Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will formally invite Cuba to join the Equal Rights Coalition during the Government’s term as co-chair of the coalition, in light of the recent progress the Cuban Government has made on LGBT rights.

The UK is looking forward to taking over as co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) in June, partnering with Argentina, and to helping shape the ERC's work to advance global LGBT equality. We will celebrate advancements in the rights of LGBT people around the world, including in Cuba where the newly adopted constitution includes protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and which allows for a future debate and potentially legislation legalising same sex marriage. We are committed to the expansion of the current 40 strong ERC membership and will consider plans for new members when we take over as co-chair from Canada.