I was proud to speak last week at the launch of’s theme to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The theme, “Acts of Courage” pays tribute to the ordinary Bosnians who took great risks to protect others during the conflict in the 1990s, as well as those who have the courage today to speak out about what happened. These acts of bravery, heroism and determination to resist...
Over the past few months, the Parliamentary agenda has been dominated by debates on the Government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill which covers not whether Brexit should take place. Rather it covers the terms on which Brexit should be approached by the Government, including how environmental and other protections, together with UK citizen’s rights and freedoms that are currently guaranteed by EU...
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, has today written to the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson concerning US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A cross-party group of 90 Parliamentarians have added their names to the letter to express their collective concern regarding President’s...
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually to honour the adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to remind us of the importance and value of the inalienable rights that we are all entitled to as human beings. Human Rights Day is an opportunity for us to remember those from all over the world who continue to fight for rights that we sometimes take for granted. As Chair of the...
This week in Parliament I outlined why I could not support the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill at its Second reading in its current form. Neither the people of Birmingham Northfield, nor anyone anywhere else in the country, were ever asked about, or voted for, the kind of ministerial power grab that the contents of the Bill represent. We must not allow Ministers to grab powers to avoid scrutiny...
Jeremy Corbyn has been right to set up the inquiry led by Shami Chakrabarti. But if the inquiry is going to chart how we more effectively tackle anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other racism, it is likely that it is going to have to try to define these things. By Richard Burden Originally published by HuffPost, May 9, 2017 In recent weeks legitimate concerns about anti-Semitism and its...
I was Labour Member of Parliament for Birmingham Northfield between 1992 and 2019 and a former Shadow Transport Minister. I now chair Healthwatch in Birmingham and Solihull, and the West Midlands Board of Remembering Srebrenica. I also work as a public affairs consultant. I am an effective community advocate and stakeholder alliance builder with a passion for human rights. I am a trustee of the Balfour Project charity and of Citizens Advice Birmingham, and a former Chair of Medical Aid for Palestinians.