Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that the UK remains a leader in promoting human rights after the UK has left the EU.

The United Kingdom is a strong and long-standing advocate of universal human rights based on our values and our respect for international law and the rules-based international system. Through our strong international diplomatic presence we are influential members of the main institutions in which human rights issues are handled, as is evidenced by our recent re-election to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Our diplomatic network works to defend human rights globally. We dedicate significant programme funds to support human rights projects, including through our Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. This strong global engagement on human rights will be unchanged by the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.