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 a BBC journalist in Vietnam has had her passport and identity card withheld and been subject to questioning, and whether they will raise that case with the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam during his visit to the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We remain concerned by the reported harassment of non-governmental organisations (NGO), journalists, and rights activists and communities in Vietnam and continue to raise these concerns directly with our Vietnamese counterparts. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific raised this case with Vice Foreign Minister Hang on 13 October, as did the Prime Minister with General Secretary To Lam of Vietnam on 29 October, and the Foreign Secretary with Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Le Hoai Trung on 30 October.
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 statement made by Diene Keita, a director of the United Nations Population Fund, on a reported mass killing of patients and their families at El Fasher Maternity Hospital in Sudan after the seizure of the city by the Rapid Support Forces; and what steps they are taking in response.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave in response to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians, heard in the House of Lords on 4 November.
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 executions and ethnic cleansing in El Fasher and Darfur; what steps they are taking in response; and what plans they have to raise those atrocities at the United Nations Security Council and with countries that support the Rapid Support Forces.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave in response to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians, heard in the House of Lords on 4 November.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to the people of Sudan, in particular those in Darfur, following the fall of El Fasher, and what estimate they have made of the number of people who are benefitting from that assistance.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave in response to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians, heard in the House of Lords on 4 November.
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 situation in Sudan, in particular in El Fasher, following that city's fall to the Rapid Support Forces.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answers I gave in response to the Urgent Question on Sudan: Protection of Civilians, heard in the House of Lords on 4 November.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last conducted a joint analysis of conflict and stability assessment for Sudan, and what steps they have taken as a result of the findings of that assessment.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The last Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) assessment for Sudan was completed in 2019. Regular and ongoing analysis, from across the UK Government and from external experts, covering all aspects of the situation in Sudan forms a crucial part of the policy making process.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what involvement the Mass Atrocity Assessment Hub has in assessing the scale and nature of atrocity crimes in Sudan, and how that analysis is shaping the response to those atrocities.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Mass Atrocity Hub is now part of The Conflict and Atrocity Prevention Department, which has been working closely with the Africa Directorate on Sudan since April 2023. Support has included assessing the risk of atrocities in Sudan, providing analytical capabilities to collect, verify and preserve open-source data relating to potential atrocity crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, as well as technical advisory support on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's atrocity prevention and response workstreams.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether public sector contracting authorities are required to adopt scientific tools under the Procurement Act 2023 to assess the presence of forced labour in suppliers’ operations; and if so, how their use is being evaluated and whether such technology is being rolled out for more extensive use.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Abhorrent practices such as modern slavery, human trafficking and human rights abuses have no place in public supply chains or in wider society. This Government is determined to stamp this out. Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 009 ‘Tackling Modern Slavery in Government Supply Chains’ encourages departments to conduct due diligence using a range of tools and approaches to assess risks. The PPN sets out key actions to identify risks and recommends the use of tools such as the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool to support departments in managing risks.
The Procurement Act 2023 also provides contracting authorities with stronger powers to exclude suppliers from public procurements where there is compelling evidence of modern slavery within their supply chains.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the government of Syria concerning the direct targeting of the Druze community, including targeted killings, enforced disappearances and sexual violence; and what steps they are taking to engage with Syria and its approach to protecting religious freedom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We were deeply concerned by the escalation of violence between Druze and Bedouin militias in southern Syria in July, and welcomed the ceasefire brokered by the US. The former Foreign Secretary spoke with Foreign Minister al Shaibani on 18 July to raise our concerns about events in Suwayda and to press the Syrian Government to conduct a full investigation into the crimes committed. We welcome the announcement on 31 July of the formation of a committee to hold a full investigation into the violence. When the former Foreign Secretary Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, met the Foreign Minister and Justice Minister in Damascus on 27 August, he underlined the importance of accountability, including holding to account the government's own forces. We continue to advocate for an inclusive political transition and the protection of rights of all Syrians, regardless of religious or ethnic background.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK public policy and the protection of vulnerable people of the lawsuit by Matt and Maria Raine against OpenAI over the death of their teenage son.
Answered by Lord Leong - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is deeply concerned about every death by suicide, including those that occur following content viewed online. The government keeps all legislation under review and will act where needed to protect and support vulnerable people in society.
Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must protect all users from in-scope illegal content and children from in-scope harmful content, such as suicide content, including where it is AI generated.
The government is committed to keeping children safe online and will not hesitate to strengthen the law where required to further protect them.