Join ACN's call for more UK foreign aid to religious minorities

Houses of Parliament. Image ACN

Source: ACN

People throughout the UK are being urged to back an open letter to the Foreign Secretary demanding that more taxpayer-funded aid be given to help persecuted Christians and other religious minorities.

Amid a surge in religiously-motivated violence and oppression, Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) (UK) published the letter on its website yesterday (Wednesday 9th October), and has urgently called on supporters to sign the petition before it is presented to David Lammy MP.

The letter calls for "persecuted religious communities [to be made] priority recipients of UK Overseas Development Aid (ODA)". It states: "All around the world today, people are persecuted for no other reason than because of their peacefully held religious beliefs. They urgently need the UK's help.

"There are currently 61 countries throughout the world, with combined populations of over 4.9 billion people, in which severe violations of religious freedom take place, according to analysis by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)."

The letter goes on to highlight the previous Government's shortcomings in making religious minorities priorities for international development: "In May 2022, the previous Government published its 10-year strategy for international development, which sets four priorities for UK aid: reliable investment; empowering women and girls; humanitarian assistance; climate change, biodiversity and global health.

"Nowhere in these priorities - or indeed in the strategy itself - were religious minorities mentioned."

The letter then makes two recommendations for the new Government to address the issue of religious persecution and discrimination around the world:

"The addition of a fifth priority to the UK's international development plan, centring around religious minorities;
The publication of a standalone religious freedom strategy to outline the most effective means of aid deployment to victims of religious discrimination and persecution."

John Pontifex, head of press and public affairs at ACN (UK), said: "For so many years, governments and officials have tended to have a 'faith blind' approach, overlooking the degree to which religious hatred and discrimination are significant drivers of extreme poverty, joblessness, sexual violence and other forms of torture.

"This new Government has an excellent opportunity to address one of the largest, most egregious injustices facing the world today. By making religious minorities target beneficiaries of ODA, the UK can play a leading role in alleviating the plight of countless innocent people suffering around the world merely for their faith."

The letter was published ahead of the forthcoming launch of ACN's 2024 Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith, which is expected to show a surge in violence, oppression and other discrimination.

The letter is a central plank of this year's build up to ACN's #RedWednesday initiative, on 20th November, where the focus is on the plight of young Christians, many of them desperate for help to combat discrimination, hunger, child labour and sexual violence.

The Open Letter is available to read and sign here: https://acnuk.org/our-campaigns/red-wednesday-advocacy-letter/?

LINK

Aid to the Church in Need: https:// www.acnuk.org