Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has a policy on the support and protection of human rights defenders worldwide.

​The UK strongly supports the rights of human rights defenders worldwide to carry out their work safely and without fear. In July 2019, the UK published the document 'UK Support for Human Rights Defenders' that sets out our ongoing dedication to supporting and protecting human rights defenders worldwide. Our work to support human rights defenders across our global network of posts takes its inspiration from the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; it includes attending trials, making public statements, raising cases privately with the host government, and lobbying for safe and open space for within which civil society and human rights defenders can operate. We also regularly engage with NGO representatives and human rights defenders to discuss the challenges which human rights defenders face and how the UK can best help in overcoming them.