Christian Concern has accused Amnesty International of displaying anti-Christian bias after it labeled numerous Christian groups “anti-rights” over their positions on abortion and transgender issues. The organization also noted that Amnesty did not name any Islamic groups in the report.
The controversy began earlier this month when Amnesty International published a report examining what it described as the “anti-rights movement in the U.K.”
Among the organizations listed were Christian Concern, The Christian Institute, the Evangelical Alliance, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Christian Medical Fellowship, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, Christians in Parliament, CARE (Christian Action, Research and Education), Premier, the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform UK, Alliance Defending Freedom UK and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association UK, along with several other groups.
After facing widespread criticism, Amnesty withdrew the report and acknowledged that it should not have been published before undergoing its normal review procedures.
Amnesty International said the report had been uploaded “without going through the established internal review processes” and that its language “does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK,” while reaffirming its commitment to defending “both the rights of women and the rights of trans people.”
Responding to the withdrawal, Christian Concern’s head of public policy, Tim Dieppe, said it was “absurd” that an organization dedicated to defending human rights would target Christian groups that advocate for religious freedom.
Dieppe argued that Amnesty’s handling of the report reflected growing anti-Christian prejudice.
“It is also astonishing that not one Islamic organization was named in this report as anti-rights. Yet dozens of Christian organizations were singled out. In fact, so many Christian organizations are listed that it appears they went out of their way to name as many Christian organizations as they could think of. All this shows is that Amnesty has now become anti-Christian,” he said.
Dieppe also warned that the report went beyond criticizing Christian organizations by calling for regulatory scrutiny. He noted that Amnesty urged the Charity Commission to review the charitable status of the organizations named in the report.
“The multiple successes in our cases relating to Christian freedoms and right to life show that Christian Concern, far from being ‘anti-rights’ is actually very much on the right side of rights. Truth is on our side. It is Amnesty that is now anti-rights,” Dieppe said.
