A report calls for the UK government to implement stringent policies to protect Christians all over the world.
UK’s Foreign Office commissioned a report to determine the extent of anti-Christian abuses and the government’s response to it. The review recommended that the UK government should enforce sanctions against countries that tolerate Christian persecution, reports The Guardian.
It is a sad fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in modern times. I am determined to show that we are on their side. —Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary
In the report written by Philip Mounstephen, the bishop of Truro, it said the government must define what it entails for an incident to be labelled as anti-Christian discrimination. It also urged religious literacy to become a mandatory training for diplomats in the UK and foreign countries.
Experts estimated that 80% of the victims of religion-based hate crimes are Christians. Open Doors said there are about 345 Christians who are killed every month because of their faith.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accepted all of the report’s recommendations. He admitted that the government’s response to religious discrimination is not “matched to the scale of the problem,” reports BBC.
He added that, “At home we all benefit from living in a tolerant, diverse society and we should not be afraid of promoting those values abroad. It is a sad fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in modern times. I am determined to show that we are on their side.”
The secretary suggested using the term ‘Christophobia’ to identify anti-Christian acts. “We need to recognize that there is a specific Christian-related issue that goes beyond the championing of freedom of religious belief.”
The report also urged a UN resolution for the protection of Christians living in the Middle East and North Africa. Thousands of Christians from these two regions have left their homes to escape the violence.
Hunt, a candidate for the Prime Minister post, vowed that if elected, he would implement the “sea-change” in how UK treats Christian persecution.
