Written questions, answers and statements

Brunei: Religious Freedom

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Question for Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UIN 122420, tabled on 12 January 2018

Question

Preet Kaur Gill
Labour
Birmingham, Edgbaston
Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Brunei; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Answer

Mark Field
Conservative
Cities of London and Westminster
Commons

Answered on

17 January 2018

​Brunei's constitution names the Shafi school of Sunni Islam as the country's official religion and states that all religions may be practiced in peace and harmony. Other forms of Islamic observance are not permitted. In 2013 Brunei announced a sharia penal code to operate alongside the common law system. To date, this has not had a significant practical impact on the level of religious freedom in Brunei. Our High Commissioner in Bandar Seri Begawan regularly discusses the direction of religious freedom in Brunei with its government, most recently in October 2017.

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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