Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the rights of Christian workers in the Middle East.

The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for the Commonwealth and the UN have had a number of recent engagements with religious leaders, interested organisations, partner governments and parliamentarians on the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of human rights of Christians and all religious minorities around the world, including in the Middle East. We are also engaged on issues which impact on the situation of Christians working in the Middle East, including the rights of migrant workers and refugees and the ability of members of religious minorities to access labour markets in relevant countries in the region.