Asked by: Stephen Lloyd (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the recommendations of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, entitled Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality, published on 25 Oct 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK Government and, therefore, DFID recognise that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental freedom applying to all human beings, which is recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18. Violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief are among the most common human rights violations, and people are discriminated and persecuted all over the world for having and expressing their belief (or non-belief).
DFID welcomes the analysis and recommendations contained within the report which will further enrich the government’s understanding and help to inform our approach as we continue to seek ways in which to further promote and protect freedom of religion or belief in all countries.
Asked by: Stephen Lloyd (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK aid is not allocated to organisations and programmes that do not support or understand freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Alistair Burt
All DFID contractual and grant arrangements include specific clauses to prevent any discrimination against protected characteristics; this includes discrimination on the basis of religion or belief. DFID’s due diligence assessments, a necessary pre-requisite for receiving UK Aid funding, obtain assurance of a potential delivery partner’s capacity to deliver and meet those conditions set out in the contract or grant award.