Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has held recent discussions with his counterpart in Nigeria on the persecution of Christians in that country.

Promoting the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. Rising insecurity has impeded on the rights of people of all faiths in Nigeria. The UK supports Nigeria to deliver on its constitutional commitment to FoRB through ongoing development programming and security cooperation. The UK also regularly raises FoRB with the Nigerian Government and will be an active participant in the upcoming UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process for Nigeria which provides an opportunity to raise questions and recommendations on a country's human rights record, including FoRB.