Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the sanctioning of Mian Abdul Haq as a human rights violator on 9 December 2022, what assessment they have made of whether that sanctioning has been successful in preventing the forced conversion and abduction of women and girls from minority communities, and what further representations they have made to the government of Pakistan in this regard.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. Designating Mian Abdul Haq sent a clear message to those responsible that the UK considers this behaviour unacceptable. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), women and girls' rights and gender equality at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. Through our Aawaz programme, we continue to tackle issues of gender-based violence and work directly with communities to raise their awareness of the harms of early and forced marriages.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the Sikh community was not informed in 2014 that Hugh Powell was conducting the Heywood Review into allegations of UK involvement in the Indian Army's operation against the Golden Temple, with particular regard to the fact that his father was the Prime Minister's private secretary at the time of the operation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Heywood review of 2014 worked specifically to establish facts about the UK advice and assistance to the Indian Government during Operation Blue Star 1984. It concluded that UK assistance was advisory, ended several months before the operation and had limited impact on the tragic events that followed. The UK Government has concluded that there is no basis to challenge the conclusions of the 2014 review or to review the broader decisions of the government of the day.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there were grounds for Hugh Powell to recuse himself from the Heywood Review into allegations of UK involvement in the Indian Army's operation against the Golden Temple considering his father's position as the Prime Minister's private secretary at the time of the operation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Heywood review of 2014 worked specifically to establish facts about the UK advice and assistance to the Indian Government during Operation Blue Star 1984. It concluded that UK assistance was advisory, ended several months before the operation and had limited impact on the tragic events that followed. The UK Government has concluded that there is no basis to challenge the conclusions of the 2014 review or to review the broader decisions of the government of the day.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impartiality of the Heywood review into allegations of UK involvement in the Indian Army's operation against the Golden Temple in the light of reports that the father of a senior member of that review was the Prime Minister's private secretary at the time of the operation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Heywood review of 2014 worked specifically to establish facts about the UK advice and assistance to the Indian Government during Operation Blue Star 1984. It concluded that UK assistance was advisory, ended several months before the operation and had limited impact on the tragic events that followed. The UK Government has concluded that there is no basis to challenge the conclusions of the 2014 review or to review the broader decisions of the government of the day.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) discrimination against religious minorities and women, (2) the use of the death penalty, and (3) reports of extrajudicial killings, in Saudi Arabia; and on what basis they describe Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding bilateral relationship based on trade; investment; defence; security; energy and shared concerns about regional issues. We have vital national security and economic interests in maintaining and developing our relationship with Saudi Arabia, including in how we work together to tackle regional threats. No aspect of our relationship with Saudi Arabia prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights. We monitor a range of human rights issues in the Kingdom, including those pertaining to women, religious minorities and the continued use of the death penalty in the Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of hosting the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July; and whether any binding commitments were made by participating countries to prohibit discrimination against minority faiths and beliefs.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We anticipate that the total budget for the Conference will be in the region of £3.3million. The Conference explored the many facets of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) through seventeen themed panel sessions and gave a platform to those persecuted for their religion or belief. Forty-seven governments, international organisations and other entities made pledges to take action in support of FoRB. Thirty-four countries joined the UK in signing up to one or more of a set of non-legally binding statements protecting and promoting FoRB for all. The statements and co-signatories are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/international-ministerial-conference-on-freedom-of-religion-or-belief-2022-conference-statements
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July resulted in any consensus of action to address the root causes of discrimination against and persecution of those holding different faiths and beliefs.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Conference explored the many facets of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) through seventeen themed panel sessions and gave a platform to those persecuted for their religion or belief. Forty-seven governments, international organisations and other entities made pledges to take action in support of FoRB. Thirty-four countries joined the UK in signing up to one or more of a set of non-legally binding statements protecting and promoting FoRB for all. The statements and co-signatories are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/international-ministerial-Conference-on-freedom-of-religion-or-belief-2022-Conference-statements
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they invited Pakistani clerics Hassan Haseeb-ur-Rehman and Muhammad Naqib-ur-Rahmam to the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July; and what assessment they made of the effect those invitations would have on religious harmony and social cohesion in the UK and beyond.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government consulted with international and domestic partners and set up a Conference Advisory Committee (CAC) with representatives from a range of religion or belief communities, academia and human rights groups to consider invitees to the UK-hosted Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB).
In the spirit of fostering a healthy dialogue and promoting open societies, we invited a wide and diverse range of participants from over 120 countries. We successfully brought together over 800 faith and belief leaders, human rights actors, civil society and 100 government delegations to agree and work towards joint action on promoting FoRB for all.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any working group comprising members of different faiths was established at the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July to highlight important commonalities between different faiths and eradicate the myth of irreconcilable differences.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB, we hosted an International Ministerial Conference on FoRB on 5-6 July 2022.
No specific working groups were set up during the Conference, however, we worked closely with our international and domestic partners in the run up to the Conference and set up a Conference Advisory Committee with representatives from a range of religion or belief communities, academia and human rights groups. We successfully brought together over 800 faith and belief leaders, human rights actors, civil society and 100 government delegations to agree and work towards joint action on promoting FoRB for all. As outlined in our Written Ministerial Statement following the Conference ( https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-07-15/hlws204), we will continue to build coalitions of government and civil society actors focussed on key themes from the Conference, drawing on the convening power of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to promote FoRB for all.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any working group was set up at the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July to address cultural practices that stigmatise other faiths and beliefs.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB, we hosted an International Ministerial Conference on FoRB on 5-6 July 2022.
No specific working groups were set up during the Conference, however, we worked closely with our international and domestic partners in the run up to the Conference and set up a Conference Advisory Committee with representatives from a range of religion or belief communities, academia and human rights groups. We successfully brought together over 800 faith and belief leaders, human rights actors, civil society and 100 government delegations to agree and work towards joint action on promoting FoRB for all. As outlined in our Written Ministerial Statement following the Conference ( https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-07-15/hlws204), we will continue to build coalitions of government and civil society actors focussed on key themes from the Conference, drawing on the convening power of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to promote FoRB for all.