Faith in Freedom: What Next for Britain’s Role in Promoting International Freedom of Religion or Belief?

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Faith in Freedom: What Next for Britain’s Role in Promoting International Freedom of Religion or Belief?

24th May 2023 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

In 2019, the Bishop of Truro’s review of Christian persecution worldwide encouraged an urgent new focus on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Britain’s foreign policy. Many of the Truro report’s proposals have already been taken up by FCDO, as confirmed by an independent review last summer. As President of the G7, in 2021 Britain agreed the inclusion of FoRB in the Carbis Bay summit’s communiqué, and in the summer of 2022, Britain hosted an International Ministerial conference in Westminster devoted to the issue. But with the humanitarian tragedy of religious persecution worldwide continuing to unfold, Britain cannot afford to be complacent.

This event is an opportunity to revisit what has been achieved in the last few years and to ask what Britain must do in 2023 and beyond to halt the brutal treatment of believers and to continue to show global leadership in promoting international freedom of religion or belief.

 

 

Lord Ahmad is the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). He’s also the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

He was first appointed as Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and as Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations in June 2017. He was also Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (2018 to 2019).

Lord Ahmad was Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations until September 2020. He was then appointed Minister for South and Central Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth until September 2022.

Lord Ahmad was educated at Rutlish School and London South Bank University (LSBU) as well as the Chartered Institute of Financial Services.

 

 

Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist specialising in freedom of religion or belief, and is the recipient of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit’s award for Champion of Effective Advocacy, and the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN)’s St Thomas More Award for advocacy for freedom of religion or belief. For almost 30 years Benedict has been involved with the international human rights organisation CSW, specialising in freedom of religion or belief, and was employed full-time by CSW from 2003-2020, specialising in Myanmar/Burma, North Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He now serves as CSW’s Senior Analyst for East Asia. He is also the co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch, and served as the Chair of Trustees of Hong Kong Watch from 2017-2020. He is co-founder and Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, a member of the advisory group of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an advisor to the World Uyghur Congress, Senior Analyst for East Asia at CSW, a trustee of several other charities, author of seven books and a regular contributor to international media. His new book, The China Nexus: Thirty Years In and Around the Chinese Communist Party’s Tyranny, was published by Optimum Publishing International in October 2022. Between 1997 and 2002, he lived and worked as a journalist in Hong Kong, and in 2003 he lived and worked in Washington, DC. He is based in London.

 

 

Rahima Mahmut is an Uyghur singer, human rights activist, and award-winning translator of the poignant prison memoir The Land Drenched in Tears by Soyungul Chanisheff. She translated the testimonies of survivors during the Uyghur Tribunal, and is a prominent voice for Uyghurs in the UK. Rahima’s work includes producing music for award-winning Al Jazeera documentary ‘Living in the Unknown,’ working as a consultant and translator for the Bafta-winning ITV documentary ‘Undercover: Inside China’s Digital Gulag,’ and translator for the BBC documentary ‘China: A New World Order.’ She is currently UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, and an Advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.

 

 

Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen has been Bishop of Truro since January 2019. Previously he was CEO of Church Mission Society, following a period as Chaplain of St. Michael’s, Paris, and other ministry roles in Britain.

During his time in office he has led the Diocese of Truro in the formulation of a fresh vision for the Diocese, ‘The Saints’ Way’, founded on Cornwall’s distinct Celtic, Christian heritage, and initiated a subsequent process called ‘On the Way’ designed to help local church communities imagine, in the Spirit, a future for themselves which is both fruitful and sustainable.

He has also been instrumental in initiating change in Truro Cathedral through a Visitation which took place in the latter half of 2022, with his Determinations published in January 2023.

Nationally, he has been on the LLF ‘Next Steps’ group tasked with bringing recommendations to Synod. He served on the Triennium Funding Working Group to develop a new funding package for dioceses from the Church Commissioners and he chairs the Redress Board tasked with putting in place a scheme to offer redress, in various forms, to victims and survivors of church-based abuse.

Following work he undertook for the then FCO, on their response to the persecution of Christians, work which resulted in a change in government policy, he retains a lively interest in the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief more generally, speaking on it both nationally and internationally.

 

 

Marc Sidwell is Director of Research at The Henry Jackson Society. He has worked as a senior editor for the Telegraph and City A.M. and as publisher for the New Statesman. Marc has also written regularly for publications including Telegraph, The Critic, National Review and City A.M. He is a Senior Fellow at the New Culture Forum, and a graduate of Oxford and Warwick.

 

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EVENT SUMMARY

 

 

The Henry Jackson Society was pleased to host a discussion on the future of Britain’s role in promoting freedom of religion or belief. The panel, chaired by HJS’ Director of Research Marc Sidwell, consisted of Lord Ahmad, Benedict Rogers, Rahima Mahmut, and Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen, the Bishop of Truro. The Bishop started the discussion by highlighting the progress that had been made following the Truro Report in 2019, stating that although many of the report’s recommendations have been acted upon, there is still a long way to go to securing freedom of religion or belief. Lord Ahmad then recalled his experience from working with the Foreign Office, and emphasised the importance of freedom of religion in our society and the strengths that diversity brings to the UK. Benedict Rogers similarly recalled his experiences of witnessing religious persecution whilst working as a human rights activist. He explored the attitudes of states towards religious freedoms, and pointed out that extremist fundamentalists, authoritarian regimes and militant secularists all pose a significant threat, and how in some cases persecution has escalated to become crimes against humanity. Finally, Rahima Mahmut delivered a powerful testimony regarding the persecution faced by Uyghurs in China. She gave examples of Uyghurs being abducted and subject to torture by Chinese officials for simply practicing their culture, and stated that the actions against her people amount to a cultural genocide committed by the Chinese Communist Party.

 

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Venue

Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, England, SW1P 4QP
21-24 Millbank
Westminster, SW1P 4QP United Kingdom
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Other

SPEAKER
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Benedict Rogers, Rahima Mahmut, Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen, Marc Sidwell

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