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 extent of religious freedom in Indonesia; and whether he is taking steps to raise the importance of freedom of religious belief with the Indonesian Government.

The Government of Indonesia has taken steps to address the issue of freedom of religion, including through the creation of a new Presidential Working Unit which aims to promote, among other things, tolerance of the 6 officially recognised religions of Indonesia. We also welcome the ruling of the constitutional court in November 2017 permitting followers of traditional beliefs to state their faith on their identity cards. However, we remain concerned about treatment of non-Sunni Islamic groups, such as the Ahmadiyya and Shia communities who often face intolerance. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN most recently discussed it with the Indonesian Ambassador to London in January.