Bahrain: Human Rights Abuses

Lord Fowler Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

Could the noble Baroness be unmuted, please?

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

The noble Baroness is muted and we cannot hear her. We will have to move on to the noble Baroness, Lady Northover.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, far from what the Minister has said about progress, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN have all concluded that human rights abuses have been getting worse in Bahrain over the past few years. So why do the Government still fund training for organisations in Bahrain that are implicated in human rights abuses, such as the Special Investigations Unit?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]]

I agree with my noble friend. My right honourable friend James Cleverly, who is the Minister for the Middle East, will do exactly that. We look at all funding not only to the Gulf but elsewhere to ensure that the standards we seek to achieve from those areas are met and that human rights remain paramount in our thinking and progress in this respect.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

The noble Baroness, Lady Warsi, is still with us and so I can ask her to speak now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it takes a great deal to mute my noble friend and I am glad that we have heard from her. As I have already articulated, we have seen the creation of the oversight bodies. The UK has provided technical support. We have seen alternative sentencing, where we have shared experience and insights; the Unified Family Law and the Corrective Justice Law for Children; and the great progress which has been made on migrants’ rights. However, I reiterate that important work remains to be done. I know that this is a concern of many noble Lords and I will continue to engage with your Lordships’ House and the other place to ensure that those concerns are expressed directly to the Government of Bahrain.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

My Lords, all supplementary questions have now been asked. We move to the next Question.