Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the involvement of retired UK judges in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeals, given the bounties placed by the government of Hong Kong on three residents of the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK judges that remain on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal are retired from UK judicial service. The UK judiciary and legal profession are independent from the UK Government. As private citizens, It is for the individuals concerned to make their own personal decisions on their continued service in Hong Kong.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China concerning the bounties offered for the capture of three residents of the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 13 July, at the Foreign Secretary's instruction, his senior official conducted a formal démarche of the Chinese Ambassador. The senior official set out our strong objections to actions in Hong Kong in recent weeks, including the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for eight individuals living overseas, three of whom live in the UK, as well as the detention and questioning of the family members of some of those individuals in Hong Kong. We also expressed our ongoing opposition to the imposition of the National Security Law by Beijing on Hong Kong, which is a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Jau prison in Bahrain, whether they will make representations to the government of Bahrain to guarantee the safe, unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, including Hassan Mushaima.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly discuss the challenges of managing Covid-19 in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government and continue to engage with the Government of Bahrain to support its reform agenda, and to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments. We continue to monitor and raise the case of Hassan Mushaima and others, as necessary, at senior levels with the Bahraini Government.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to impress upon the government of Bahrain the need to comply with international law in connection with the detention of political prisoners.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defending human rights and promoting democracy around the world is a core priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and its diplomatic network. The UK government monitors events closely and we regularly engage with senior members of the Bahraini government to discuss matters of importance, including human rights.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conduct of the government of Iran following the arrest of students Ali Younesi, Amir Hossein Moradi and 18 other individuals who expressed their objection to the policies of that government; and what representations they intend to make to the government of Iran about human rights breaches.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK. We remain deeply concerned by Iran's failure to uphold its international legal obligations. Many citizens have been arrested on unclear charges, arbitrarily detained and denied due process, all contrary to international human rights law.
We regularly express our human rights concerns to the Iranian authorities and we continue to take action both bilaterally and with the international community, to press Iran to improve its poor human rights record.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much financial support they provide to the BRICS/Wasafiri countering violent extremism programme in Kenya; and what assessment they have made of (1) the programme’s effect on Al-Shabaab, (2) its effect on the national security of the UK and Kenya respectively, and (3) its value for money in the context of UK overseas commitments.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Between November 2015 and August 2018, through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund we invested £7.5m in the Building Resilience Civil Society (BRICS) programme in East Africa. The programme has improved our understanding of the drivers of violent extremism in East Africa and, through civil society organisations, supported governments in the region to strengthen their response to violent extremism. In Kenya, the programme has helped the development of county action plans to tackle violent extremism in four counties, including in relation to Al-Shabaab. The UK-Kenya Security Compact, signed during the Prime Minister's visit in August, includes a commitment to roll out these action plans to more counties. The programme also provided grants to civil society organisations working with young people at risk of radicalisation or recruitment by violent extremist groups. In June, our BRICS programme received an ‘A’ for outcome and was commended for its focus on learning and responsive programming. The Annual Review summary will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Bulgaria following the report by the US Department of State, Bulgaria 2017 Human Rights Report, which stated that there were high levels of corruption and a lack of judicial independence in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Embassy in Sofia has long-standing engagement with the Bulgarian Government and other institutions on the issues raised in the report, both bilaterally and through the European Commission’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the government of Poland following the decision by the EU Commission to initiate Article 7.1 against Poland on the grounds that the independence of Poland’s judiciary has been undermined.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK places great importance on respect for the rule of law, while making clear our position that constitutional arrangements are primarily a matter for national governments, within the framework of international norms. We discuss Rule of Law in private with Polish counterparts, most recently the former Foreign Secretary with the Polish Foreign Minister in June. The British Embassy in Warsaw also discuss the matter with Polish officials.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about disclosing the locations of the victims of the 1988 prison killings.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. When a new Special Rapporteur is appointed, we will call on Iran to grant them access so they can investigate human rights concerns reported there, including the 1988 executions and the recent destruction of mass graves. We also raise our human rights concerns directly with the Iranian Government; the Foreign Secretary did so with his Iranian counterpart during his visit to Tehran in December and the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed human rights concerns with his Iranian counterpart in London in February. While at present we have no plans to request an inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into the 1988 executions of political prisoners in Iran or the recent destruction of mass graves, we continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty and by supporting the work done by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about bringing those responsible for the extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances of Iranians in 1988 to justice in fair proceedings without recourse to the death penalty, as recommended by Amnesty International and Justice for Iran in their report Criminal Cover-up: Iran destroying mass graves of victims of 1988 killings.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. When a new Special Rapporteur is appointed, we will call on Iran to grant them access so they can investigate human rights concerns reported there, including the 1988 executions and the recent destruction of mass graves. We also raise our human rights concerns directly with the Iranian Government; the Foreign Secretary did so with his Iranian counterpart during his visit to Tehran in December and the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa discussed human rights concerns with his Iranian counterpart in London in February. While at present we have no plans to request an inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into the 1988 executions of political prisoners in Iran or the recent destruction of mass graves, we continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty and by supporting the work done by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran.