The UK Government recognises St Catherine's Monastery's historical and religious importance and tracks this long-standing land ownership dispute. Our Embassy in Cairo participated in discussions with the Egyptian Government on this issue on 30 May. We will continue to engage on issues of heritage protection and religious freedoms.

The UK Government recognises St Catherine's Monastery's historical and religious importance and tracks this long-standing land ownership dispute. Our Embassy in Cairo participated in discussions with the Egyptian government on this issue on Friday 30 May. We will continue to monitor developments and engage on issues of heritage protection and religious freedoms.

Monastic education plays an important role in the wider education sector in Myanmar, often reaching children in poor and conflict-affected communities with no alternative schooling. The Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) has provided system-strengthening support to selected monastic schools. Any schools receiving support must demonstrate a strong commitment to the inclusive values of the MEC.

Monastic education is an important educational provision in Myanmar, often reaching children in poor and conflict-affected communities with no alternative schooling. These schools are run independently by monks and follow the Myanmar national curriculum developed before the coup.

The protection of cultural heritage affected by conflict and the prevention of acts of destruction are priorities for the United Kingdom. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged during long-standing conflict between the two nations. Following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the UK has engaged with the governments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan on this issue. We reiterate our call on all parties to respect all the cultures and religions of the region. We hope the deployment of UNESCO missions to both countries will be agreed and take place soon - this will be an important step in documenting any damage to cultural heritage sites and building trust between the two sides. We will continue to monitor allegations of the destruction of cultural heritage sites carefully.

As the Minister of State responsible for human rights issues for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, I tweeted on 11 May to express my deep sadness at the reported murder of priests in Tigray. This is one of an increasing number of horrifying reports of atrocities coming out of Tigray. Civilians must be protected and the violence must stop. We have also stressed the need for Ethiopia to safeguard its incredible diversity of faith and identity in order to uphold freedom of religion and belief.

The UK's longstanding position is that determining whether a situation amounts to genocide is an issue for competent national and international courts, not governments: our focus is on seeing an end to violence and protecting civilians. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigations with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission into atrocities in Tigray are independent, transparent and impartial and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account. The Foreign Secretary, Minister for Africa and our Ambassador in Addis continue to raise human rights issues in their discussions with the Ethiopian government.

​Our Embassy has so far deliberately not raised his case with the Turks and indeed may not do so due to the nature of the charges against the priest which revolve around alleged support to the terrorist group the PKK.

The Government values the role of faith in public life and recognises the contributions made by faith groups to our communities in the UK. This is reflected in our existing bespoke visa arrangements for religious workers and Ministers of Religion.

On 19 December 2018, the Government’s published its White Paper on the future immigration system. We want to continue to attract those who make valuable contributions to the practicing of faith and to our communities across the UK and will continue to offer arrangements for religious groups.

Whilst we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we regularly encourage Israel to deploy security measures in a way which minimises tension and uses appropriate force. The UK supports the religious status quo in Jerusalem, and calls on all relevant parties to respect and uphold it.

The Department’s Decision Makers Guidance is available on www.gov.uk. For Decision Makers dealing with claimants who are (a) members of and (b) maintained by religious orders, the relevant guidance is in Chapter 24 (Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance, paragraphs 24170 to 24177), Chapter 54 (Employment and Support Allowance, paragraphs 54170 to 54177, Chapter 78 (State Pension Credit, paragraphs 78680 to 78693) and Chapter E3 (Universal Credit, paragraphs E3010 to E3016).

The information requested is not available.

National Statistics on income-related benefit take-up (including Pension Credit) is published and available at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/645577/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-2015-16.pdf

Our Embassy in Ankara has not been in contact with the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation. Legal changes to local government structures in Mardin, where many important Assyrian religious sites are found, resulted in 2012 in the transfer of the title deeds to some religious sites from local bodies to central government. They were eventually transferred to the Government's Directorate for Religious Affairs. Assyrian organisations are making legal appeals against these decisions. The British Embassy in Ankara regularly raises human rights issues with the Turkish authorities and will be closely following this legal process.

​Legal changes to local government structures in Mardin, where many important Assyrian religious sites are found, resulted in 2012 in the transfer of the title deeds to some religious sites from local bodies to central government. They were eventually transferred to the Government's Directorate for Religious Affairs. Assyrian organisations are making legal appeals against these decisions. The British Embassy in Ankara regularly raises human rights issues with the Turkish authorities and will be closely following this legal process. We strongly support religious freedom in Turkey and have supported civil society organisations working in this area.

​Our understanding of the situation is that legal changes to local government structures in Mardin, where many important Assyrian religious sites are found, resulted in 2012 in the transfer of the title deeds to some religious sites from local bodies to central government, and eventually to the Government's Directorate for Religious Affairs. Assyrian organisations are making legal appeals against these decisions. The British Embassy in Ankara will be closely following this process. We strongly support religious freedom in Turkey and have supported civil society organisations working in this area.

The UK’s position on the Separation Barrier is clear: where it has been constructed beyond the 1967 border, such as in the case of the Cremisan Valley, it is illegal under international law.

The New York Convention allows parties who have chosen to resolve their disputes through international arbitration a route to achieving recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award in the courts of other signatory states. This has helped the development of international commerce by allowing for a broadly effective dispute resolution mechanism with awards that can be enforced widely, even where it would be impossible to enforce a foreign court judgement. While particular jurisdictions have invoked exceptions if they do not recognise or do not wish to honour an award, on the whole the operation of the New York Convention has been effective in ensuring the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.

DFID supports the Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) which has the key objective of increasing the number and proportion of children who complete a quality basic education, including within monastic schools. The Burnet Institute is one of the MEC‘s founding partners and channels MEC funding to the Monastic Education Development Group (MEDG), which is the national level coordinating and decision-making body for the monastic education sector. It is a condition of Monastic Education Development Group support that schools not take part in any activity that risks religious and social cohesion. Any school that is found in breach of this requirement will have all funding and support withdrawn immediately. The Burnet Institute works with the management team of the MEDG to integrate peace and conflict resolution into the teacher training program.

We have received conflicting accounts regarding the fighting in Maaloula, and the reported kidnapping of the nuns on 3 December. Regime media outlets claim that the nuns have been abducted, whilst opposition sources have suggested that they were transferred to another town, Yabroud, to ensure their safety whilst the fighting around Maaloula was ongoing.

We understand that the nuns are being detained but are unharmed. However, given that the British Embassy has been closed in Syria since March 2012, our lack of access and the complex nature of the conflict mean that it is impossible to easily verify reports of this nature. We have no further information regarding the situation inside the monastery or the wellbeing of those still dwelling there. We will continue to monitor the situation and are seeking further clarification through our contacts in Syria.