Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the treatment of Christians in Nepal.

Freedom of religion and belief remains a human rights priority for our Embassy in Kathmandu. We remain concerned that legal provisions on conversion do not align with international human rights norms. We regularly lobby the Government of Nepal on this issue, and our Embassy in Kathmandu hosts a regular interfaith meeting to promote harmony and religious dialogue.

The persecution of Christians, and indeed individuals of all faiths or beliefs, remains of profound concern to us. The NGO Open Doors estimate that 260 million Christians experience high or extreme persecution around the world. The scale of this persecution prompted the former Foreign Secretary to ask the Bishop of Truro to examine how the British Government could better support persecuted Christians around the world. Bishop Philip published a hard-hitting report with 22 ambitious recommendations which we have accepted in full. Work is ongoing to implement the recommendations in a way that will bring real improvements in the lives of those persecuted because of their faith or belief. 10 have already been implemented, or are in the process of being implemented.