Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote (a) human rights and (b) press freedom in Belarus.

​The UK remains concerned about the human rights situation in Belarus. We continue to urge Belarus to show greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including media freedom. Our Ambassador in Minsk raised these issues most recently with the Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister in a meeting on 19 February 2019. Our Embassy subsequently attended the trial of the editor of the independent online media outlet, tut.by. The UK also joined EU partners in raising human rights concerns during the EU-Belarus Coordination meeting on 12-13 December 2018. Through the Global Britain Fund, our Embassy funds a number of Human Rights projects, including support for Non-Governmental Organisations advocating a moratorium on the death penalty and support for the growth of independent media in Belarus.