Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Amnesty International's report <i>Prosecuting Beliefs: Indonesia's blasphemy laws</i>.

We welcome Amnesty International’s report which identifies blasphemy prosecutions as a concern in Indonesia. It is positive that Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has responded constructively to the report, stating it will look at the law again to see how it can be improved and made more relevant to modern day conditions.

The newly inaugurated Indonesian government has taken some positive steps on religious freedoms. The Minister of Religious Affairs has announced plans to develop legislation to strengthen protection to adherents of all religious beliefs. The Minister for Home Affairs is investigating how district and regional governments can better protect rights of minorities, and met representatives of a number of different minority belief groups earlier this month.