Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports of the persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We monitor human rights and FoRB closely in Bangladesh. We raise this issue with the Bangladeshi authorities. Our Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme promotes: the protection of civic and political space; collaboration; efforts to reduce corruption; and efforts to mitigate tensions that lead to violence. We are providing up to £27 million under this programme.