Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of the treatment of Liverpool supporters attending the Champions League Final, what steps they have taken, in partnership with the relevant footballing bodies, to ensure that British football supporters can safely attend the Qatar World Cup; and what steps they have taken to ensure justice for those fans who were mistreated at the Champions League Final.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We welcome the fact that UEFA have commissioned an independent investigation into the Champions League final, and issued an apology to fans who attended; and that the French Government has commissioned a review of the delivery of the event and will also be supporting the UEFA investigation. The UK and French Sports Ministers met earlier this month and we will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities and Liverpool FC.
Regarding the upcoming World Cup, we are working with Qatar to support their delivery of a safe and secure tournament for all British Nationals who will be attending. We continue to engage closely with Qatari authorities on their security preparations, and UK police will be offering support and advice on engaging with fans attending from the UK. We are also encouraging fans to read the FCDO's Qatar World Cup Travel Advice, and sign up for email alerts to stay up to date on the latest information.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk to British athletes exercising their freedom of speech while attending the Winter Olympics in China, following reported comments from a Chinese official about "punishment" for those who act or speak "against the Olympic spirit"; and what steps they are taking, if any, to protect British athletes.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have provided specific advice to the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations, including in respect of security, Chinese law and society, to ensure Team GB and Paralympics GB are as well prepared as possible for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. We wish our athletes every success and they will continue to have our full support throughout the games. Officials in Beijing stand ready to provide consular assistance if needed.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about reports of human rights abuses against Uighur people including the use of (1) detention camps, (2) forced labour, (3) torture, (4) rape, and (5) sterilisation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have repeatedly raised our deep concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang at senior levels with the Chinese Government, including the Foreign Secretary raising directly with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Counsellor Wang Yi on a number of occasions in the past year. Through these representations we have underlined a wide range of specific concerns, including the extra-judicial detention of Uyghurs and other minorities and the credible reports of forced labour, torture, rape and forced sterilisation.
The UK has also repeatedly taken a leading international role in holding China to account for these human rights violations, including at the UN. For example, in a joint statement at the UN General Assembly Third Committee in October 2020, alongside Germany, we brought together a total of 39 countries to express grave concern at the situation in Xinjiang, referenced detention camps and reports of forced labour and forced sterilisation. The UK's national, Item 4 statement at the UN Human Rights Council in September 2020 also underlined our concern about these issues.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what humanitarian assistance they have provided to protect civilians displaced by the conflict in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are concerned by the ongoing violence in the Tigray region and the risks posed to civilian lives. We have called on all involved to ensure the protection of civilians, and to restore and maintain humanitarian access to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance and essential services. We are in close contact with UK funded humanitarian agencies working in Tigray to understand humanitarian needs and programme adaptations.
In Ethiopia, the UK provides funds to the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Ethiopian Humanitarian Fund, to provide food assistance, shelter, water and sanitation, health, nutrition and protection support. In Sudan, flexible UK funding to WFP and the UNHCR is already helping new refugees from Ethiopia to receive emergency assistance, including shelter and food. These agencies have proven themselves capable of working in high risk contexts, in Ethiopia and elsewhere, and for managing UK funds adeptly.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what aid they have provided to support those who have been affected by the flooding in Jamaica.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK works with regional organisations and Governments of the Commonwealth Caribbean, including Jamaica to strengthen disaster preparedness, help with recovery and build resilience. This includes access to rapid funding for disaster surge response through the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency; the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, an insurance mechanism which makes pay-outs to Caribbean Governments impacted by a disaster; and the UK financed Global Risk Financing Facility which provided £14.85 million to help Jamaica strengthen financial resilience to tropical cyclones, excess rainfall, and earthquake disasters and will enable early action after disasters.
While there has been no request to the UK Government for humanitarian support in Jamaica related to flooding, these funds are available for the Government of Jamaica to draw on if that is required
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the State of Global Air Report 2020, published by the Health Effects Institute in October, in particular its finding that air pollution contributed to nearly 500,000 deaths among infants in their first month of life in 2019.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We welcome the Health Effects Institute's 'State of Global Air' report highlighting the issue of air quality and its impact on health. The World Health Organization estimates that household air pollution from cooking with traditional solid fuels contributes to 3-4 million premature deaths every year, which is more than malaria and tuberculosis combined. Research has also shown that indoor air pollution exacerbates the impact of respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19.
Women and children, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries, are disproportionally affected by indoor air pollution. The Government has made a commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children in the developing world by 2030. This includes delivering quality essential health services and promoting healthier lives and environments.
