Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the ongoing persecution of LGBT+ individuals in Chechnya.

The Foreign Secretary and I made clear earlier this month that we are deeply concerned about the recent reports of a renewed wave of persecution of LGBT+ people in Chechnya. Persecution for being LGBT+, in any country in the world, is abhorrent.

Following these renewed reports of persecution, the UK Government has worked closely with international partners to communicate to Russia that persecution of LGBT+ people in Chechnya is completely unacceptable. This includes joint statements from the EU Spokesperson, from the EU to the OSCE (the latter of which Russia is a member of) and the Equal Rights Coalition. We have focused on calling out Russia’s lack of a credible investigation, and impunity for the perpetrators of this persecution. We are now working to sustain this strong and united international response.