Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of respect for freedom of religion in Nepal in the period after the adoption of its new constitution.

Mr Hugo Swire

The right to freedom of religion is enshrined as a fundamental right in article 26 (1) of the new constitution. We do however have concerns about the interpretation of the proposed legislation relating to Article 156 of the Penal Code, particularly around changing religion.

Our Embassy in Kathmandu has publicly encouraged Nepali Members of Parliament to ensure that the political settlement meets Nepal’s international human rights obligations, including ensuring the protection of the right to change religion. During the 2015 UK-Nepal bilateral talks my officials also emphasised the importance that the UK places on the freedom to change religion.