Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to attend the World Press Freedom Conference hosted by the Netherlands and UNESCO.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK intends to participate fully in the World Press Freedom Conference in the Hague from 18 - 20 October, though we do not yet know whether COVID-19 restrictions will allow attendance in person, or whether participation will be virtual. The UK Government remains committed to marking this joint celebration of World Press Freedom Day and the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our Dutch partners on press freedom.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to include the presence of survivors of sexual violence from conflict zones at the Preventing Sexual Violence In Conflict Initiative Conference in November; and whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will liaise with the Home Office to ensure that such people are not prevented from entering the UK to attend that conference.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The PSVI conference 'Time For Justice: Putting Survivors First' will take a survivor-centred approach, focusing on tangible next steps and enabling survivors to contribute to policy debates and outcomes. The newly created role of PSVI Survivor Champion will help ensure that survivors' needs, concerns and priorities are at the forefront of our policy and programming, including for the conference.
The UK Government is working closely with stakeholders, including international survivor networks, to ensure survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from a range of countries and communities are involved in and can attend the PSVI conference on 18-20 November 2019. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is coordinating across Government departments, including with the Home Office, on preparations for the conference. This includes planning on policy deliverables, logistics and attendance.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Serbia regarding the negative rhetoric against women politicians in that country and the risk of it inciting violence against them.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While we have not made representations specifically about negative rhetoric against women in politics, we have, as part of our interactions with the Serbian government, had regular discussions on gender equality, including with the Equality Commissioner and the Gender Champion. On International Women’s Day our Embassy in Belgrade held two public debates, one on the role of women in Serbian society and the other on women in the IT sector. Our Embassy is also designing a programme with UN Women to strengthen gender responsive governance in Serbia.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent reports regarding the imprisonment and treatment of Johan Teterissa in Indonesia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and Embassy officials routinely raise human rights issues with the Indonesian Government. Most recently, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt. Hon. Mark Field MP and I discussed the death penalty and rights of LGBT people with the Indonesian Ambassador to the UK. We have not to date raised the specific case of Johan Teterissa. While we will continue to press for further progress, it is worth noting that under the current administration the number of prisoners held on political grounds has decreased significantly.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have had any recent discussions with the government of Indonesia regarding the imprisonment and treatment of Johan Teterissa.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and Embassy officials routinely raise human rights issues with the Indonesian Government. Most recently, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, the Rt. Hon. Mark Field MP and I discussed the death penalty and rights of LGBT people with the Indonesian Ambassador to the UK. We have not to date raised the specific case of Johan Teterissa. While we will continue to press for further progress, it is worth noting that under the current administration the number of prisoners held on political grounds has decreased significantly.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on British businesses of the potential erosion of the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government’s assessment of the situation in Hong Kong, and its implications, is set out in the six-monthly report to Parliament, the most recent of which was deposited in Parliament on 15 March.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments of (1) the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and (2) the People's Republic of China, following the publication of the Six Monthly Report to Parliament on Hong Kong: July–December 2017, published on 15 March, in which the Foreign Secretary stated that "'One Country, Two Systems', generally functions well. However, the increasing pressure I described in the foreword of my last six-monthly report continued in the second half of 2017".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government regularly discusses the implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the importance of 'One Country, Two Systems' with the Governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the People's Republic of China. Since the publication of the most recent Six Monthly Report, officials in Hong Kong, London and Beijing have discussed the specific issues raised with their counterparts in the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Ethiopia concerning the detention of Andargachew Tsige, a British national, further to those made by the Foreign Secretary in a call to his Ethiopian counterpart, Dr Tedros, and what reassurance have they obtained about (1) his treatment whilst in prison, (2) his access to independent legal advice, (3) his access to regular consular assistance, and (4) his death sentence not being carried out.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK Government takes Mr Tsege's case seriously. The Ethiopian Government are in no doubt as to our concerns for Mr Tsege and the priority we place upon his wellbeing. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has raised the case each time he has spoken to his Ethiopian counterparts and the Ambassador raises it regularly at the highest levels in Ethiopia, most recently after her visit to Mr Tsege in prison on 11 November. From her discussions with Mr Tsege she was reassured of his welfare and was also able to give Mr Tsege a list of local lawyers. This is an important step toward Mr Tsege having access to legal advice to discuss his options under Ethiopian law. He must now be allowed to contact them without obstruction. We will continue to press the Ethiopians to abide by this commitment. The recent visit to Mr Tsege was the 12th visit to him by UK Government officials. We will also continue to press the Ethiopians to ensure that they abide by their commitment to ensure regular consular access to Mr Tsege. The Government opposes the use of the death penalty under all circumstances. We have made our stance on the death penalty very clear to the Ethiopian authorities.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated from the Magna Carta fund for projects related to freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In 2016/17, the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy is funding seven projects, with a total value of £670,037, that directly relate to strengthening freedom of religion or belief (FORB). This represents an 18% increase in funding from 2015/16, when the fund supported freedom of religion or belief projects worth £550,016. Freedom of religion or belief remains a core strand of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. Many of the Fund's other projects also indirectly support the creation of more tolerant societies, through strengthening representation of minority groups, supporting freedom of expression and promoting just and fair rules-based systems of government.
The seven FORB projects this year promote positive FORB outcomes through different methods and strategies, from attempting to working with NGOs to lobby for the removal of laws which discriminate on religious grounds, to more upstream interventions which seek to change public opinion and promote a culture which is more accepting of religious diversity. A good example of a hybrid of these methods is a project this year working with teachers across the MENA region to develop a school curriculum that supports freedom of religion and belief. This project promotes a more progressive education curriculum, and ensures the next generation of students have a greater awareness of the important right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo over the continued detention of the two Filimbi activists who were arrested in March 2015 and are now awaiting trial for allegedly forming a criminal gang and attempting to overthrow the regime of President Kabila.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our Chargé d’Affaires’ in Kinshasa called on the Justice Minister, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, with other EU Heads of Mission, in March and April 2015 to voice our concern at the arrest and detention without charge of the activists Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala. Officials from our Embassy in Kinshasa have also joined other international observers in monitoring court hearings in the case, and those of a number of other activists detained in early 2015.
We continue to urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to act on the recommendations of its Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the arrests. The Commission found that there is no evidence that participants in the workshop were involved in activities of a terrorist nature, and recommended that a political solution be found in order to enable the release of activists Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala. We also continue to stress to the DRC government that civil society organisations must be allowed to hold workshops on democratic processes without fear of arrest or reprisal.