Human Rights Violations: Consular Assistance

Debate between Lord Scriven and Lord Collins of Highbury

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

Again, let me reassure the noble Lord that we do take his imprisonment seriously. He knows very well that I raised these issues, together with him, when others did not. I assure him that the Foreign Secretary has raised the case. In fact, on 18 October, the Foreign Secretary raised it with Foreign Minister Wang Yi; and it was certainly raised under the previous Government on 5 December. We take this incredibly seriously. The problem remains with some issues of consular access because of dual nationals. The noble Lord knows that he and I have taken up other cases on that basis, but rest assured that we will continue to put much pressure on the Chinese Communist Party officials who are taking this action. We are extremely concerned about the continued imprisonment and I repeat that the Foreign Secretary will, as he assured the House of Commons on Monday, meet the family so that we can continue to give support at all levels.

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware of a case that I brought to his attention regarding a British citizen held in a jail in the Gulf states. His basic human rights have been undermined and he is being held in conditions that fall far short of international standards. Considering that this type of case is not unique, when will the 2022 Labour conference promise of David Lammy to introduce a legal right to consular assistance be implemented, and will minimum standards be part of that Bill?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hope I made it clear in my opening response that we are actively exploring with officials the implementation of our manifesto commitment. It is not just a statement from the Foreign Secretary but a manifesto commitment and we want to ensure that we get it right. We are having proper examination of this, both legally and diplomatically, so I hope that we will be able to make an announcement in due course. The problem with a lot of these individual cases—the noble Lord knows this as well—is that sometimes the efforts we put in cannot be as public as perhaps some people want. At the end of the day, as my noble friend raised in his original Question, we want to get these people out. We want to ensure that they are not detained arbitrarily and that proper due process is continued.

Bermuda: Same-sex Marriage

Debate between Lord Scriven and Lord Collins of Highbury

Thursday 8th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the response to the Urgent Question. I also thank my right honourable friend Chris Bryant for securing it in the other place. I have a special interest in Bermuda. My grandfather spent his whole working life in the naval dockyards there and my father was born there, so I have a deep interest in the affairs of Bermuda and this is a terrible backwards step. It turns same-sex couples into second-class citizens just a year after winning equality through the courts. We are told by the Minister in the other place that these are not “exceptional circumstances” for the governor to withhold consent. Surely protecting the rights of British citizens are exactly the circumstances in which to act, especially when those rights have been affirmed by the courts. I remind the Minister that not so long ago, on the sanctions Bill, he outlined LGBT rights as being an exception for the Government to act. So I have two straightforward questions for the Minister. What steps will the Government now take to mitigate or reverse this decision? Will the Government give financial support to British citizens who may wish to launch a legal challenge on this matter?

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, I too thank the Minister for repeating the reply to the Question in the other place. This is clearly a backward step, not just for LGBT rights but for human rights of LGBT citizens across the Commonwealth. Therefore, the Government are beholden to make a direct and forceful intervention in this situation. I have two questions for the Minister. First, what direct action did either the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary take to contact Bermuda’s Prime Minister or any other Minister of that area? Secondly, will the Government commit to ensure that this issue is now on the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this April so that it can be addressed as a human rights issue for every LGBT citizen in the Commonwealth?