Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 ensure freedom of religious expression in China in response to reports of the sentencing in January 2021 of four Christians for selling audio bibles in that country.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are aware of reports of the sentencing of four Christians in China for selling audio bibles. We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. The former Foreign Secretary personally raised our serious concerns about the human rights situation in China with his Chinese counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a number of occasions, most recently on 27 May.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what engagement he has had with his counterpart in the Government of Nigeria on tackling the (a) activity of Fulani militants and (b) attacks by those militants on non-Muslims in that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government condemns all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria. The underlying drivers of intercommunal violence are complex, the perpetrators do not come from any one ethnic group, and the devastating effects are felt by communities of different faiths and ethnicities. It is inaccurate to attribute sole responsibility to one ethnic group, the Fulani, and terms like militia risk fuelling tensions between communities. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all those at risk of violence, bring perpetrators to justice and address the root causes of the violence.
During my visit to Nigeria in April, I [Minister Duddridge] discussed insecurity with the Foreign Minister and the President's Chief of Staff, and raised the importance of protecting all communities. I [Minister Duddridge] met the Foreign Minister again in July, along with Nigeria's Minister of State Education, where we discussed the impact of insecurity on education. In addition, our High Commissioner and her team regularly visit states affected by violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to engage with the Indonesian Government in response to the reported killing of four Christian men in the village of Kalimago in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, who were beheaded by Islamic extremists on the morning of 11 May 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK admires Indonesia's multi-faith, multi-ethnic democracy and supports the government's efforts to combat violent extremism, including the terrorist group that carried out these attacks in central Sulawesi. My thoughts are with the families of the victims. The Foreign Secretary signed a Memorandum of Understanding during his visit to Jakarta on 7 April to further strengthen our cooperation in countering regional and international terrorist threats.
Promoting Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) is a core aspect of the British Embassy Jakarta's work. In February our Ambassador met the Minister of Religious Affairs to discuss our collaboration in support of Indonesia's strong tradition of religious diversity and tolerance.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 effect of sanctions imposed as part of the Government response to the ongoing political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is a longstanding supporter of sanctions on the Myanmar military. Since the start of the coup, under the UK autonomous Myanmar and Global Human Rights regimes we have sanctioned nine individuals and three entities relating to the military. Additionally the Myanmar regulations prohibit the provision of military related services, including the provision of technical assistance, to or for the benefit of the Tatmadaw. We work closely with partners to pressure those who have not implemented such systems. Our approach to sanctions is to pursue targeted sanctions, this ensures that we are designating high impact targets whilst remaining committed to the principle of 'do no harm' with sanctions, to ensure that any measures balance the risk of disproportionately affecting innocent people. By working with partners such as the EU, US and Canada to sanction military officers and military owned conglomerates we have been able to put pressure on economic interests and also send a signal to the international community that we oppose the actions of the military. We are exploring all options to put further pressure on their economic interests.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Nigerian Government to protect children attending school from abduction after the abduction of pupils from a secondary school in Katsina state in December 2020.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government was deeply concerned about the abduction of Nigerian schoolboys from their school in Kankara, Katsina State on 11 December. Abductions of Nigerian schoolchildren are abhorrent and must stop. We welcome the news that they were released on 17 December. Following the attack, I publicly stressed that schoolchildren need to be protected and that all children should be able to access education without fear.
The UK provides a comprehensive package of stabilisation, development and humanitarian assistance to support communities in Northern Nigeria. Through the Education in Emergencies programme, we help fund the education of children affected by conflict. This includes supporting schools and communities to create conflict risk reduction plans to help protect children in schools. Since 2018, we have supported over 200,000 children in the North East to receive an education. We continue to advocate for the protection of children and schools across Nigeria. For example, we encourage the Nigerian Government to follow the Safe Schools Declaration, which sets out international guidelines to protect students, teachers and their schools during armed conflict.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what additional steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of religious belief in North Korea.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK continues to have strong concerns about the lack of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea. We continue to urge North Korea to uphold its human rights obligations and engage substantively with the international community on this issue. We regularly raise our concerns directly with the North Korean authorities and at the UN, including through the Human Rights Council and, most recently, in the Security Council in December 2020.
Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For example, the UK Government remains committed to implementing the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro's independent Review on persecuted Christians in full. One of those recommendations related to the establishment of the UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime. This regime came into effect on 6 July 2020 and allows us to designate those who commit serious human rights abuses or violations, including those who target individuals on the grounds of their religion or belief. We take decisions about whether particular individuals or entities could be subject to measures under the regime on a case-by-case basis. We have already designated two entities involved in administering the North Korean penal system.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 effect of the introduction of the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance legislation in India on freedom of religious belief and religious conversion in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The British High Commission in New Delhi maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation in India, and are monitoring developments regarding new inter-faith marriage laws in some Indian states, including the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance legislation in Uttar Pradesh. India has a proud history of religious tolerance and we trust the Government of India to address the concerns of any people that may be affected by this legislation. Where we have concerns, we will continue to raise them directly with the Government of India.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that an online Christian bookseller in China has been fined and given a seven-year prison sentence, what representations he is making to the Chinese Government on ensuring that (a) Christian books are available in China and (b) sellers of those books are not prosecuted.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of reports that a Christian bookseller has been arrested. The UK is deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and other religious groups on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share one's faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly raise our concerns about freedom of religion or belief in China, including at the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council on 25 September.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has has with his Turkish counterpart on freedom of religion among (a) Christian and (b) other minorities in that country..
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Turkish constitution provides for freedom of conscience and religion, regardless of an individual's citizenship. We regularly discuss these issues and will continue to engage the Turkish Government at all levels to urge respect for Freedom of Religion or Belief, which are essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy. Defending persecuted Christians, and persecuted individuals of all faiths or beliefs, remains a long-standing priority for the British Government. We will continue to monitor this important issue.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports that the Marie Stopes International franchise in Nairobi has been forced to close after police found that illegal abortions were being performed by staff who were not registered medical professionals, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK does not fund illegal and dangerous abortions in developing countries.
Answered by James Duddridge
FCDO has robust monitoring and evaluation procedures to ensure UK taxpayers' money is achieving the results we expect, and that funds are spent in compliance with FCDO guidance and local law. FCDO funds cannot be used to fund any illegal activities and we treat allegations of any improper use of funds extremely seriously.
All of our reviews demonstrate confidence in the quality of MSI's services in developing countries. We have no plans to reduce approved funding to MSI.
The majority of our investment in reproductive health is in programmes that aim to increase access to quality voluntary family planning information, services and supplies, so women and girls can avoid unwanted pregnancy in the first place. Only in countries where abortion is permitted, do we support programmes that make safe abortion more accessible. FCDO programmes in Kenya have not been supporting the provision of safe abortion service delivery.
The UK is dedicated to supporting women to fully exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights in order to lead healthy, fulfilling and prosperous lives.