Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Philippines on the safety of human rights defenders in that country.

The UK remains concerned about reports of human rights abuses in the Philippines, including the treatment of human rights defenders, journalists and land rights campaigners. We have consistently called on the Government of the Philippines to ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders.

I raised these concerns with Philippines Ministers, including the then Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano, during my most recent visit to Manila in August 2018.

Senior FCO officials also raised human rights with the Philippines Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Enrique Manalo during the UK - Philippine High Level Talks that took place in Manila on 19 November 2018.

At the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018, we urged the Philippines to conduct thorough investigations into killings associated with the "war on drugs" and to ensure the safety of land rights defenders.