Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to raise the human rights of ethnic and religious minorities in India during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the UK in November 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

India and the UK have a rich, wide-ranging and mature bilateral relationship. We will discuss a broad spectrum of issues during Prime Minister Modi’s visit.

The UK raises a range of human rights matters with India, including religious freedom and the treatment of ethnic minorities, both bilaterally and through the EU. This includes meeting Union and State level government institutions, such as the Indian National Commission for Minorities, which the British High Commission in New Delhi met earlier this month. The High Commission also stays in regular contact with civil society organisations and senior faith leaders working on religious freedom across India.