Lord Alton of Liverpool

Jimmy Lai's case remains a priority for the Government. We continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai and immediately release Mr Lai. In a recent visit to Beijing, the Foreign Secretary met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing and called for Mr Lai's release.

This government seeks to engage with Hong Kong authorities to pursue UK interests, while defending the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. We will support UK business to engage with China, including Hong Kong, while being open-eyed to any risks and ensuring security and resilience.

We are aware of reports of the desecration of Ahmadi mosques and graves in Pakistan. The UK strongly condemns all instances of hate or violence directed towards Ahmadiyya Muslims and other marginalised religious communities in Pakistan. The Minister for Afghanistan and Pakistan underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when he met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 4 September. On 28 October, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan raised concerns around threats of violence directed towards Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan with the Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Alongside our diplomatic engagement, we continue to support projects promoting the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan, including facilitating interfaith dialogue and protecting marginalised communities from hate speech online.

The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Catholic Bishops.

This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Foreign Secretary has raised human rights with his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi, including during his recent visit to China on 18 October.

More broadly, this Government will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We will work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement.

The UK condemns the appalling violence in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, including the impact this has had on the Saudi Hospital. The UK is funding the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which is providing support to the Saudi Hospital. The UK is one of the largest donors to the SHF.

The UK is supportive of the citizen-led Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and recognises the critical life-saving work they provide for communities in Sudan. The UK is one of the largest funders of the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which supports the Emergency Response Rooms, as well as a consortium of International non-governmental organisations delivering protection services. Last year, we provided £23 million to the SHF. On 6 August, the Minister of State for Development met with representatives of the ERRs at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Sudan to better understand the challenges they face. We will continue to support the use of cash through a range of partners.

The UK has announced 19 rounds of targeted sanctions, most recently in October 2024 against suppliers of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar military.  We continue to support all ASEAN efforts, including the 5 Point Consensus. ASEAN have explicitly asked the UK to back their efforts by keeping the UN Security Council united on Myanmar. In October, Indonesia convened a meeting for Special Envoys from across the international community, including the ASEAN Special Envoy and UN Special Envoy. Several international stakeholders, including the UK, sent senior officials to attend the meeting. The UK also provides aid frequently which supports the role of civil society to promote peace and stability in Myanmar.

Resolving the crisis in Myanmar is an important priority for the UK. Diplomatically, the UK uses its penholder role at the UNSC to support ASEAN's leadership and maintain an international spotlight on the deteriorating situation. We also maintain an embassy in Yangon to manage our wide-ranging humanitarian programmes (over £150 million since the coup). Although the UK has not appointed a separate Special Envoy for Myanmar, we have attended, and will continue to attend, Special Envoys' meetings to help resolve the crisis. We are committed to pressuring the military regime to change course through sanctions targeted at stopping its access to finance, arms and equipment. This includes a recent full sanctions programme announced in October 2024.

The UK condemns the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, and all others who have been detained arbitrarily. The charges against her are politically motivated. At the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and in a joint press statement with other international partners in July, we have consistently called for the full implementation of UNSC resolution 2669 (December 2022), which demands the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all those arbitrarily detained.

We condemn Iran's restrictions against Freedom of Religion or Belief. The continued systematic targeting of the Baha'i community, which includes unfair arrest and detention, land grabs, and denial of burial rights, is unacceptable. We are committed to working with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of the Bahai's, and other religious minorities, including at the UN Third Committee.

We are deeply concerned about the Rohingya communities' situation in Rakhine state, Myanmar and were shocked by the attack on civilians fleeing Maungdaw in August. We continue to work with members of the United Nations Security Council and other international partners in calling for the protection of civilians by all parties and the need for unhindered humanitarian access to ensure support can reach the most vulnerable. We will continue to work with international partners to ensure there is accountability for acts committed against the Rohingya, including through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Since 2017, the UK has provided over £48 million in aid including cash assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene services to the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state. The UK has announced 19 rounds of targeted sanctions, most recently in October 2024 against suppliers of aviation fuel and equipment to the Myanmar military.

The UK strongly condemns reports of attacks on religious minorities in Burkina Faso and has consistently called on all actors in Burkina Faso to respect human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law.

The UK is providing over £142 million in bilateral overseas development aid to the Sahel this financial year, the majority of this is humanitarian aid for displaced people but programmes also promote stability and conflict resolution, provide health services and bolster resilience to climate change.

The UK has issued eighteen rounds of sanctions targeting the Myanmar military regime's access to finance, arms and equipment. This includes six sanctions targeting the import of aviation fuel (three individuals and three entities). The UK continues to consider sanctions on entities and individuals who are involved in supplying the military regime with funding and resources. The UK remains committed to sanctions that directly impact the military regime without adversely affecting the wider population. This will be a key consideration in any future designations.

The UK strongly condemns all human rights abuses in Myanmar. There must be accountability for the atrocities committed. In May, the UK coordinated a statement with partners calling for an immediate end to violence from all sides in Myanmar. In July 2024, the UK's joint declaration of intervention, together with Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, was accepted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case alleging Myanmar has perpetrated genocide against the Rohingya. The UK has provided £800,000 to the UN's Independent Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) and established the Myanmar Witness programme to gather and preserve evidence of human rights violations in support of future prosecutions.

The UK supports the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and strongly condemns all human rights violations in Myanmar. The UK continues to use targeted sanctions to pressure the military regime to change course: in February, we issued an 18th round of sanctions, targeting the Myanmar Security Force's access to finance, arms and equipment. Since the coup, the UK has provided more than £150 million for life-saving humanitarian assistance, and support for civil society and local communities in Myanmar. Over 50 per cent of our funding goes directly to local civil society organisations, overcoming humanitarian access restrictions to support the most vulnerable and hard to reach communities.

