§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list countries which he considers to be in breach of Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights; in which respects each country is in breach; and if he will make a statement. [143192]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWe condemn instances where individuals or groups are persecuted because of their religion or belief. Where we believe a state to be in breach of its obligations in international human rights law, such as the obligation in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to ensure the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, we take action, either alone or with our EU partners, on a case by case basis. Through our biannual Freedom of Religion Panel we work closely with NGOs and representatives of religious groups to identify countries and cases of particular concern. Our Annual Report on Human Rights highlights states which we believe to be the worst violators of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This list is by no means exhaustive, but we do not believe that a league-table approach to human rights violations would add value to the important work already undertaken by NGOs in this field. A copy of our Annual Report on Human Rights has been placed in the Library of the House.