Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representation she has made to her Indian counterpart on the protection of religious minorities.

The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. The Foreign Secretary engages regularly with her Indian counterpart, Minister for External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, to discuss important global issues, including most recently during her March 2022 visit to Delhi. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks to the High Commissioner of India, and Freedom of Religion or Belief forms part of that dialogue.

The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights. We work with the UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote Freedom of Religion or Belief. On 5-6 July 2022, we will host an international Ministerial conference in London, driving forward international efforts on Freedom of Religion or Belief and demonstrating our leading role in supporting freedom and openness.