Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what discussions they have had with, and (2) what assurances they have sought from, the government of Russia about the treatment of LGBT people in the Chechen Republic since 2018.

We remain deeply concerned about the continuing persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya. The UK Government has raised this issue repeatedly with the Russian Government and made clear that Russia must abide by its international human rights obligations. On 17 June, the Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas raised our concerns with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Titov.

In December 2018, the UK was one of 16 countries to invoke the OSCE's Moscow Mechanism, requiring an independent OSCE investigation. The OSCE Moscow Mechanism's independent 2018 report confirmed allegations of serious human rights violations in Chechnya against LGBT people and other groups including unlawful detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings. We continue to urge Russia to implement the recommendations made in the Moscow Mechanism report and to end the climate of impunity for human rights abusers in Chechnya.