Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help protect (a) the Hazara community and (b) other minorities in Afghanistan.

We regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans and to protect minority groups, including Hazaras, from terrorist attacks. We are working closely with international partners to ensure credible monitoring and accountability mechanisms are in place. In March 2022, we worked through the UN Security Council to strengthen human rights monitoring, including of risks to Hazara and other minorities, in the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan mandate. We also supported a UN Human Rights Council resolution that led to the appointment of Richard Bennett as Special Rapporteur. His recent report to the Human Rights Council included an assessment of the situation for the Hazara and other minorities: we are working with the international community on how best to respond to his recommendations. We are also carefully reviewing the findings of the recent Hazara Inquiry report.