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 Department's policies of (a) the assassination of at least 11 religious leaders by illegal armed groups in Columbia over the past 18 months and (b) the continued refusal by the Columbian Government to restore access for religious officials to the government protection scheme; and whether her Department has made representations about these matters with the Government of Colombia.

A number of Parliamentary Questions have been asked in recent months around the persecution of members and leaders of Christian congregations and other religious groups in Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba, and these are issues the Government continues to take very seriously as part of our commitment to promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief around the world. Specifically, on each of the countries raised by the Hon Member, I refer her to the answers provided to Questions 5332 and 5388 on 8 June, Question 5283 on 4 June, and Question 66106 on 17 July 2025.