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 policies of the killing of human rights and LGBT rights campaigner Cristina Cantillo in Colombia.

The British Government remains concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights' defenders, and social leaders in Colombia. Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF), which has provided £68 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights defenders and social leaders.

Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we consistently raise our concerns regarding violence against human rights defenders and social leaders with the Colombian Government, and in multilateral fora. Most recently, as the UK's Minister for Europe and Americas, I [Minister Wendy Morton] spoke to Vice President Ramírez regarding the human rights situation during a visit to Colombia from 22-24 November.