News
Britain offers funds to civil society groups to address ‘religious intolerance’ in Lanka
View(s):The British High Commission in Colombo invites civil society organisations to apply for grants from a country-specific fund by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to “address religious intolerance in Sri Lanka” as part of the British government’s mission to promote human rights and advocacy worldwide.
The 50,000 sterling pound grant comes from the “John Bunyan Fund,” named after the legendary author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress”. It is part of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.
In its 2019 Human Rights and Democracy report, the FCO stated that Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) was a priority for the UK. The report cited terrorist attacks on people of faith in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and other countries.
The fund was created on the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent Review of the FCO’s support to defend persecuted Christians. It emphasised the importance of freedom of religion or belief for all.
According to a high commission notice, one of the objectives of the fund is to “promote enhanced levels of tolerance and improve adherence to principles of inclusion, equity, and justice among religious scholars and communities vulnerable to intolerance and improve Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) literacy among groups facing intercommunal tensions.”
When the project was launched in 2019, Sri Lanka was among some 23 countries, along with India and Pakistan, in the region that were identified in the independent review as states hostile towards Christians and other minorities. At that time, costs per country involved in the research project were within the range of 8,000 to 12,000 sterling pounds.
The expected project implementation period is from September to March next year.
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