Our International Climate Finance includes up to £1 billion for the Ayrton Fund, which includes support for research, development and demonstration of new clean energy technologies with the potential to improve air quality, health outcomes, and reduce carbon emissions in developing countries. The £38 million FCDO-funded Modern Energy Cooking Services research programme is working towards universal access to clean and affordable cooking technologies. Such technologies have the potential to displace harmful cooking practices used by almost 3 billion people in the developing world, helping to eliminate indoor air pollution and the preventable deaths it causes.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments in the Sahel region about (1) addressing the Central Sahel crisis, and (2) prioritising efforts to address gender-based violence.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation and humanitarian crisis in the Sahel. We are committed to working with the G5 Sahel countries and international partners to build long-term peace and stability, protect civilians and ensure our humanitarian support is able to reach those most in need. We have raised concerns about the escalating violence and allegations of human rights violations at the UN Security Council and in the region. We have called for all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and have urged G5 governments to ensure those responsible are brought to justice. The Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, attended the first meeting of the Sahel Alliance General Assembly and the sixth Summit of the G5 Leaders in Mauritania on 25 February 2020. At the meetings, the Minister reaffirmed the UK's efforts to improve security and encourage development in the Sahel.
We advocate regularly for a humanitarian response that protects those affected by conflict and violence, including women and girls. On 15 October 2020, the UK co-hosted a side event with the Norwegian Refugee Council and OCHA, calling for strengthened civilian-military coordination to improve humanitarian access in the region. This was followed by a Ministerial Roundtable, including G5 governments, on 20 October 2020 where the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and Minister of State, Lord Ahmad, announced an additional £8 million for the UK's humanitarian programme in the Sahel. Through our leadership on gender in the Sahel Alliance, we work collectively with other donors to increase the impact of investments on gender equality, and to encourage G5 governments to protect the fundamental rights of women and girls.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scale of attacks carried out by Nigerian security forces on protestors in Nigeria; and what assistance they are providing to programmes in that country that aim to strengthen the freedom of expression and the rule of law.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK Government is deeply concerned by violence during protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, which has tragically claimed lives. Our thoughts are with the families of all those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. The Minister for Africa repeated this message to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 23 October. We welcome President Buhari's decision to disband the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and the establishment of judicial panels of inquiry to investigate allegations of brutality by the security services. It is vital these panels receive full police and military cooperation. They must investigate all incidents, including in Lagos, properly.
The UK Government has supported police reform in Nigeria. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to improve the accountability and responsiveness of the Nigerian Police Force in line with its human rights obligations. The Nigerian authorities must uphold human rights and the rule of law, investigate any incidents of police brutality and hold those responsible to account. Through our CSSF-funded Nigeria Policing Programme, which ended in March 2020, FSARS officers participated in training on amended Nigerian police guidance designed to improve human rights, training on public finance, and community policing workshops. The Nigeria Policing Programme was part of our Security and Justice Reform Programme, which is working to help deliver a criminal justice system that better protects the human rights of all Nigerians.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the government of Nigeria about human rights abuses in that country, in particular those in relation to police brutality, illegal detentions, and assaults carried out by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
In response to serious allegations against the Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad (FSARS) in Nigeria and subsequent protests, the Foreign Secretary, our High Commissioner and the Minister for Africa have all responded publicly calling for police reform in the country and supporting the right to peaceful protest. We welcome the changes announced by the Nigerian Government in response to the public outcry, including President Buhari's decision to disband FSARS. The High Commissioner has raised the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government and we will continue to monitor the protests closely.
We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting human rights for all. We will continue to push the Nigerian police to uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations and to investigate allegations of police brutality, illegal detentions and assaults, holding those responsible to account. We are working with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to support broader police reform in Nigeria, and we are developing proposals to support new police regulations to create a more accountable and responsive policing model in Nigeria.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about (1) the enactment and imposition by China of national security legislation for Hong Kong, and (2) ensuring that people who peacefully exercise their rights to assembly, freedom of expression and association are protected.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary made clear to Parliament on 1 July, the imposition by China of the National Security Law on Hong Kong constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The legislation contains a slew of measures that directly threaten the freedoms and rights protected by the Joint Declaration.
Freedom of speech, assembly and association are explicitly guaranteed in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. The Hong Kong authorities must uphold the rights and freedoms of its people.
On 1 July, the Permanent Under Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office summoned the Chinese Ambassador to make clear the UK's deep concerns. The UK Consul General in Hong Kong has also raised our concerns with Hong Kong's Executive Council. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Chinese State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi on 8 June and 28 July. We have also made our views clear at the United Nations. The UK, with the US, raised the issue at the UN Security Council on 29 May. At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 30 June, the UK led a formal Joint Statement with the support of 27 international partners, setting out our deep concern both on Hong Kong and Xinjiang. On 23 September, the UK hosted a virtual side event in the margins of the UN Human Rights Council on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, which was co-sponsored by Canada and Australia. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Governments of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, both privately and publicly.