Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Taliban's new criminal code on freedom of religion or belief for Hazara Shi'a communities in Afghanistan; and what steps he is taking with international partners to help protect members of that community.

The UK is deeply concerned by the Taliban's new criminal procedure code for courts. We assess that it further institutionalises religious and sectarian discrimination, including against Shi'a Muslims, and risks increasing the marginalisation and insecurity already faced by Hazara Shi'a communities.

We regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including religious and ethnic minorities, and work with international partners to maintain collective pressure on them to reverse discriminatory restrictions. We continue to raise these issues through the UN Human Rights Council and support the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate to document human rights abuses in Afghanistan.