Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle (a) forced disappearances, (b) the prolonged detentions of monks and nuns and (c) other suppression of (i) freedom of religion or belief and (ii) human rights in Tibet.

This Government will stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. We will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad, and work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.

The Foreign Secretary raised human rights in his first meeting with China's Director of Foreign Affairs Commission Office and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, on 26 July.