Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the global persecution of the Baha'i community in (i) Iran, (ii) Yemen, (iii) Qatar, (iv) Egypt and (v) elsewhere.

The UK strongly condemns the persecution of Baha'i communities in many countries around the world. Last July, shortly before launching the Government's strategy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), the UK Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, met the then Baha'i International Community UN Representative, Simin Fahandej, to discuss the persecution of the Baha'i in Iran and elsewhere.

The UK has also raised the targeting of Baha'i communities in international statements, including at the UN Human Rights Council, and supported action to strengthen international scrutiny of Iran. The Special Envoy engages regularly with Baha'i representatives, including the Director of the UK Baha'i Office of Public Affairs, Padideh Sabeti, who also contributed to the launch of the Government's FoRB Strategy.

We will continue to raise the persecution of Baha'i communities with relevant countries, and in multilateral fora as appropriate.