Russia: Human Rights

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

First, I assure my noble friend that we take these matters incredibly seriously. The subject was raised by the Prime Minister at the highest level at the G20 in St Petersburg, and it was also raised at the margins. It was raised a few weeks later by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary with Foreign Minister Lavrov at the UN General Assembly in New York. We also have an annual human rights dialogue; in fact, we are one of the few countries, if not the only country in the European Union, to have that particular dialogue with Russia. We had our latest dialogue in May of this year and, in that, we raised the issue of LGBT issues. So it is a matter that we continue to press on, and one that we have raised at both a political and an official level.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, will the noble Baroness remind the House that the Russian Parliament recently passed legislation that is punitive towards gay people and that there can be no question of gay people being accorded equality in that country while this legislation remains on the statute book?

[Baroness Warsi]

It may be inappropriate for me to comment on a particular piece of legislation in a particular country but it seems fairly obvious from an initial reading of how this law has been drafted that it is in stark conflict with what the Russians say is part of their constitution.