Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of Iranian-backed militias on the stability of the Nineveh Plains; and what steps his Department is taking to support the indigenous Christian communities in that region.

It is vital that the Government of Iraq keep Iraqi militia groups in line and ensure democracy is adhered to. We are closely monitoring the impact of developments in Nineveh on the safety of Nineveh's Christian community.

The UK is firmly committed to protecting the Christian community and other ethnic and religious minorities and are strong advocates of greater Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Iraq. We regularly engage with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on this issue, in particular the importance that minorities are included in national and local government as well as reconciliation efforts.