Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK’s long-standing human rights priorities globally, and the UK Government is committed to defending that freedom for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa, which operate predominantly in the Lake Chad basin and in north-east Nigeria, undermine the rights of anyone who does not subscribe to their extremist ideologies. The UK is the lead in the UN Security Council on the Lake Chad basin issues, and since 2019 the UK has contributed £16.9 million to the United Nations Development Programme’s regional stabilisation facility, which improves security, services and economic opportunities for people in affected areas.
Of course, tackling insecurity and closing the space for criminality and extremists to operate in will be a critical part of creating an environment where religious tolerance can flourish. The UK also has a wide-ranging bilateral security and defence partnership with Nigeria to provide practical support to defend against all forms of insecurity that threaten the Nigerian people. The partnership includes training Nigeria’s police force to work with local communities to tackle criminality and kidnappings, as well as helping them to prioritise the protection of vulnerable groups, such as religious minorities, in their operations and goals.
The FCDO also works via multilateral fora, such as the UN, G7, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to promote and protect FoRB for all. In July 2022, the UK hosted an International Ministerial Conference on FoRB to energise collective efforts on this agenda, in addition to announcing £500,000 of new funding to support FoRB defenders and to provide legal expertise to countries where FoRB is under pressure.