Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect Afghan female judges in hiding from the Taliban.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All those at risk of persecution in Afghanistan are eligible to apply to the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, which will welcome up to a total of 20,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK over a five-year period. Women and girls at risk and those who have stood up for the rule of law, including female judges, will be eligible for the scheme.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Uyghurs in Afghanistan; and what steps he is taking to help protect ethnic minorities in Afghanistan who are at risk of persecution.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
According to NGO estimates, there are around 3,500 Uyhurs in Afghanistan. Minister for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 24 August to underscore the UK's commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan people. This commitment extends to all ethnic and religious communities, including the Uyghurs.
All those at risk of persecution in Afghanistan, including religious and ethnic minorities, are eligible to apply to the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, which will welcome up to a total of 20,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK over a five-year period.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports of the use of pellet guns on Kashmiri children; and if he will make representations to his Indian counterpart in response to those reports.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are concerned by reports of pellet gun use and in particular reports that children have been injured by pellet guns. We have raised concerns with the Indian Government. We call on all states to take preventive measures to protect children.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of its foreign travel advice for Hong Kong in the context of the recent arrests of journalists under the National Security Law and the closing of Apple Daily newspaper.
Answered by Nigel Adams
FCDO travel advice aims to inform British nationals so they can make decisions about travelling abroad. We constantly review all travel advice to make sure it reflects the current situation in that country or territory, and the latest assessment of risk to British people there.
Freedom of the press is one of the rights set down in paragraph 3(5) of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. It is vital that journalists are able to investigate and report without undue interference. We expect the Hong Kong authorities to abide by their international obligations and to investigate instances of attacks on the media.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK consulate officials have visited the pro-democracy activist and UK citizen Jimmy Lai in prison.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We remain concerned about the targeting of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, and are following these cases carefully. The Foreign Secretary commented on 16 April that the Hong Kong authorities' decision to target leading pro-democracy figures for prosecution is unacceptable and must stop. For data protection reasons I cannot share information about a person without their permission.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the recent Israeli right-wing march through Jerusalem; and if he will make representations to the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, on that matter.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government strongly condemns all forms of violence and incitement to violence, including the use of racist, hateful or anti-Palestinian language and any actions that could stir up hatred and prejudice. We have a regular dialogue with both the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence, including by promoting a more positive portrayal of one another to contribute to building the conditions needed for peace.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of Israeli security forces attacking Palestinian protesters in Sheikh Jarrah; and what steps the Government is taking towards a peace process that is (a) based on human rights and equality and (b) rooted in international law.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 8 May Minister Cleverly publicly expressed concern over tensions in Jerusalem linked to the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. We continue to urge Israel to cease such actions permanently. UK Officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to raise the issue regularly with the Israeli Authorities.
The UK continues to engage with the Israeli government on human rights issues in the context of the occupation. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. We urge the Israeli government to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of peaceful, legal protestors. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we continue to urge Israel to ensure that its investigations are transparent, swift and comprehensive. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his UAE counterpart on the release of human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Officials have raised the case of Ahmed Mansoor with Emirati authorities, including the UAE Ambassador to the UK. We encourage all states, including the UAE, to uphold international human rights obligations.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of correspondence sent by hon. Members to his Department received a substantive response with the service standard in each month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government recognises the great importance of effective and timely handling of Ministerial correspondence.
The Cabinet Office is currently compiling data on the timeliness of responses to Parliamentarians from Government Departments and Agencies. This data will be released, and made available to Members, in due course.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to end illegal annexation and occupation in Palestine; and what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on that matter.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life.
On 8 May I communicated online our concern over tensions in Jerusalem linked to the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. We continue to urge Israel to cease such actions, which in all but the most exceptional cases are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. We consistently call for an immediate end to all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution, including terrorism, anti-Semitic incitement, settlement expansion, and the demolition of Palestinian property in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.