Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to respond to the reported surge in the repression of human rights defenders worldwide; and whether the Government plans to commit to a renewed strategy of support and protection.

In light of the increasing level of intimidation and persecution of human rights defenders in many parts of the world, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has worked with several civil society organisations to update its internal guidance on working with human rights defenders. The Foreign Secretary issued this updated guidance to all Embassies and High Commissions in December 2017. The guidance tasks the FCO's network of Embassies and High Commissions to find practical ways to support human rights defenders. The FCO keeps the implementation of the guidance under constant review.

The FCO supports the work of human rights defenders through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, most of which is allocated for implementation of projects by human rights defenders and civil society organisations. The FCO also highlights repression of human rights defenders in its Annual Human Rights Report.