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Written question asked by Ruth Jones (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 July 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 July 2025 (named day). It was answered by Hamish Falconer (Labour) on Friday, 8 August 2025 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Iraq: Religious Freedom

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) respond to threats to religious freedom for Christian and other minority faith communities in Iraq.

Answer

The UK is committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. On 8 July, the Government publicly set out its approach to FoRB, providing a framework for UK engagement, including for countries navigating the impact of conflict, both past and present, such as Iraq.

In July 2025, the Minister for Human Rights and the UK Special Envoy for FoRB met with Mir Hazem Tahsin Beg, the Prince of the Yazidis. We also raise threats to minority faith communities into regular engagements with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and in multilateral fora. For example, at Iraq's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in June, we recommended that Iraq upholds the right for minorities to freely practice their religion or belief, without fear of persecution.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
67962
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Iraq Religious freedom
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk