Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the decline of freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) new approach to freedom of religion or belief, announced by the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, on 8 July. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, most recently in July. We continue to support the UN Special Rapporteur and his mandate to document human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including against minority groups. Without truly inclusive governance that reflects the religious, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity of Afghanistan, we will never see an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.