The Catholic Union has called for the government to put human rights and religious freedom at the heart of its strategic objectives, and criticised recent decisions to cut foreign aid and invest in the nuclear arsenal, urging the government to “make Britain a force for good in the world”.
In its response to the UK government’s Integrated Review of security, defence, development, and foreign policy, Catholic Union director, Nigel Parker, said: “While we are pleased that the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on international development has been reaffirmed, this makes the cut to the foreign aid budget this year look even more unnecessary.
“The proposed savings from a temporary cut in spending to 0.5 per cent are relatively small but will make a big difference to some of the world’s poorest people.
“The increase in our nuclear warhead stockpile is deeply concerning at a time when we and other nuclear weapon states should be doing everything possible to reduce nuclear weapons.”
The union’s director did however cautiously welcome the greater rhetorical emphasis in the Integrated Review on the questions of human rights and religious freedom. Nigel Parker commented “A lot of questions are raised by this report, but we agree with the fundamental principle that Britain can and should be a force for good in the world.
“The focus on upholding universal human rights is something we very much welcome - we called for this in our evidence to the review. In an age where the concept of human rights risks being watered down, we’re pleased the review focuses on fundamental rights.”
The Catholic Union also challenged what it called the pursuit of “policy agendas” in the committees of the United Nations. They quote a United States report on the subject, stating: “There is good reason to worry that the prodigious expansion of human rights law has weakened rather than strengthened the claim of human rights and left the most disadvantaged more vulnerable. More rights do not always yield more justice. Transforming every worthy political preference into a claim of human rights inevitably dilutes the authority of human rights.”
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