly. Each year I endeavour to attend the Parliamentary report by Open Doors into the persecution of faith – particularly the Christian faith – across the globe. I was pleased to attend the launch of the 2024 report earlier this year (https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/news/richard-attends-open-doors-world-watch-list-2024). In addition, Fiona Bruce MP presented her Bill to put the Prime Minister’s Envoy for Religious Freedom on a statutory basis and her Bill had widespread support across Parliament. I was honoured to be asked by Fiona to be one of the members of the Bill Committee which met last month to consider this short, but important, Bill. The Bill passed its committee stage and will therefore return to the House when Parliamentary time allows. I therefore welcome that promoting and defending the right to FoRB is a priority for the UK, and I will briefly outline how the Government strives to do so in the countries you mention.
The Iranian regime’s human rights record is appalling, and FoRB is no exception: the recent upsurge in arbitrary arrests of Christians is particularly concerning. At the 78th United Nations General Assembly, the UK co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to eliminate- in law and practice- all forms of discrimination based on thought, conscience, religion or belief. I have been assured that the UK will continue to work with international partners via multilateral forums to promote the rights of Christians in Iran.
As you mentioned, the environment for FoRB in China is sadly also restrictive, and alongside Iran, China is one of 32 human rights priority countries for the UK. As befits its priority status, the UK Government regularly raises human rights concerns, including on the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities, directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora, including the OSCE, Council of Europe, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
In India, the British High Commission in New Delhi and our deputy high commissions across the country regularly meet with religious representatives and official figures. The high commissioner has visited several diverse places of worship in India, meeting faith leaders there—including Christian communities.
Moreover, the UK engages directly with government officials in Algeria and through the United Nations Human Rights Council's universal periodic review process and follow-up recommendations. I especially welcomed the recent visits by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association and the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
More broadly, the Government has been working to embed FoRB considerations across the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. History has shown that where FoRB is under threat, other human rights are also at risk: I therefore welcome that defending this right remains a top priority for the UK.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
