Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are supporting the international efforts to demand the halt of executions of women in Iran, including the representation signed by over 400 prominent women on 23 December 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstance as a matter of principle. We continue to play an integral role in the delivery of the UN Third Committee and have repeatedly called on Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions, including at the Committee's annual resolution in November 2025. The resolution condemned Iran's application of the death penalty, which is in violation of its international obligations, including executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions and without fair trial and due process. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its continued human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about halting the execution of women human rights defenders such as Zahra Tabari.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstance as a matter of principle. We continue to play an integral role in the delivery of the UN Third Committee and have repeatedly called on Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions, including at the Committee's annual resolution in November 2025. The resolution condemned Iran's application of the death penalty, which is in violation of its international obligations, including executions undertaken against persons on the basis of forced confessions and without fair trial and due process. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its continued human rights violations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of violence by Iran's security forces against pro-democracy protestors, and what action they are taking in response.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement made to the House on 7 January, which can be found at the following link: https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-01-07/debates/4F44EBDD-1568-41F7-AEEE-663F099BF92A/MiddleEastAndNorthAfrica.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the (1) government of China, and (2) authorities in Hong Kong, regarding the admission of evidence obtained through the reported torture of Andy Li and cited during the trial of Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the conviction of Jimmy Lai represents a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration the Prime Minister has given to delaying his official visit to China in January until Jimmy Lai has been released from prison.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the statement given to the House on 17 December 2025 on the conviction of Jimmy Lai, and to the responses in the subsequent debate, where such issues were addressed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their official policy to omit mention of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai when ministers discuss the UK-Hong Kong bilateral relationship in the press.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On the contrary, ministers and officials regularly raise the continued detention of Jimmy Lai, and China's obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, in interviews with the media, statements to Parliament, public speeches, the government's Six-monthly Reports to Parliament on Hong Kong, and discussions we have with our Chinese counterparts. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case both in her working dinner with G7 foreign ministers in Canada on 11 November, and a phone call with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on 6 November.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Mass Atrocity Prevention Hub is operational.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer of 2 December to question HL12019.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why a Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability report on Sudan has not been commissioned.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
As I told the Noble Lord in my answer to Question HL11438, regular and ongoing analysis of the situation in Sudan is taking place across government, with support from external experts, to inform the UK's policy-making, and as such, there has been no requirement to commission a separate analysis of the type he describes.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that references to genocide were removed from a risk assessment of Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Ministers in the current Government are not in a position to comment on the preparation of assessments under a previous administration, but I would note that official spokespeople for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have rejected the reports to which the Noble Lord refers, and explained that the UK only makes formal determinations of genocide based on the judgement of a competent court, after consideration of all the evidence available, in the context of a credible judicial process.