Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which non-governmental organisations and individuals were formally consulted by the Government as part of preparations for the Summit for Democracy 2021.

The UK Government hosted four formal engagement sessions with civil society in the run up to the first, virtual Summit on 9-10 December, with support from BOND (www.bond.org.uk), the UK network for organisations working in international development and the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition. The first session was led by Lord Ahmad, Minister of State for South and Central Asia, UN and the Commonwealth, and Paul Williams, Director for Open Societies and Human Rights at FCDO. In a conversation with over 20 Civil Society Organisation (CSO) representatives, they outlined the UK's anticipated approach to the Summit, including participating at the Summit and related side events. This initial session was then followed up with three, more detailed discussions - each attended by 20 or more CSO representatives - on the Summit's main themes: Fighting Corruption; Defending Against Authoritarianism; and Advancing Human Rights.