To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on its duties under Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Answered on
7 December 2016
The Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We regularly raise our concerns about human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief, with the government of Pakistan at a senior level. During his visit to Pakistan in November, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), raised the importance we attach to guaranteeing the rights of all Pakistani citizens regardless of faith, ethnicity, or belief. Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK is supporting projects in Pakistan to promote greater tolerance and religious freedom. Pakistan remains a priority for UK development assistance, with programmes designed to improve human rights. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice all its human rights obligations, including those related to religious freedom, and to uphold the rule of law.