Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to support religious self-governance for Tibetan Buddhists.

The freedom to practice, change or share one's faith or belief without discrimination is a human right that all people, including Tibetan Buddhists, should enjoy. The UK Government will continue to do all that we can to encourage freedoms of religious and cultural expression in Tibet and across China. For example, we view the appointment of the next Dalai Lama as a matter for the relevant religious authorities to decide in line with those freedoms of religion and belief.

The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities - the Foreign Secretary did so in February with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, for example, in January at China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.