Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she is making to countries in which Christians and other religious minorities face persecution on upholding freedom of religion or belief.

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging publicly or in private those we believe are not meeting their obligations.

Multilaterally, we work with the UN, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, G7 and other fora to promote FoRB. Lord Ahmad hosted a successful Arria meeting in the margins of the Security Council in March 2021, raising awareness on persecution of religious minorities in conflict. In May this year, we secured the inclusion of language on FoRB in the G7 communique for the first time, ensuring FoRB remains firmly on the international agenda.

The UK will host an international Ministerial conference on FoRB in 2022 to energise collective efforts on this agenda.