Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea; and what plans they have to introduce measures (1) to deter, and (2) to provide accountability for, violations of the freedom of religion and belief in that country under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 where evidence of violations of international law linked to named perpetrators is available.

The UK has deep concerns about the lack of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea. While the DPRK constitution allows religious belief as long as it does not attract foreign intervention or disrupt social order, in practice, Christians hide their faith and worship in secret for fear of being caught and persecuted. Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is a priority for the UK Government and we remain committed to implementing the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro's independent Review on persecuted Christians in full. One of those recommendations related to the establishment of the UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime, which came into effect on 6 July 2020 and allows us to designate those who commit serious human rights abuses or violations, including those who target individuals on the grounds of their religion or belief. We take decisions about whether particular individuals or entities could be subject to measures under the regime on a caseby-case basis. We have already designated two entities involved in administering the North Korean penal system.