Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with this Saudi counterpart about adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty.

Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK's opposition to the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We regularly raise concerns about its use and Saudi Arabia is an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regularly discusses a wide range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities, most recently during the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission's visit to the UK in September 2023. We monitor and raise all known juvenile death penalty defendant cases with the Saudi authorities, and discuss outstanding questions regarding the application of the Royal Decree of 2020. We will continue to do so.