Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage religious equality and tolerance in central Europe.

Freedom of religion or belief is a priority human rights area for the Government. We work actively to defend it in our bilateral relations with individual countries, including lobbying for changes in discriminatory laws and practices and through our work in multilateral institutions.

We also carry out project work in a range of countries working with non-governmental organisations on issues such as promoting better understanding between faiths, bridging sectarian divides, promoting dialogue between faith groups and government and offering technical advice on laws that need amendment.

Although central Europe is not a particular area of focus for us, we do play an active part in the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to share best practice in combating intolerance and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief. We participated actively in the recent Human Dimension Implementation meeting in Warsaw, and last year nominated a UK representative to the OSCE’s Advisory Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief.