Paul Marshall, Director of RFI’s South and Southeast Action Team, recently authored an article for Providence reviewing the latest biography by Lela Gilbert titled, Baroness Cox: Eyewitness to a Broken World. He outlines his personal interactions with Caroline Cox, Baroness of Queensbury, and explains why she is such an important figure in the fight to protect the rights of religious minorities in societies around the world.

In the piece, Marshall details the dedication Baroness Cox has exhibited throughout her life as someone who, though not having experienced religious persecution directly, has been “threatened by many governments” on account of her efforts. And she has often joined those suffering on the frontlines to gather first-hand reports of the plight of beleaguered religious minorities. Marshall notes how she uses her rank in the House of Lords to call attention to horrific acts of religious persecution:

[I]n the UK, she can speak not merely on what diplomats, sometimes shielded in embassies and consulates, and non-governmental organizations had to say but can report directly in Parliament on what she saw in South Sudan, Nigeria, or Syria—that this is what she saw and this is what she heard. “I can tell you who was being shot and who I was holding in my arms less than 48 hours ago.” The baroness makes her parliamentary speeches in the House of Lords, which in practice has little influence over legislation. But it does get the attention of the government and can spur it to action. It also provides an amplifier to the press. It gets attention.

Marshall concludes by observing how her faith has been, and remains, integral to her life’s work:

Her chief motivation in this work is her profound Christian faith, and she holds that “faith without deeds is dead; love without action is dead.” 

Read the full article: “The Remarkable Baroness: A Review of Lela Gilbert’s Baroness Cox: Eyewitness to a Broken World.”