ACN welcomes government new statement on overseas aid

Neville Kyrke-Smith

The UK Director of Aid to the Church in Need has welcomed David Cameron's statement that British overseas aid decisions should take into account persecution against Christians.

Responding to the Prime Minister's recent public statements concerning overseas aid and human rights issues, Neville Kyrke-Smith of Aid to the Church in Need described Mr Cameron's comments on the persecution of Christians as "a crucial step forward" in the struggle to combat religious hatred.

Mr Kyrke-Smith made his comments after Mr Cameron's appearance on the BBC on Sunday when he discussed overseas aid involving countries in the British Commonwealth.

Speaking on BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Cameron said: "British aid should have more strings attached in terms of do you persecute people for their faith or their Christianity or do you persecute people for their sexuality."

In response, Mr Kyrke-Smith said: "We welcome the Government's emphasis on the importance of tying human rights into aid."

Highlighting reports showing that 75 percent of religious persecution is against Christians, Mr Kyrke-Smith added: "That the Prime Minister should publicly single out treatment of Christians as a factor in decisions on UK aid is an important step forward."

Noting that a number of countries prioritised for UK aid are where Christians suffer severe persecution, Mr Kyrke-Smith said: "You cannot continue giving massive hand-outs to governments when those governments are either responsible for persecution of Christians or are turning a blind eye to it."

It follows comments Mr Cameron made last Wednesday (26th October) at Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons when he underlined that "how people are treating" Christians and homosexuals would have an impact on UK aid decisions.

Mr Cameron was responding to a question from MP Jeffery Donaldson who in front of a packed Commons' chamber quoted former Conservative front-bencher Ann Widdecombe who at Aid to the Church in Need's Westminster Event 10 days ago said: "You stand a better chance of earnest representation if you a hedgehog" than if you are a Christian.

Mr Kyrke-Smith said: "When the UK is setting aid budgets and is in discussion with other governments, religious freedom – in particular the persecution of Christians – should always be highlighted and discussed.

"Aid to the Church in Need agrees that the persecution of homosexuals is totally unacceptable – as is the persecution of Christians and people of other faiths.

"In response, rather than necessarily reducing aid, the money should be re-directed away from governments with a poor track record on human rights."

He said the aid should instead be channelled through non-governmental organisations.

"If governments are responsible for persecution or are failing to take obvious steps to prevent it, their approach raises huge questions about whether they can be trusted to give help to the poorest and most needy in society."

Mr Kyrke-Smith made clear that a good human rights' record should not be seen as the "pre-condition" for a government to receive UK aid but that concerns about religious hatred should be "openly discussed and seriously taken into consideration".

He added: "We are asked by Pope Benedict XVI to keep Christianity in the public square. We are betraying our Christian heritage and letting our Christian brothers and sisters down unless we raise human rights and religious freedom issues."

"We cannot call this a Christian country if in providing aid we do not raise cases such as Asia Bibi, the Christian on death row in Pakistan, the treatment of bishops and other clergy in China and the decimation of the Christian presence in Iraq after the fall of Saddam."

Source: ACN