Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking with international counterparts to ensure the protection of Alawite women and girls in Syria in the context of recent reports of abduction.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to the answer given on 18 September to question 74583, I again raised this with the Syrian Foreign Minister during his visit to London in November.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with her Azerbaijani counterpart on reports of harassment of religious leaders, including instances of torture and sexual assault; and what steps she is taking to promote religious freedom in the country.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to standing up for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We will work to uphold the right to FoRB through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora and in our bilateral work. We regularly raise human rights obligations and commitments with the Azerbaijani authorities.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Chad at the United Nations.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns any attacks on individuals on the basis of their religion or belief, including in Chad. We consistently call on all actors in Chad and around the world to respect human rights, freedom of religion or belief, and international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Mali at the United Nations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns attacks on religious minorities in Mali. We have consistently called on all actors in Mali to respect human rights and adhere to international human rights law. For example, at the April 2025 Security Council briefing on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, the UK expressed concern at the human rights abuses committed in the Sahel and called on the UN to lead the way in emphasising the importance of international humanitarian law. Through the Magna Carta Fund, the UK has also promoted ancient Malian texts enshrining progressive values such as religious tolerance. This has helped to underline that such values have local roots and undermine the notion that human rights are a Western import.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his Nigerian counterpart on the accountability of militant groups targeting Christian communities in (a) Benue and (b) Plateau States.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
During his visit to Nigeria on 28-30 May, the Minister for Africa met ministers and officials to address insecurity and intercommunal violence, with a focus on tackling root causes. Most recently, he raised FoRB with Nigerian counterparts during the third UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Dialogue on 15-16 July in London.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the adequacy of the steps take by the Nigerian government to (a) protect religious minorities and (b) prevent attacks by Fulani Islamist militias.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has considered implementing (a) sanctions and (b) conditionality on development aid to Nigeria in the context of attacks on (i) Christians and (ii) other religious minorities in the Middle Belt region.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
We do not publicly speculate on future sanctions as doing so can limit their impact. The UK has a modern development partnership with Nigeria across the full spectrum of development needs. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not provide bilateral Official Development Assistance directly to the Government of Nigeria.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Somalia at the United Nations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the treatment of Christians and other religious minorities in Somalia, where persecution is severe and often exacerbated by insecurity and extremist violence.
The UK has supported human rights mechanisms that address religious persecution. We continue to highlight Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) violations and abuses on the international stage, through our position at the UN, G7 and as an active member of the Article 18 Alliance, ensuring joint international action on FoRB.
The UK is committed to defending FoRB globally and will continue to advocate for the rights of all individuals in Somalia to practise their religion or belief freely and without fear.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation of Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, in the context of the number of Christians who were killed in Islamist attacks in April 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the ongoing violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt and we express our sincere concern for all those impacted. The root causes of intercommunal violence are complex and often linked to land disputes, historical tensions, and criminal activity. While religion is not a causal factor in these conflicts, the impacts are felt acutely by religious communities, including hindering people's ability to practice their faith freely. The UK supports all affected communities, regardless of faith or ethnicity, and is working through programmes like Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership to promote peace, strengthen local institutions, and protect civilians. The UK remains committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), with Nigeria, a priority country under the new FoRB strategy, and we will continue to raise this issue in our engagements with Nigeria.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many official visits were made by foreign diplomats to Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office does not routinely monitor the travel of foreign diplomats based in the UK within the country. They are able to meet a wide range of stakeholders across the UK, without the need for permission from the Government. This principle - that diplomats be allowed to undertake engagement without approval of the host State government - is consistent with how we expect our own diplomats working overseas to be able to operate.