Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Amnesty International Laws Designed to Silence: The Global Crackdown on Civil Society, published on 21 February; and how they intend to respond to its recommendations.

We welcome the report by Amnesty International assessing the global crackdown on civil society. The report raises important issues, including concerns about the growing misuse of legislation to target civil society and prevent them from speaking out. The UK supports civil society organisations and human rights defenders in the valuable work they do to defend the full range of human rights issues. We, like Amnesty and others, are committed to ensuring civil society organisations have a safe space in which to operate.