Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many of his staff are dedicated to working on human rights issues in (a) eastern Europe (b) South America.

The majority of FCDO staff working on human rights issues are deployed in our large network of embassies and consulates around eastern Europe and South America. In the UK, staff across several FCDO directorates spend all or a part of their time working on various aspects of human rights in those regions. The UK is committed to protecting and promoting human rights, democratic freedoms and civil society throughout the world and to raising issues and cases of concern.