CSW welcomes the appointment on 12 September of Rehman Chishti MP as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Mr Chishti succeeds Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, who was appointed in July 2018.

According to a press release issued by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), Mr Chishti will be responsible for the promotion of the UK’s stance on FoRB around the world, and for the implementation of recommendations made in the recent Independent Review into FCO Support for Persecuted Christians.

The press release also states that Mr Chishti’s appointment increases the number of people working on FoRB in the UK government, as he is the first person to be appointed who will be dedicated solely to FoRB, and that Lord Ahmad will continue to champion human rights in his capacity as an FCO Minister of State.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW congratulates Rehman Chishti MP on his appointment. He has always been outspoken on issues relating to freedom of religion or belief and we look forward to working with him as he takes on this new role. We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon for all he has done during his tenure for religious communities around the world whose rights have been violated, and to thank him for his commitment to continue to champion FoRB and other human rights as Minister of State.”