It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgment as to whether crimes against humanity or genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process.

Regardless of any court's decision, this Government will stand firm on human rights, including China's repression of Uyghurs and others in Xinjiang. This includes raising our concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese government, and coordinating efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations.

The Foreign Secretary visited China on 18 October and raised serious concerns around the implementation of the National Security Law and the ongoing treatment of British national Jimmy Lai, again calling for his release.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has highly likely begun to send troops to Russia. This is a deeply concerning development. It risks prolonging the war and augments DPRK's already significant support to Russia, which includes the provision of munitions, arms, and other materiel being used by Russia in its illegal war against Ukraine. It is also further evidence of Russia's recklessness and disregard for international peace and security. On 22 October, the Foreign Secretary jointly made a statement with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Cho Tae-yul, condemning this development.

The conflict in Sudan has created a humanitarian disaster with the most vulnerable, including children, disproportionately affected. Sudan is now the world's largest displacement crisis, with an estimated 8.1 million people internally displaced and a further 2.6 million having fled to neighbouring countries since the conflict began. The UK is providing £97 million of bilateral Official Development Assistance to Sudan this year, £84 million of which is vital humanitarian assistance. This includes funding to UNICEF which provides lifesaving nutrition programmes to some of the most vulnerable children in Sudan. In August, the Minister for Development announced £15 million of additional UK support to those fleeing violence within Sudan, and to South Sudan and Chad. This vital assistance is providing food parcels for 145,000 people in Sudan and around 60,000 vulnerable refugees in Chad, while offering critical nutrition services to South Sudanese children under 5.

I welcome the scrutiny of Parliamentary colleagues and would like to extend my thanks to all those who were involved in producing the Nicaragua Inquiry report. Officials have considered the recommendations in detail. The UK shares the widespread international concern about the ongoing unacceptable deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua. We continue to raise our concerns with Nicaraguan Government representatives both in Managua, and in multilateral fora. This includes our statement on 10 September 2024, during the Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Nicaragua. We will continue to draw on the full range of diplomatic and development tools available to us to promote and protect human rights in Nicaragua.

We share widespread international concern about the suppression of democratic, religious and other freedoms in Nicaragua. The closure of over 5000 non-government organisations (NGOs) since 2018, including approximately 1820 NGOs in August 2024 alone, is alarming. We have urged the Ortega regime to re-establish democratic freedoms, both at multilateral fora and in Managua. On 10 September, we released a statement during the Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Nicaragua outlining our concern about the closure of civil society organisations, and the targeting of members of the Church. We welcomed the release of seven priests in August but were alarmed by their expulsion from Nicaragua.

We have repeatedly condemned Taliban restrictions on women and girls' rights, including through UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions. As the Foreign Secretary said on 24 August, the exclusion of women from all aspects of public life is another tragic setback for Afghanistan. We are discussing with international partners ways to hold them accountable. More broadly, officials regularly press the Taliban to reverse their inhuman restrictions, both bilaterally and with international partners.

We are aware that on 30 September Lithuania referred the Belarusian authorities to the International Criminal Court. The UK Government is giving due consideration to the referral. We are working closely with Lithuania and other international partners to hold the Belarusian authorities to account for the appalling ongoing human rights crackdown in that country. We remain committed to wider accountability measures, including through funding the International Accountability Platform for Belarus which collects and preserves evidence of crimes committed by the Belarusian regime.

In the 55th Six-monthly Report, the Foreign Secretary noted a continued drift away from the commitments set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Hong Kong authorities' focus on any perceived threat to national security is undermining Hong Kong's international reputation. The Government remains committed to Hong Kong's future as an open and vibrant city.

The UK government does not track or estimate the proportion of people forcibly displaced due to persecution on grounds of religion or belief. The UK government is committed to upholding and promoting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. We continue to highlight the severity and scale of violations and abuses of FoRB all over the world. We do this multilaterally, by coordinating with partners at fora such as the UN to promote FoRB, and bilaterally through our diplomatic network.

Many people are frequently discriminated against on the basis of religion or belief in many countries. The latest Pew Research Center study reports that in 2021, government restrictions on religion reached a new peak globally. Religious or belief groups faced harassment by governments in 183 countries, and governments interfered in worship in 163 countries. The UK government seeks to address the severity and scale of violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), all over the world. We do this multilaterally, by coordinating with partners at fora such as the UN to promote FoRB, and bilaterally through our diplomatic network.

Recognising that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, this Government will champion freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. No one should live in fear because of what they do, or do not believe in. Envoy roles are under Ministerial consideration and will be decided upon in due course. In the meantime, we continue to use the strength of our global diplomatic network, including dedicated staff within the FCDO, to promote and protect human rights, including FoRB, around the world.

FCDO officials responsible for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) policy, attended the entirety of the Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in Berlin 9-11 October. Following the conference, we will build on discussions focused on the implications of artificial intelligence for FoRB. The use of AI presents both opportunities and risks for the enjoyment of human rights. It is important that we champion the positive potential of AI, whilst taking action to mitigate risks. We will do this by working with international partners and through multilateral fora including the UN and regional organisations.

Women and minority groups can be disproportionately affected on the basis of their religion or belief. Individuals can also face persecution grounded in religious or belief-based justifications, relating to the backlash against women's, girls and LGBT+ rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. We do not hold figures on those adversely affected. However, the latest Pew Research Center study reports that in 2021, government restrictions on religion reached a new peak globally. We are committed to promoting freedom of religion or belief, for all, everywhere, and seek opportunities to advocate for women and minority groups.