Development Aid: Religious Freedom

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 29 October 2024.

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Photo of Alex Easton Alex Easton Independent, North Down

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the proportion of official development assistance that is provided to global religious minorities.

Photo of Anneliese Dodds Anneliese Dodds Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities) , Minister of State (Development)

The UK will champion Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Statistics on International Development (SID). In line with the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) ODA reporting rules, ODA data is categorised using sector (or purpose) codes, which classify ODA activities by the sectors they benefit. These sector codes are not sufficiently granular to enable tracking of ODA provided to religious minorities. The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

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