Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to help counter international digital persecution of religious minorities through online surveillance and intimidation.

Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. No one should be excluded because of their religion or belief. Discrimination damages not only societies, but it also holds back economies. Countries cannot fully develop while they oppress members of minorities.

We are working closely with digital and social media platforms to help them identify and take action to mitigate the harmful spread of intimidation online. In addition, we actively support Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organisations in research to inform technology companies, partner governments and others about the misuse of online platforms.