Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect people who defend human rights across the world.

​In 2017 the then Foreign Secretary issued a revised version of the UK Guidelines on Working with Human Rights Defenders to the diplomatic network. In addition, all Human Rights Priority Countries are required to have a Human Rights Strategy which includes working with human rights defenders. The Guidelines give guidance to our diplomatic network on how to support and promote the work done by human rights defenders. Depending on the local context, this might involve making public statements, attending trials, or working privately with host governments. The UK also supports human rights defenders through programmes within the Magna Carta Fund. Officials in London regularly meet human rights defenders to understand how we can support them best. Working at the multilateral level, in November 2017 the UK helped forge consensus on the UN General Assembly Resolution on Human Rights Defenders, bringing countries together to recognise and support the excellent work done by human rights defenders around the globe.