Written questions by Shannon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to (a) help prevent violence against Christian communities in Burkina Faso and (b) support displaced people impacted by religious persecution.

The UK strongly condemns reports of attacks on religious minorities in Burkina Faso and has consistently called on all actors in Burkina Faso to respect human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law.The UK remains committed to funding official development aid to address the drivers of conflict and reduce the influence of violent extremist organisations in the region, including through providing over £142 million in bilateral official development aid to the Sahel in Financial Year 2024/25. The majority of this was used on humanitarian aid for displaced people but programmes also promote stability and conflict resolution, provide health services and bolster resilience to climate change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to support Ukraine.

On 9 May, the Foreign Secretary travelled with European partners to Lviv, where they formally endorsed the legal texts required to establish a Special Tribunal to hold those responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine to account. On 12 May he hosted Foreign Ministers from the Weimar+ group of key European allies to discuss our joint efforts to strengthen European security and secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister attended the Joint Expeditionary Force Leaders' Summit in Oslo on 9 May and travelled to Kyiv on 10 May alongside President Macron, Chancellor Merz, and Prime Minister Tusk, where he met President Zelenskyy and co-chaired a virtual meeting of leaders from the Coalition of the Willing. These discussions continue. The Prime Minister also announced in Oslo our largest ever package of sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet raising the total number of ships designated for transporting Russian energy past 250, including 233 oil tankers - the highest by any country.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with international counterparts on tackling sexual violence on women in Mali.

The UK remains committed to addressing sexual violence against women and girls in Mali, including through our bilateral programming. In financial year 2024/25, the UK allocated £800,000 to the Women in Law and Development in Africa for survivor support and economic empowerment initiatives, £300,000 to the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to strengthen protection mechanisms. These programmes provide trauma support, skills training, and leadership development for women.The UK also co-chairs the Women's Empowerment Dialogue Group in Bamako alongside the International Organisation for Migration and UN Women, working with the Government of Mali and international partners to advance gender equality and tackle sexual violence. These efforts reflect the UK's broader commitment to women's rights in the Sahel.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the black market sale of (a) kidneys and (b) other organs in other countries.

Gangs and criminals that exploit and traffic people are part of international organised crime networks that do immense harm. Serious and organised crime in the UK is estimated to cost at least £47 billion annually and threatens our national security and prosperity. Overseas it poses a serious threat to our international objectives, including our efforts to deliver economic development, state building and poverty reduction. The UK is committed to tackling Serious Organised Crime and the illicit financial flows that underpin it through diplomatic, programmatic and operational interventions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the kidnapping of British citizens abroad.

Whenever a British person is kidnapped abroad, we will try to do everything we can to make sure they are released safely. Wherever possible we will work with the government and law enforcement agencies where the kidnapping has happened, as they will normally be responsible for leading the response. It is the long-standing policy of successive governments that we will not make substantive concessions to kidnappers. Travel Advice published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on gov.uk provides safety information for travellers, and includes information on kidnap risks in relevant countries.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on ending the Ukraine-Russia war.

We share President Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and remain in close touch with the US at every level. Following talks between the US and Ukraine on 11 March, and the US and Russia on 13 March, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Secretary of State Rubio. The Foreign Secretary also spoke to the Secretary of State on 22 April prior to the peace talks between the US, Ukraine, France, Germany and the UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to address Iran's support for terrorism against (a) the UK and (b) the UK's allies.

On 7 May, I raised directly with the Iranian Ambassador Iran's unacceptable threats against the UK and its allies, including state-backed assassination plots and support for proscribed terrorist groups. The UK already has more than 450 sanctions designations in place on Iranian individuals, entities and criminal networks.Furthermore, on 4 March the UK announced new measures to counter the threat from the Iran. This includes specifying Iran on the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which will require anyone directed by Iran to conduct activity in the UK to register with the Home Office. Failure to do so will be a criminal offence. In concert with partners, the UK will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK and its allies against any threats from Iran.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support displaced people in Sudan.

The Sudan conflict has caused the largest and fasted growing displacement crisis in the world, with almost 13 million displaced since April 2023. On 15 April, the Foreign Secretary announced £120 million of new life-saving aid for this year, to support over to 650,000 people in Sudan. The UK is also playing an active role at the Security Council to help protect Sudanese civilians through public interventions, senior engagements, Council products and sanctions. We continue to push the warring parties take every precaution to safeguard Sudanese civilians.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps to help protect the (a) human and (b) educational rights of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The UK remains committed to protecting the human and educational rights of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).We support human rights, including through projects to provide legal support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in BiH and to assist social cohesion in heavily divided communities.Our embassy in Sarajevo regularly raises educational rights in engagements with BiH authorities, underlining our support for an inclusive future in BiH where fundamental rights are respected and all may access education.We continue to work with international partners, including through the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to support these aims.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase global immunisation rates.

The UK is one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We have committed £1.65 billion to the current strategic period covering 2021-2025, supporting Gavi to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases. Since 2000, Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children, saving over 18 million lives. Furthermore the UK supports polio eradication and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Since 1995, we have contributed £1.4 billion, reducing polio cases by over 99 per cent and limiting endemic countries to Pakistan and Afghanistan. GPEI's efforts have enabled over 20 million people to walk who might have been paralysed by polio.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on reports of social media and internet bans in that country.

