Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sudanese counterpart on recent reports of the arrest by the Sudan police of fourteen academics in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are aware of an incident in February during which a number of academics were arrested by Sudan's security services following a protest outside the University of Khartoum. We understand that these individuals were released within 24 hours. The UK has made frequent representations to the Government of Sudan through official engagement in Khartoum, public messaging and at Ministerial levels, urging the authorities to respect in full the right of the Sudanese people to protest. We continue to call for the immediate release of all of those detained as a result of protests, and for them to be treated in accordance with international standards.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of human rights violations that have recently taken place in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Figures from the respected Zimbabwe Human Rights Non-Government Organisations (NGO) Forum and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission suggest at least 17 deaths, 81 gunshot injuries and many hundreds of other injuries. They also recorded at least 17 incidents of sexual assault by security forces and 873 arrests and detentions.
I summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador on 17 January and spoke to Foreign Minister Moyo on 30 January, to express our concern at the ongoing situation, urge the security forces to stop using disproportionate force, and to investigate any cases of alleged human rights violations.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Christians at risk of religious persecution in countries with a high level of such persecution.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government supports the right of people of all religions – and non-religious people – to practise their beliefs in peace and safety. We are doing this in a number of ways. Through our bilateral work we lobby host governments to raise individual cases and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised the rights of all Pakistani citizens, including religious minorities, during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016. Multilaterally, we work to sustain consensus support for United Nations Human Rights Council resolutions which promote freedom of religion. We also support a number of projects at grass roots level. For example, we are funding a network of human rights defenders who are working for Freedom of Religion or Belief in South Asia. In Syria and Iraq, where Christians and people of other religions have suffered such appalling persecution and violence at the hands of Daesh, our main contribution to ending the persecution of religious minorities is our support for the international effort to defeat Daesh and return the region to stability and peace.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Pakistan on the protection of religious minorities and the charge of blasphemy.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We are concerned about continuing reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their religion or beliefs. Our concerns are reflected in the latest update to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual human rights report.
We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of minority communities, including religious minorities, and misuse of the blasphemy laws with the Pakistani Government at a senior level. During my visit to Pakistan in January, I raised our concerns about religious minorities with Kamran Michael, Pakistani Minister for Human Rights, and Barrister Zafarullah Khan, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant for Human Rights. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) discussed the misuse of the blasphemy laws and the importance we attach to safeguarding the rights of all Pakistan's citizens during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Russian Government on the persecution of the LGBT community in Chechnya.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to my response to written question 70842, and the answers I gave when replying to an Urgent Question in the House on 20 April 2017. Since then, the FCO Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia has written to the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom setting out our concerns and calling for the Russian authorities to undertake a complete investigation.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK is deeply concerned by the continuing violence in many parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We frequently raise the issue with the Government of DRC who are ultimately responsible for providing security for their citizens. We also recognise the need for the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) to deliver more, especially since its mandate was renewed in March. We have pushed hard in the UN Security Council for the protection of civilians to be the mission’s first priority. A growing body of evidence implicates elements of the Congolese security services in killings and other human rights violations. We have made clear that those who commit such violations, will face consequences for their actions. EU sanctions are currently being considered.