The Christian Institute — along with a host of pro-life groups, gender-critical organisations and Christian charities — has been branded an ‘anti-rights actor’ by Amnesty International UK.
Amnesty accused the Institute of “fostering moral panic” and posing a threat to “human rights protections” in the UK.
In its briefing ‘A growing threat’, Amnesty claimed that it had it had identified a network of groups targeting “the rights of women and LGBT+ people”. It has since removed the report from its website pending an “internal review”.
Pick ‘n’ mix
Amnesty International was founded in 1961 by Roman Catholic lawyer Peter Benenson to spotlight the plight of political and religious prisoners around the world.
But it now says human rights protections only “start at birth”, labels laws limiting access to abortion as ‘human rights violations’, and campaigns for the full decriminalisation of prostitution in the UK.
Institute Director Ciarán Kelly said: “Amnesty has fallen a long way from its origins defending prisoners of conscience.
“Now it has a pick ‘n’ mix approach to human rights. Tragically, this doesn’t include the right to life for babies in the womb, the rights of women being exploited through prostitution, or the rights of freedom of conscience and speech.”
MPs and Peers
Amnesty’s report defined ‘anti-rights actors’ as “formal and informal groups, individuals, private and state actors whose aim is to restrict human rights by undermining human rights protections in law and practice”.
In addition to the Institute, groups it tried to ‘name and shame’ include: Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Medical Fellowship, Right to Life UK and women’s rights’ groups For Women Scotland, Beira’s Place and Sex Matters.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group Christians in Parliament, named in the report, lists 34 MPs and 46 Peers among its members.
Recommendations
The organisation recommended greater scrutiny of groups that oppose the government’s draft Conversion Practices Bill and for the NHS to investigate the activities of crisis pregnancy centres.
It also called on the Charity Commission to review the charitable status of those listed that it said “promote social and legal frameworks” based on traditional beliefs about gender, sexuality and family life.
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