Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken in response to evidence of continued human rights abuses and persecution of Kurds, Christians, Jews, Armenians, and other minorities in Turkey.

We strongly support all minority groups in Turkey and encourage the Turkish authorities to safeguard their welfare and respect their human rights, in line with provisions in the Turkish constitution that protect the rights of religious minorities. We participated in the 2020 UN Universal Periodic Review of Turkey and pressed particularly for removing obstacles to freedom of expression, including freedom of religion or belief. We will continue to engage with Turkey on these important issues and monitor the treatment of minorities, as well as government moves to close down the People's Democratic Party (HDP).