David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to publicly support LGBT rights and progress towards the recognition of same-sex unions in the Cayman Islands.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Work to combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people forms an important part of our international human rights work. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works through our Embassies and High Commissions, and through international organisations, including the Commonwealth, the EU and the UN, to promote tolerance and non-discrimination against LGBT people and to address discriminatory laws, in particular those that criminalise homosexuality. We expect all Overseas Territory governments to comply with their evolving international obligations in the field of human rights and hosted a conference in March this year for Territory representatives to discuss these issues. While we continue to encourage all OT governments to make progress on this agenda, ultimately legislation on recognition of same sex unions is a matter for OT governments.