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<p>The promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief is one
of the UK’s human rights priorities. We actively raise individual cases and work to
combat discriminatory legislation and practices through multilateral systems and targeted
project work. In the last month alone, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers
have expressed grave concern about persecution of individuals on the grounds of their
religion or belief in Syria, Pakistan and Iraq.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently, at the
Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Iraq on 1 September we and international
partners sponsored a resolution which commits the Council to working with the government
of Iraq “to foster religious freedom and pluralism by promoting the ability of members
of all religious communities to manifest their religion and to contribute openly and
on an equal footing to society, and to take appropriate measures to prevent attacks
against persons on the basis of their religion or belief and to prosecute the perpetrators
of such attacks.” We will work actively with the newly formed government of Iraq to
support them in this aim.</p><p> </p><p>As a recent example of our project work, last
week we also sponsored a conference to share best practice between human rights defenders
and journalists working on freedom of religion or belief issues in South Asia.</p><p>
</p><p>We will continue to be active bilaterally, multilaterally, through project
work and in providing training to our staff to tackle religious persecution internationally.</p>
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