Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the comments by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 is fundamentally discriminatory against Muslims, what representations they are making to the government of India about ensuring equal treatment of people of all faiths when granting citizenship.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India are following reports on the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens, as well as the Government of India’s response. We raise our concerns with the Government of India where appropriate. I discussed the Government of India’s intent with, and popular response to, the CAA with India’s Minister of State for External Affairs on 19 December 2019. The British High Commissioner in New Delhi also raised this issue with the Indian Government on 6 January.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of India about the proposed National Register of Citizens; and in particular reports (1) that the Register may leave more than two million Muslims in Assam without citizenship and stateless, and (2) that detention camps are being constructed for such stateless persons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India are following reports on the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens, as well as the Government of India’s response. We raise our concerns with the Government of India where appropriate. I discussed the Government of India’s intent with, and popular response to, the CAA with India’s Minister of State for External Affairs on 19 December 2019. The British High Commissioner in New Delhi also raised this issue with the Indian Government on 6 January.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the suicide bombing resulting in the death of 19 Sikhs in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in July, what representations they intend to make to the government of India to encourage it to offer asylum or safe passage to Sikhs wishing to leave Afghanistan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government condemned the 1 July attack on a group of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific publicly described it as “a despicable attack on Afghanistan’s historic Sikh and Hindu community”. As part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, the UK supports the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in its efforts to improve security for all communities in Afghanistan. NATO’s Resolute Support Mission is also assisting the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces with security planning for the upcoming elections. The UK regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Afghanistan, including the need to protect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups in line with the constitution.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the suicide bombing resulting in the death of 19 Sikhs in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in July, what discussions they intend to have with Afghan authorities to safeguard the security and right to freedom of belief of the country’s remaining Sikh population.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government condemned the 1 July attack on a group of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific publicly described it as “a despicable attack on Afghanistan’s historic Sikh and Hindu community”. As part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, the UK supports the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in its efforts to improve security for all communities in Afghanistan. NATO’s Resolute Support Mission is also assisting the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces with security planning for the upcoming elections. The UK regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Afghanistan, including the need to protect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups in line with the constitution.