Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the rising number of prisoners of conscience detained for their religious beliefs worldwide; and what assessment they have made of international law as a framework for holding governments accountable for violations of freedom of religion or belief.

The UK champions, and remains strongly committed to, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral organisations, our bilateral work, working with the Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith, and our programme funding, including the Rule of Law (ROLE UK) legal reform programme.

We also use our skilled global diplomatic network to engage directly with governments. Ministers and FCDO officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private. The UK continues to hold countries to account on their FoRB commitments and obligations, through our engagement with the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and at the UN Human Rights Council. This work is mutually reinforcing of our wider human rights efforts, underpinning our belief that human rights are universal.