Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people put to death for contravening laws on homosexuality globally in 2018.

The FCO does not collect statistics for the number of executions carried out worldwide. According to Amnesty International's published figures, which do not include figures for China, at least 690 executions in 20 countries took place in 2018. These do not specify the number of executions carried out for contravening laws on homosexuality.

The UK is committed to the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We directly challenge governments that criminalise homosexuality, at the highest possible level, and we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. We regularly set out our position on the death penalty and defend the rights of LGBT individuals at the Human Rights Council, the UN General Assembly Third Committee, and through the Universal Periodic Review process.