Let’s get tough on foreign aid
FOREIGN aid should be dependent on recipient countries taking steps to end religious persecution, campaigners say.
The call comes as a major human rights conference is held in Qatar to discuss the impact of social media on free speech.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, founder of the Jubilee Campaign for persecuted Christian families, said: “The internet is a new tool in the hands of dictatorships and non-state ideologues, intensifying the persecution of Christian minorities.
“The PM must ensure ending the persecution of minorities becomes integral to foreign policy and international aid.
“There are 44 countries that control and censor the internet – and the six worst are North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Vietnam,yemen and Qatar, where the conference is held.”
Former MP Jeremy Lefroy said: “This conference comes at a time when online there has been a growing trend towards censorship and intellectual repression, especially towards followers of Christ.”the MP for
Stafford, until he stepped down in December, and a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship added: “The facts are simply horrific – every year thousands of Christians lose their lives because of their faith.
“Their plight is rarely reported, whether bombings of churches in the Middle and the Far East, imprisonment in labour camps in North Korea or security services putting CCTV in churches in China and requiring a database of worshippers.
“Christians are facing an unprecedented level of hostility and persecution.”