Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports of (a) the detention of Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Álvarez and (b) the raid of his residence by Nicaraguan police in that country in August 2022.

We have voiced the UK's deep concern about the ongoing deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua both with the Nicaraguan Government and in multilateral fora.

Freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, and must be protected. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief tweeted about the reports of harassment of members of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua on 10 August and is discussing it with members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.

Lord Ahmad highlighted our concern about the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez during his visit to the Holy See on 26 August.

We will continue to raise our concerns about human rights in Nicaragua, including on the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, and urge the Nicaraguan Government to respect the human rights of all Nicaraguan people.