MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2019) UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed on Monday a report that recommended the UK government to impose sanctions after Brexit on the countries in which the Christian community is facing discrimination.
In December, Hunt asked Right Rev. Philip Mounstephen, the bishop of Truro, to prepare a report on global discrimination of the Christians, the Foreign Office's support for the discriminated communities and recommended improvements on the issue. In the final report, Mounstephen said that about 80 percent of worldwide acts of religious discrimination and persecution targeted Christians.
"I warmly welcome this report and its recommendations. We are working across Government to agree a formal collective response as soon as possible," Hunt said.
He pointed out that one of the key report's recommendations advised the UK government to target those responsible for discrimination of the Christians with sanctions.
"As we establish independent national sanctions regimes after Brexit, the report says we must be prepared to consider imposing such measures on perpetrators of serious, religiously-driven human rights abuses," the foreign secretary said.
He said that the report sought a new resolution of the UN Security Council that would call on middle East and North African countries to protect Christian communities as well as give UN monitors an opportunity to follow the measures made to ensure the Christians' safety.
"It [the report] says that for too long, governments have preferred the vague language of general condemnation rather than face the specific problem of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution. The report recommends that I instruct my officials to define this abuse, and I believe we should do that by calling it out clearly with the label Christophobia," Hunt stressed.
Christians are facing multiple cases of discrimination in north and central African countries as well as in the Middle East and south Asian states. For example, a series of deadly explosions hit Sri Lanka this Easter, killing at least 262 people. The blasts occurred at several hotels and Catholic churches in Colombo and other cities. The Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
