Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on freedom of religion or belief in China.

We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly discuss Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) with our international partners and raise concerns through multilateral fora, including the UN. For example, on 6 October, the UK and 38 other countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York calling on China to respect human rights, particularly the rights of persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has also discussed FoRB in China with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the FoRB Special Envoy on a number of occasions, most recently in September.