Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) international counterparts and (b) Cabinet colleagues on developing a strategy to support and protect human rights defenders.

The UK strongly supports human rights defenders (HRDs) worldwide to enable them to carry out their work safely and without fear. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon is the Minister responsible for Human Rights at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In 2019, Lord Ahmad launched the document 'UK support for Human Rights Defenders' which was drawn up with significant and important input from relevant stakeholders, including Amnesty International, and sets out how HMG engages with HRDs, and how we work with them to further human rights globally. Lord Ahmad is listening closely to Amnesty and other NGOs on their request for an HMG strategy on HRDs. In the context of the establishment of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we will be considering what more the UK can do to support HRDs going forward.