Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on LGBT rights in Bangladesh of the murder of Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka.

Mr Hugo Swire

Human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people. On Monday 25 April I said publicly that I was deeply saddened by the senseless murders of Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Fahim and called for the killers to be brought to justice. Same sex relations in Bangladesh are illegal, however the Foreign and Commonwealth Office work to uphold the rights and freedoms of LGBT people in all circumstances. In 2015 we funded a project promoting social justice and dignity for LGBT groups in Bangladesh.