Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the sufficiency of protections for freedom of religion or belief in Cuba, and (2) the proposal to remove the right to freedom of conscience from Cuba's constitution; and whether they intend to raise such issues with the government of Cuba.

​Protection for freedom of religion or belief and of conscience in Cuba is covered under Article 55 of the Cuban constitution. The current draft of the new constitution addresses freedom of religion in Articles 15 and 62 and freedom of conscience is now covered by Article 59. In spite of constitutional protections, we remain concerned about religious freedom given that religious expression is closely regulated and violations against freedom of religion or belief still occur in Cuba. We hope more will be done to ensure these rights are protected. The UK will continue to monitor human rights in Cuba and address concerns through bilateral engagement with Cuba and multilateral human rights fora.