Lord Bishop of Winchester

The UK urges the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure that those detained during September 2023's military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, are afforded a fair trial and provided safe conditions, in accordance with Azerbaijan's international obligations and commitments. Our Embassy in Baku pays close attention to the cases and have sought regular updates to stay informed about progress. We have also been consistent in calling for the release of all remaining prisoners of war. The Minister of State Stephen Doughty raised these issues with Azerbaijan's Presidential Advisor, Elchin Amirbayov, during his visit to the UK in October. In a meeting with Azerbaijan's Principal Presidential Advisor, Hikmet Hajiyev, on 10 March, the Minister of State also urged Azerbaijan to seize the opportunity to sign an historic peace deal with Armenia. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have also conveyed these messages.

The UK funds civil society organisations to provide assistance to people displaced by conflict and violence across Nigeria, so they have access to food, healthcare and nutrition, and protection and water. The UK is a donor to the Start Fund which provides rapid financing in response to small to medium scale crises including helping people affected by conflict, flooding and cholera outbreaks in Nigeria. Additionally, the UK's Strengthening Peace and Resilience programme ('SPRiNG') is working to reduce rural violence in northwest and north-central Nigeria, including supporting collaboration and productive livelihoods for both farmers and pastoralists.

The UK is committed to supporting Nigeria to address ongoing security challenges, including intercommunal violence and violent extremism. It is important to remember that the perpetrators of this violence do not come from any one ethnic or religious group, and the devastating effects are felt by communities of different faiths and ethnicities. The UK is providing £38 million in programming to Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria supporting locally led solutions in Northern Nigeria to tackle the root causes of intercommunal violence.

This Government is committed to championing human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. An independent review of the FCDO's implementation of the Truro recommendations in 2022 was largely positive. This has concluded, and we are focused on the present while also looking to the future. We stand up for FoRB bilaterally through our diplomatic network, and multilaterally including through the UN and the Article 18 Alliance. For example, in October we engaged with the Special Rapporteur for FoRB during the UN General Assembly's Third Committee and raised FoRB during November's Universal Periodic Reviews on Nicaragua and Qatar.

The FCDO champions freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. Officials dedicated to promoting FoRB policy include a central FoRB team, geographical policy leads for human rights, diplomats overseas and senior officials in Human Rights Department. Ministerial responsibility for FoRB rests with the Minister for Human Rights. Director General, Legal, is the FCDO's Board Sponsor for FoRB, raising awareness across FCDO.

The UK continues to raise concerns about human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and condemns all forms of hate speech and violence committed against all individuals and communities in DRC. We continue to lobby DRC to tackle the drivers of conflict, introduce human rights reforms and combat impunity. The UK also continues to push for the imposition of sanctions through the UN against individuals who have committed human rights abuses. Given the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping force, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from South Kivu, we continue to encourage DRC to ensure suitable plans are in place regarding protection of civilians, including those in particularly vulnerable communities.

It is vital that the Government of Iraq keep Iraqi militia groups in line and ensure democracy is adhered to. We are closely monitoring the impact of these developments on the safety of Nineveh's Christian community.

The UK is firmly committed to protecting the Christian community, and other ethnic and religious minorities, and are strong advocates of greater Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Iraq. We regularly engage with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on this issue, in particular the importance that minorities are included in national and local government as well as reconciliation efforts.

The Government will champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. Envoy roles will be decided upon in due course. In the meantime, we will use the strength of our global diplomatic network, including dedicated staff within the FCDO, to promote and protect FoRB around the world.