To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 February (HL5247), what percentage of funds distributed under the Magna Carta Fund in 2016 were allocated to projects promoting interreligious dialogue and co-operation in Iraq and the right to freedom of religion or belief for all of Iraq’s religious communities.
Answered on
14 March 2017
The UK's Magna Carta Programme in financial year 2015-2016 spent £115,000 in Iraq, which represented 1% of the programme's total spend. That money helped deliver an education programme on religious freedom to Iraqi schools, as well as a training course on international law and freedom of religion or belief to religious leaders, human rights advocates, academics and journalists. In financial year 2016-2017, there is no Magna Carta project focused solely on Iraq, but a £153,000 project (1.44% of the total fund) will promote legal and social protection for freedom of religion or belief across the region – including in Iraq.