News from the Envoy General
Simon Le Fevre, GCTJ
Brothers and Sisters,
OSMTH Envoy General informed the Spring 2019 Grand Magistral
Council Meeting in Milwaukee, USA, that OSMTH would make a Submission
to the Independent Review of Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO)
Support for Persecuted Christians. This Review was commissioned at
the end of December
2018 by the Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary (who is the Foreign
Minister of the United Kingdom Government) and the Review was chaired
by the Church of England (Anglican) Bishop of Truro.
The Objectives set for the Review were to:
- Establish recent and continuing levels of persecution and other
discriminatory treatment affecting Christian communities around the
world, focusing on a number of key countries, and based on an
assessment of the existing data, and identify trends and underlying
social, ideological, political and historical drivers and causes;
- Analyse the range of persecution and other discrimination Christians
suffer, their direct discrimination or targeting in law, employment,
business, education and academia; discrimination due to social or
cultural norms, especially with regard to gender inequality; or that
resulting from insufficient protection in administrative, political or legal systems;
- Examine the treatment of and outcomes for affected Christians and the
range and effectiveness of local and international responses,
including that of regional and multilateral bodies;
- Provide an independent and objective assessment of FCO support,
specifically whether the FCO offers appropriate and proportionate
support for Christians, given the various religious minorities and
discriminated groups facing threats; and
- Identify countries of most concern and/or where the UK has particular
opportunities to influence.
The OSMTH Submission Letter was submitted
to the Bishop of Truro, as the Chair of the Review, on 21 June 2019.
A copy was also sent to Baron Ahmad in his capacity as the United
Kingdom Government¹s Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the
UN, at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and as the Prime Minister¹s
Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
The Final Report & Recommendations of the Independent Review of
Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Support for Persecuted Christians
were published on Monday 8 July 2019 in London and presented to the United Kingdom Government.
The full Final Report is a lengthy document, but here is a Summary of the Recommendations.
You will see that the Final Report's Recommendations 12 and 13 a), b),
c), e) and g) address in large measure the issues OSMTH set out in
Points 1 to 4 of our Submission Letter. No doubt, as we anticipated,
our views were shared by many of the other Churches, NGOs and academic
institutions which made submissions.
Beyond these points, however, you may be pleased to see that
Recommendation 20 (regarding a UN Security Council Resolution) of the
Final Report is taken "word for word" from OSMTH¹s Point 5 in our
Submission Letter. I think it is humbling for us to know that OSMTH
has been able to have this direct influence on such a vital matter.
This proposal for a Security Council Resolution has also been
highlighted by the UK Government¹s Foreign Secretary in the Press
Conference in London on Monday. View the Press Conference speeches.
OSMTH will send a letter of thanks to the Bishop of Truro for the
inclusion of this OSMTH Recommendation in the Final Report of the Independent Review.
Envoy General, OSMTH
Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam
Grand Commander, OSMTH
Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam
|
