Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in Eritrea on (a) Christians imprisoned and (b) possible violations of (i) freedom of religion or belief and (ii) other human rights in that country; and what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help prevent unwarranted arrests in Eritrea.

We consistently raise the need to improve the human rights situation with the Eritrean Government. We advocate for national service reform and the end of arbitrary detentions, including detentions based on religion or belief. Eritrea is a priority country in the FCDO Annual Human Rights Report and we support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Eritrea, voting in favour of his mandate renewal in July 2024. As we have stated at the Human Rights Council, all those who have been unjustly incarcerated must be released.