Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of security of Christians in (a) Sudan and (b) South Sudan.

Sudan and South Sudan are priority countries in the UK Annual Human Rights Report. Improvements in human rights is an important part of our engagement in both countries. There are wide ranging security and human rights concerns in South Sudan, but these are not specific to Christianity which is the most widely practiced religion in the country. On Sudan the UK welcomes signs of progress on Freedom of Religion or Belief under the civilian-led government, including institutions observing Christian holidays and Christians being able to attend church services on Sundays. However, we remain concerned by ongoing issues and abuses. The Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad, registered the importance of increasing Freedom of Religion of Belief with the Sudanese Ambassador on 28 January. He raised concern at recent cases of churches being attacked.