ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DAY COMMEMORATING THE VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

That this House is concerned about growing religious persecution of minority groups worldwide, which may amount to crimes against humanity, war crimes or even genocide; calls on the Government to better track such violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief and to consider developing strategic action plans to address such incidents before they reach the threshold of mass atrocities; and further calls on the Government to support a proposal for the establishment of an annual International Day Commemorating the Victims and Survivors of Religious Persecution, and to support the tabling of a UN General Assembly resolution for this, the proposed date being the 3 August each year, being the day when Daesh unleashed its genocidal campaign against the Yazidis in Sinjar, followed by a similar campaign against Christians and other religious minorities in the region and so engage the UN and its member states to strengthen their efforts to address religious persecution around the world.