The Government has raised recent events with the Turkish Government and the Foreign Secretary spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on 29 March to express the UK's concern. As a staunch supporter of media freedom around the world, the UK expects Turkey to uphold its international commitments and the rule of law, including protecting the fundamental rights to free speech and media freedom.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the decision by (a) Bauchi, (b) Kano, (c) Katsina and (d) Kebbi States to close (i) public and (ii) private (A) primary and (B) secondary schools for Ramadan.

Improving access to education in Nigeria is a key priority for the UK and we are working with the Nigerian Government to ensure that all Nigerians have access to a quality education. Through the Partnership for Learning for All Nigerian Education (PLANE) programme, we have commissioned research to document the number of school days lost through ad hoc closures, insecurity, religious holidays and climate-related factors in states in Northern Nigeria. We will share the key finding of this research with the Nigerian Government.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the decision by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development in Kano State, Nigeria, not to return children to the care of Professor Solomon and Mrs Mercy Tarfa on 19 March 2025.

The Government is aware of a Kano State court ruling instructing the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Social Development to return children removed from Du Merci orphanage to the custody of Professor Soloman Tarfa and Mrs Mercy Tarfa. We have previously raised the case with the Nigerian authorities and stressed the need to prioritise the welfare of the children involved. Enforcing the court ruling is a matter for the Nigerian authorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the policies of China on Falun Gong practitioners.

The environment for freedom of religion or belief in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts (President Xi, Foreign Minister Wang, Vice Premier He and Vice Premier Ding respectively).This Government champions freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Pakistan's record on implementing human rights commitments under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences on (a) freedom of religion, (b) blasphemy laws and (c) the treatment of religious minorities.

Promoting human rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised issues including the rights of religious minorities and blasphemy accusations when I met Pakistan's Minister for the Interior, Talal Chaudhry, on 31 March. Under the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (which replaced the Generalised Scheme of Preferences in 2023), Pakistan benefits from duty free exports on the condition that it ratifies and effectively implements specified international conventions on human rights and environmental degradation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Bangladeshi counterpart on the destruction of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

The UK Government supports the Interim Government's agenda to restore law and order, ensure accountability and promote national reconciliation. While we have not had discussions with the Interim Government of Bangladesh regarding the destruction of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum specifically, we have encouraged all sides to work together to end the cycle of retributive violence. In February, UK Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, visited Bangladesh. She discussed a wide range of human rights concerns with the Interim Government. We continue to work with the Interim Government as it charts a peaceful transition to an inclusive and democratic future.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Iranian counterparts on the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur’s report A/HRC/58/49 on the obstruction of Baha’i burials in Iran; and whether he plans to call for international action to help tackle the desecration of Baha’i cemeteries and wider religious persecution in Iran.

We are aware of the United Nations Special Rapporteur's report which details the severe repression Baha'is face in Iran. We continue to make representations to Iran in multilateral fora regarding our opposition to its treatment of Baha'is, including at the Human Rights Council on 18 March 2025. We were integral to the delivery of the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the United Nations Third Committee in November 2024, which spotlighted Iran's restrictions against Freedom of Religion or Belief, particularly the undue restrictions on burials carried out under religious tenets, and called on Iran to cease the desecration of cemeteries. The UK raised the ongoing repression of Baha'is at Iran's Universal Period Review on 24 January. We continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian government, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Poland in countering Russian pressure.

We are taking coordinated action with allies to respond to the growing threat to Europe from Russian hybrid activity. This includes exposing the activities of the Russian Intelligence Services, expelling intelligence officers, and sanctioning individuals. We will continue to work at pace, including through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), to hold Russia accountable, to counter the threat posed by Putin's regime and to increase our resilience to Russian malign activity. As set out in the Prime Minister's joint statement with Prime Minister Tusk following his visit to Warsaw on 17 January, the UK and Poland co-operate closely on defence and security, including on the joint training of Ukrainian troops and the development of integrated air defence.There is currently a squadron from the UK deployed to Poland as part of the US-led NATO battle group. In addition to this, the UK is providing 4-6 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for Air Policing missions in Polish airspace and a new Polish-British Joint Programme Office in the UK will be established later this year to support greater defence industrial co-operation. The UK is also offering support to Poland's East Shield project to further strengthen its border through a number of infrastructure and security tasks.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Kashmir.

I recognise there are human rights issues in both India Administered Kashmir and Pakistan Administered Kashmir. We raise issues, where we have them, directly with the governments of India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan are important friends of the UK, and we have strong and deep bilateral relationships with both. It is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure its consular guidance raises awareness of cities with high levels of carbon monoxide.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice remains under regular review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks to British nationals. The risks from carbon monoxide poisoning are covered in travel advice for China and Nepal, Solo and independent travel and Volunteering and adventure travel pages as well as our Foreign travel checklist.We aim to include information in our travel advice on the issues most likely to be of relevance to British nationals visiting or living in each country/territory. In determining what we include in our travel advice we assess a range of factors, including drawing on local knowledge and monitoring trends in consular cases.