Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Monday, 20 July 2020, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 August 2020. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Wednesday, 29 July 2020 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

India: Religious Freedom

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Chief Minister of Haryana that he intends to introduce a freedom of religion law to ensure that anyone involved in "unlawful conversions" will be brought to justice, what plans they have to make urgent representations to the government of (1) India, and (2) Haryana, about the impact such a law would have on (a) the reality of freedom of religion or belief for Indian citizens, and (b) international confidence in the government of India’s willingness to uphold Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Answer: We engage India on the full range of human rights matters. We work with Union and State Governments, as well as NGOs, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. Where we have concerns we raise them directly with the Government of India. Most recently, I discussed the situation for India's minorities with the Acting High Commissioner of India on 22 May. I have previously raised our concerns about the impact of recent legislative and judicial measures on minorities with Indian Government Ministers.

Secondary information