Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure human rights defenders working to expose corruption will be supported both (1) within, and (2) outside, the United Kingdom.

The UK strongly supports human rights defenders worldwide to enable them to carry out their work safely and without fear. When the Foreign Secretary spoke at the UN General assembly special session on corruption on 2 June, he called on other countries to deliver 'a safer environment for journalists to shine a light on corruption'. The UK is supporting investigative journalists through the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project to help expose corruption and illicit finance in both the Middle East and North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. UK funding directly contributes towards strengthening local journalists' capacity to investigate the perpetrators, professional enablers, offshore entities, and financial systems that facilitate corruption and the illicit flow of money. The project helps, helping fight for the key changes needed in developing countries held back as a result, and pushes for justice in key cases to ensure accountability, good governance and sustainable development.