Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect human rights defenders in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29.

Along with our international partners, the UK continues to urge Azerbaijan to improve human rights protections for all its citizens; Azerbaijan's hosting of COP29 in November provides the country with an opportunity to demonstrate meaningful action in this regard. We remain concerned at the increased number of detentions of independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society representatives over the last year. We are clear that freedom of expression is the foundation of an open, pluralistic society, and must be respected. British Embassy Baku regularly raises our concerns with the Azerbaijani authorities at senior levels, including ahead of COP29.