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Written Question
Azerbaijan: Religious Freedom
Wednesday 27th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the human rights violations against Shia Muslims in Azerbaijan, as detailed in the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report Country Update: Azerbaijan, published on 5 December.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government recognises that there are ongoing challenges in Azerbaijan in relation to Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), particularly for devout Muslims. The Minister for Europe raised human rights with Foreign Minister Bayramov during his visit to Baku on 22 November. On 14 November during Azerbaijan's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council the UK reiterated our concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and called on Azerbaijan to improve human rights protections for all.


Written Question
Azerbaijan: Religious Freedom
Monday 18th September 2023

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of freedom of religion or belief in Azerbaijan.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The British Embassy in Baku is able to have open discussions about religious freedom with Government representatives and has been in contact with Grand Mufti, the spiritual leader for both the Sunni and Shia communities in Azerbaijan, who occasionally meets with the Leader of the Armenian Church.


Written Question
Armenia: Churches
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the destruction of churches in Armenia on freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The UK Government remains deeply concerned over the alleged destruction and desecration of religious and historically important cultural heritage sites in and around Nagorno-Karabakh before and after the 2020 conflict. In a meeting with the Armenian Ambassador on 20 January, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief underlined these concerns. We continue to urge both Azerbaijan and Armenia to provide UNESCO with unrestricted access to the region and, more widely, to engage with the OSCE Minsk Group to secure a sustainable, peaceful resolution to ongoing regional tensions.


Written Question
Azerbaijan: Christianity
Thursday 31st January 2019

Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Azerbaijan on that country's inclusion in the Open Doors 2019 World Watch List of the top 50 countries where Christians face persecution.

Answered by Mark Field

The Foreign Secretary and I, alongside other British Government Ministers, routinely raise our concerns about the persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, where this occurs. He recently asked the Bishop of Truro to conduct an independent review of the persecution of Christians around the world to help inform this important area of our work and ensure it is targeted and effective. The Government works with a large number of NGOs, including Open Doors, to help promote and protect freedom of religion or belief. We use information from a wide range of sources to inform our work.


Written Question
Azerbaijan: Religious Freedom
Monday 22nd January 2018

Asked by: Victoria Prentis (Conservative - Banbury)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of religious freedom in Azerbaijan; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

Answered by Alan Duncan

The majority of people in Azerbaijan are able to practise their religion freely. We are concerned, however, that some groups have been prevented from practising their faith by the authorities, and some religious activists have been prosecuted without free or fair trials. The British Embassy in Baku regularly observes criminal trials in such cases and raises freedom of religion with officials from the Government of Azerbaijan. The British Embassy also held an event to mark International Religious Freedom Day on 27 October 2017 to raise awareness of this issue.


Written Question
Azerbaijan: Christianity
Tuesday 13th December 2016

Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Azerbaijan authorities on recent reports of the persecution, arrest and fining of Christians in that country.

Answered by Alan Duncan

We regularly raise human rights issues with Azerbaijan, including freedom of religious belief. Most recently, on 5 December, I discussed human rights in a meeting with the Ambassador of Azerbaijan. The British Embassy in Baku engages with officials from the State Committee Working with Religious Associations and we regularly meet representatives of religious communities in both Azerbaijan and the UK to discuss religious freedom.