Open Doors and the World Watch List 2023

That this House applauds the work of the charity Open Doors which has, for more than six decades, supported persecuted Christians globally; understands that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Open Doors' research into those countries where Christians face the greatest levels of persecution, information on which is published in its annual World Watch List; notes that in the World Watch List 2023, North Korea returns to the top of this list, scoring the highest number of points ever recorded by the charity; is deeply concerned that more than 360 million Christians experience high and extreme levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith; is alarmed that when the Open Doors World Watch List started, Christians faced high, very high or extreme levels of persecution in 40 countries and, 30 years on, that number has nearly doubled to 76 countries; recognises that this means that 1 in 7 Christians now experience at least high levels of persecution and discrimination which shows that persecution of Christians for their faith is a human rights outrage which is growing; is appalled that sexual violence is a key weapon used against Christian women and girls globally; and urges the UK Government to recognise faith as an additional vulnerability in all conflicts and use every diplomatic tool at its disposal as well as its role on the international community to make all possible efforts to uphold freedom of religion or belief which is a basic human right and must be recognised as such.