Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Mexican counterpart on the situation for Protestant Christian families in El Encanto village, Las Margaritas Municipality, Chiapas, who have been denied access to water, electricity and sewerage services for refusing to renounce their religion.

We are aware of the reports of protestant families in El Encanto village being denied access to services due to their religious beliefs. We raised the issue of freedom of religion or belief and the situation in Chiapas with the Mexican authorities. The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We continue to engage regularly with Mexican authorities at all levels to discuss and support a broad human rights agenda in Mexico. I discussed human rights with the Mexican minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on 2 March.