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 the detention of (a) Father Óscar Benavides and Bishop Rolando Alvarez and (b) other Catholic lay leaders, seminarians and priests in Nicaragua.

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. Reports of harassment of members of the Catholic church in Nicaragua are concerning. 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 on the issue on 10 August and is discussing it with members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. Our Permanent Observer at the Organisation of American States also referred to the issue in a statement at a special meeting on the situation in Nicaragua on 12 August. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted our concern about the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez during his visit to the Holy See on 26 August and he is due to give a statement on behalf of the UK about the human rights situation in Nicaragua at the UN Human Rights Council's Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on 13 September. We will continue to raise our concerns about the situation in Nicaragua, including the detention of members of the Catholic church, and urge the Nicaraguan Government to respect the human rights of all Nicaraguan people.