Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.

We consistently raise human rights issues at senior levels with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so in his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December. We continue to raise Tibet in multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council, in which last year we urged China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Tibet. Through these statements we have specifically highlighted UN reports that boarding schools are being used to assimilate Tibetan children into Han culture. In addition, we continue to coordinate with international partners to increase international attention on the human rights situation in Tibet, such as for the G7 Foreign Ministers' statement in November.