To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of (a) humanitarian and (b) development funding his Department has provided to help support the human rights of minorities in Pakistan.
Answered on
23 October 2023
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level to promote minority rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We prioritise our aid to achieve maximum impact for the people of Pakistan in line with our strategic priorities, including promoting FoRB. Our Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery programme (£39.5 million over the period 2018-2024) brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance. Our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme (£4.2 million over the period 2022-2025) is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online. The UK's programme of support for education has helped thousands of children from religious minorities attend school and gain skills (£130 million over the period 2023-2027). Our bilateral ODA (Official Development Assistance) budget in FY 23/24 is £41.5 million. This is set to more than triple, to £133 million, next year.