Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement agreed at the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief entitled Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, published on 7 July 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of references to (a) sexual and reproductive health and rights and (b) bodily autonomy.

The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and will continue working with other countries to protect and further gender equality in international agreements.

In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund, support and lead on initiatives related to promoting gender equality including SRHR, Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.