Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any impact of the reintroduction of sanctions on Iran by the United States on refugee and migration flows from Iran.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The second set of US unilateral sanctions on Iran came into full force on 5 November. We consider it is therefore too soon to be able to fully assess the impact of the reintroduction of these sanctions on refugee and migration flows from Iran. However, Iran continues to be a significant source of migrants to the UK. Its economy has suffered from high inflation and a significant decline in the currency value this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps ahead of the Commonwealth Summit in 2018 to document levels of government restrictions and societal hostility towards religious freedom across the Commonwealth.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Her Majesty's Government remains firmly committed to the promotion and protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in all countries. Throughout our diplomatic network, including our High Commissions, diplomats are instructed to take account of human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief and report back to London.
On International Religious Freedom Day, I wrote to all Ambassadors and High Commissioners regarding the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s work to protect and promote FoRB globally. I have also initiated a series of roundtable discussions on FoRB with civil society and faith leaders to increase our collaboration in this area. Ministers and officials raise individual cases with relevant authorities and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief. We also speak out publicly in support of FoRB, for example during my recent visit to Bangladesh in August 2017, I visited the Ahmadiyya Mosque in Dhaka and made a call for religious tolerance. We also include reporting on FoRB in our Annual Human Rights Report, which includes some Commonwealth countries.
To support staff working on these issues, the FCO has re-issued its revised "toolkit" on FoRB and continues to provide training and seminars to increase religious literacy amongst staff.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority they have given to addressing freedom of religion or belief across the Commonwealth at next year’s Commonwealth Summit; and what funding, if any, has been allocated by the Cabinet Office’s Commonwealth Secretariat to deliver a programme of events around that issue in the run-up to the Summit.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains firmly committed to the promotion and protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief in all countries. The Prime Minister has announced the four themes for the summit: prosperity, security, sustainability and fairness. The summit will encourage all Commonwealth members to uphold the values set out in the Commonwealth Charter, including religious freedom or belief. We are currently working with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other member states to establish a detailed agenda for the week of the summit and the programme of events.
We are currently considering programmes for the UK's Commonwealth Chair-in-Office period, the two years following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018. We have agreed to support the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in hosting a forum which will bring parliamentarians from around the Commonwealth together for important discussions across the key challenges facing the Commonwealth, including upholding the Commonwealth Charter. We have also provided £20,000 to the Royal Commonwealth Society to support its interfaith service, which will take place in Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day in March 2018.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between (1) reports that Saudi Arabia funds organisations that promote a Salafist Wahhabist ideology, and (2) the growth of violent extremism.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 July, the Home Secretary announced the main findings of the Home Office's internal review into the nature, scale and origin of the funding of Islamist extremist activity in the UK, including any overseas sources. I refer the noble Lord to Written Statement HCWS39.
We work closely with Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism in all its manifestations, including countering violent extremism and terrorist financing. The Saudi Government's national strategy includes a number of important initiatives to counter extremism.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent announcement that he intends to return Saudi Arabia to a path of "moderate Islam".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcome recent developments under Vision 2030 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, such as the Royal Decree permitting women to drive from June 2018 and the announcement of a new economic city. We recognise HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments as part of these changes and we continue to encourage reform in Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mark, in 2018, the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2018, as in previous years, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will organise coordinated activities across its network of overseas posts and in London to commemorate Human Rights Day (10th December), which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
The Government strongly believes in the values enshrined in the UDHR and its continued relevance in global affairs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guarantees, if any, they sought from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Abdel al-Jubeir, when he visited London on 4 September, that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia will only be used in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During his visit to London on 4-5 September, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir had meetings with the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. Both raised the importance of Coalition compliance with their international humanitarian law obligations.
The UK Government takes its arms export licensing responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. Our defence exports to Saudi Arabia are kept under careful and continual review to ensure they meet the rigorous standards of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.
We welcomed the High Court’s ruling in July this year that UK Government decisions on arms export licensing to Saudi Arabia are lawful. The judgment stated the Government was rationally entitled to conclude that Saudi Arabia has been, and remains, genuinely committed to compliance with international humanitarian law. We note the application to appeal and will continue to defend the decisions challenged.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they made to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Abdel al-Jubeir, when he visited London on 4 September, concerning reports of financial and logistical support provided by Saudi Arabia to Daesh and other radical Sunni groups in the Middle East and Asia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This was not discussed on 5 September. We have seen no evidence to suggest there has been any funding of Daesh by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Where we do have concerns we do not shy away from raising them. Saudi Arabia has had its own painful experiences as the victim of numerous Daesh attacks. It is a key ally in the fight against Daesh, participating in coalition airstrikes to fight it and speaking out against its poisonous ideology.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they made to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Abdel al-Jubeir, when he visited London on 4 September, concerning religious freedom, eliminating discriminatory enforcement of laws against religious minorities, and promoting respect and tolerance for minority Muslim and non-Muslim religious practices and beliefs.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, particularly because of the restrictions on freedom of religion or belief. Although not discussed on 5 September, we regularly raise our concern with the Government of Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of freedom of religion or belief in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains a human rights priority country because of the restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief, including the prohibition on publicly practising religions other than Islam. The UK Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international human rights instruments.