Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to help tackle the digital persecution of Christians.

There is no space for religious intolerance in pluralistic, modern societies. We are championing the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, working collaboratively with the Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith, and our programme funding.

The development and use of digital technology presents both opportunities and risks for the enjoyment of human rights, including FoRB. It is important that we champion the positive potential of technology, whilst taking action to mitigate risks. We do this by working with international partners and through multilateral fora including the United Nations and the Article 18 Alliance which has a workstream, co-chaired by the UK, focused on FoRB and Artificial Intelligence.