Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) international and (b) Chinese counterparts on (i) the Xinjiang Police Files, published in 2022, and (ii) allegations of human rights violations in those documents.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghur Muslims. We continue to refer to the OHCHR's 2022 Xinjiang Assessment, which is based on independent evidence and China's own records, including the Xinjiang Police Files. We raise our concerns on human rights at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international human rights organisations on (a) the Xinjiang Police Files and (b) the adequacy of human rights in the Uyghur Region.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghur Muslims. We continue to refer to the OHCHR's 2022 Xinjiang Assessment, which is based on independent evidence and China's own records, including the Xinjiang Police Files. We raise our concerns on human rights at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the Xinjiang Police Files in 2022.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghur Muslims. We continue to refer to the OHCHR's 2022 Xinjiang Assessment, which is based on independent evidence and China's own records, including the Xinjiang Police Files. We raise our concerns on human rights at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor and Energy Secretary all raised human rights recently with their counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Ukraine on religious freedom, in the context of the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under law 3894.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK fully supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the terms of the law, including the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of law 3894 on religious freedom in Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. In contrast, Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK fully supports the intention behind Law 3894 "about protection of the constitutional system in field of activity of the religious organisations". The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law is not aimed at restricting freedom of religion or belief in Ukraine, but instead responds to clear national security threats. The Ukrainian Government is in ongoing consultation with religious and belief communities in Ukraine on the terms of the law, including the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
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 potential implications for his policies of the use of surveillance technology by authoritarian governments to target religious minorities; and what steps he is taking to ensure UK-based companies are not complicit in such repression through the (a) export and (b) licensing of relevant technologies.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. We are working bilaterally and multilaterally to hold countries to account for repression of religious or belief minorities.
The UK takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust export control regimes in the world. We will not grant an export licence for controlled surveillance technology, if to do so would be inconsistent with the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, including if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression. The UK has measures in place to ensure that the development, sale, export and use of any UK commercial surveillance tools happens responsibly. Such tools must not be used to facilitate arbitrary and unlawful surveillance, including the targeting of individuals or members of a group based on discriminatory grounds, or to violate or abuse human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
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 potential implications for his policies of the recent $1.5 billion cryptocurrency theft by North Korea; what steps he has taken to trace the assets and prevent further illicit transactions; what steps have been discussed to strengthen security protocols; and whether this has included the imposition of sanctions on cryptocurrency and related entities linked to North Korea.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is aware of reporting relating to the recent cyber activity linked to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, involving the cryptocurrency exchange ByBit. The UK has been consistent in challenging malicious cyber activity carried out by North Korean groups. This has included exposing and sanctioning North Korean actors for disruptive attacks that impacted the NHS. The National Cyber Security Centre has also issued multiple Cyber Security Advisories specifically on threats from North Korean groups, informing UK technical audience on the way these groups operate and ways to defend against them. We do not comment on future sanctions as this could affect their impact.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
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 potential impact of reductions to Official Development Assistance Spending on (a) Gavi, (b) the Global Fund and (c) other programmes.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for the funding of (a) the Global Fund and (b) other global HIV programmes, in the context of the planned reduction in Official Development Assistance spending.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. As part of this, we are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria with South Africa. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department plan to visit the official memorial in Girne in Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government reaffirms its highest respect for the memory and sacrifice of British and Cypriot service personnel and employees of the Crown who gave their lives, who lost family members or loved ones, and whose lives suffered permanent disruption as a result of the Cyprus Emergency. We recognise the significance of the British Cyprus memorial in Kyrenia to commemorate the sacrifices made by British soldiers in Cyprus. There are currently no plans for Ministers to visit the memorial but the British High Commission in Nicosia regularly honours those who bravely sacrificed their lives in Cyprus, including the annual laying of a wreath at the official Remembrance Day Service at the Nicosia War Cemetery where British soldiers are buried.