Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of anti-Christian sentiment in Laos.

The UK is committed to promoting and defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), as demonstrated by our hosting the 'International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in July 2022. We also work through the UN to promote and protect these rights. The UK Embassy in Laos raises concerns about limitations on freedom of expression and other human rights issues, including freedom of religion, on a regular basis, both publicly and in private and last did this on 10 January 2024. I visited Laos in September 2023 and raised our concern over particular human rights cases with Laos Ministers. We also raise country specific human rights issues at the UN Human Rights Council.