Aid to the Church in Need's Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021

That this Houses welcomes the release of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)’s Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021 which unfortunately shows that persecution and discrimination against people of faith is commonplace in 62 countries worldwide, often in the most populated nations such as China, India and Pakistan; notes with deep regret that report’s revelation that attacks on people of faith has increased in 95 per cent of the world’s worst-offending countries since the previous report in that series was published in 2018, and that many oppressive regimes have been using the coronavirus pandemic in order to discriminate against minority faith groups when distributing vital medical aid and food supplies; calls on the UK Government to take religious persecution more into account when considering asylum claims, such as in the case of Maira Shahbaz, who was abducted at the age of 14, forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor, and who is now facing death threats following her escape in Pakistan; acknowledges the immense amount of work that has gone into compiling the extremely detailed and wide ranging Religious Freedom in the World Report 2021; commends all of those contributors from around the world who contributed to that report, often while working in dangerous and hostile environments; and sincerely thanks Aid to the Church in Need for its invaluable contribution and continued commitment to highlighting human rights violations against members of all faith communities wherever they occur in the world.