by Lianne Kolirin, Religion Media Centre
Britain is to focus its overseas efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief in 10 countries, the government has announced.
Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a human right guaranteed by the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as the freedom to choose, change and practise belief or faith.
Yet many groups face discrimination on these grounds around the world, and research suggests that restrictions are widespread on freedom to worship publicly and the appointment of faith leaders.
The government, which in December appointed David Smith, the Labour MP North Northumberland, as special envoy for FoRB, laid out its approach to tackling the global concern.
“Today the UK makes a new commitment to the centrality of FoRB in our foreign policy,” Mr Smith said during a briefing at the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office on Tuesday.
Mr Smith, a Christian who previously worked at Tearfund and the Bible Society, told the briefing that the need to protect freedom of religion or belief was greater than ever, as research for the Pew Research Centre showed that the number of countries with high or very high levels of government restrictions was at its highest level since 2007.
Such government restrictions can take the form of “social ostracism, police harassment, arbitrary detention, denial of citizenship, assault, destruction of sites of religious worship, torture, and killings,” he said.
The government’s efforts to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief internationally would now focus on 10 countries where “the need is greatest” Mr Smith said. These are: Vietnam, Algeria, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iraq.