Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on the arrest and charging of people affiliated with the Atajurt movement.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned about human rights abuses in China, including in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities remain subject to arbitrary detention and persecution. We also condemn the use of transnational repression, including the intimidation or harassment by foreign governments of their critics overseas. We continue to raise our concerns with China at the highest levels, most recently in the Prime Minister's meeting with President Xi Jinping in January.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his contribution in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Debate, Hansard entry 5th February 2026, Column 522, if he will publish the assessment which he stated has been conducted by the UK Government with regards to the risk of genocide occurring in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's commitment to international law, including the Genocide Convention, is unwavering and we have always acted consistently with our obligations. In relation to the Provisional Measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024, the UK has been clear that Israel has an obligation to implement these measures.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his contribution in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Debate, Hansard entry 5th February 2026, Column 522, if he will publish the Government's criteria with for conducting its assessments of the risk of genocide occurring in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's commitment to international law, including the Genocide Convention, is unwavering and we have always acted consistently with our obligations. In relation to the Provisional Measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024, the UK has been clear that Israel has an obligation to implement these measures.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his contribution in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Debate, Hansard entry 5th February 2026, Column 523, whether the Government will publish its assessment of the ICJ Provisional Measures of January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's commitment to international law, including the Genocide Convention, is unwavering and we have always acted consistently with our obligations. In relation to the Provisional Measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of January 2024, March 2024 and May 2024, the UK has been clear that Israel has an obligation to implement these measures.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she had made representations to the Government of Malaysia on the detention and deportation of Rohingya refugees.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly engage with the Government of Malaysia on a range of international matters, including human rights and humanitarian issues. We continue to encourage all countries to ensure that the rights and safety of vulnerable populations, including the Rohingya, are respected and protected. In July 2025, the previous Foreign Secretary raised Myanmar with the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Iran concerning the disproportionate arrests and harsh interrogations of Jews, Christians, and Baha’is in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary told Foreign Minister Araghchi directly that the Iranian Government must immediately end the violence carried out against peaceful protestors in Iran, and uphold fundamental rights and freedoms.
We subsequently led the call, alongside international partners, for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 23 January to address the ongoing abuses in Iran, and we were pleased that the Council voted to extend the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to collect evidence of the authorities' human rights violations, including in relation to religion or belief.
At the Council, UK Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders, highlighted the bravery of protesters, especially women and members of religious and ethnic minority groups, who faced severe repression in their daily lives. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief.
For further background, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 August 2025 to Question 67802.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of Viet Nam following the extradition of Y Quynh Bdap from Thailand; and whether she has sought urgent clarification of his whereabouts, his health and wellbeing, and guarantees that he will be granted access to lawyers, family members, and independent observers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 83589.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of concerns for the safety of Vietnamese human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap; and what discussions she has had with her Vietnamese counterparts on his wellbeing.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 83589.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of the United Arab Emirates support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the responses provided in the Urgent Question debate on 5 November and the statement on Sudan made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, when these issues were discussed at length.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has raised reports of support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan by the government of the United Arab Emirates with her Emirati counterpart.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the responses provided in the Urgent Question debate on 5 November and the statement on Sudan made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, when these issues were discussed at length.