To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to prevent the persecution of Christians in countries where they are at risk.
Answered on
27 November 2017
The Government condemns all persecution on the grounds of religious identity, faith or belief and calls upon all state authorities to respect and protect the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. This policy is implemented both in multilateral fora through relevant resolutions at the UN Security Council, most recently Resolution 2379 on 21 September or Human Rights Council, and through raising cases of persecution in individual countries. I regularly raised this issue with my counterparts in the region, including on a visit to Pakistan on 8-9 November 2017. The FCO Magna Carter Fund for Human Rights and Democracy supports projects designed to promote greater tolerance and to create conditions less conducive to extremism and persecution.