Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that Freedom of Religion and Belief is integrated into UK aid programmes that promote gender equality, the rights of disabled people and assistance to other groups in Central Asia.

The UK recognises that women and girls from religious or belief minority communities can suffer disproportionally because of both their gender and faith- as addressed, for example, in the answer provided on 24 June in response to Question 9814 on the treatment of women from religious minorities in Afghanistan - and we routinely take these factors into account when drawing up our programmes to uphold human rights in different countries. The Department's next report on human rights will be published later this year, covering the period since the current Government came to office, including our work on freedom of religion or belief.