Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with its international counterparts to help trace missing Yazidi women.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK supports the implementation of Iraq's Yazidi Survivors law of March 2021 and we engage regularly with partner governments, NGOs, survivor networks and Iraqi Government ministries to advocate for full financial provision of the law. Through UK support to the International Organisation for Migration, we provide technical and practical assistance to the Directorate of Yazidi Survivor Affairs, whose mandate includes searching for missing survivors. UK programme funding also supports psycho-social care for female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. We have contributed £2 million to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNITAD), whose work in gathering evidence of crimes, including against minority communities, we continue to champion.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is providing support to the Government of Mozambique to fight the Islamist insurgency in that country.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK has taken a leading role in Mozambique as co-chair of the international taskforce on the insurgency in Cabo Delgado. This taskforce is a forum for high-level dialogue and coordination between the Mozambique Government and its international partners in response to the insurgency. Bilaterally, the UK signed a Defence MOU with the Government of Mozambique in May 2019, and we continue to work in partnership to address security issues of mutual interest. UK Aid has also provided over £22 million in humanitarian support in Cabo Delgado, primarily through UN agencies, ensuring that people displaced by the crisis have access to food, water, shelter and basic health. We welcome recent progress by Mozambican defence and security forces, with support from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda, to take back areas previously under insurgent control, and will continue to work with the Government of Mozambique to build long term peace and stability.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support is being provided to Coptic Christian women in Egypt who are the victims of abduction, forced conversion and marriage.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government of Egypt has stated its commitment to protecting the rights of Coptic Christians and freedom of worship. We are encouraged by positive steps in recent years, including President Sisi's public commitments, to uphold the rights of minorities and freedom of worship. The UK Government is providing support to an Egyptian Government initiative to raise awareness of a number of social issues, including religious diversity and forced marriage. The Prime Minister and President Sisi have discussed the importance of protecting freedom of religion and belief, most recently during their meeting in Glasgow on 1 November. Lord Ahmad discussed freedom of religion and belief with Egypt's Ambassador to the UK in March 2022 and we will continue to raise these important issues.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle religious forced (a) marriages and (b) conversions around the world.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We work with international partners including the UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In May 2021, we ensured that FoRB was included in the G7 communiqué for the first time. This year, our Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, will Chair the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to bolster joint international action on FoRB and on 5-6 July 2022, we will host an international Ministerial conference on FoRB. In 2020 and 2021, we continued to protect language on tackling the harmful practice of Child, Early and Forced Marriage by helping secure the adoption by consensus of relevant resolutions at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help end (a) abductions, (b) forced conversions and (c) forced marriages of women and girls in Pakistan.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We work with international partners including the UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In May 2021, we ensured that FoRB was included in the G7 communiqué for the first time. This year, our Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, will Chair the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to bolster joint international action on FoRB and on 5-6 July 2022, we will host an international Ministerial conference on FoRB. In 2020 and 2021, we continued to protect language on tackling the harmful practice of Child, Early and Forced Marriage by helping secure the adoption by consensus of relevant resolutions at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the treatment of women in captivity in Mozambique.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are deeply concerned by the threat from extremist groups in north-eastern Mozambique, including the impact of the conflict on women and girls who are very vulnerable in this region. The UK is committed to working with the Government of Mozambique to tackle the insurgency and its underlying drivers. We work in partnership with key stakeholders, including local civil society organisations working in the North of Mozambique, ensuring that their work draws on recent analyses and assessments, including a report by the Observatory for Rural Environment from 2021 on the impact of the conflict on women and girls. The UK is also supporting implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in Mozambique, working with government, civil society, security actors and the private sector, in order to reduce the risk of abuses and promote respect for human rights.
In addition to promoting girls' access to education in Mozambique through the UK's contribution to the Global Partnership for Education, the UK is addressing the challenges around child marriage in Mozambique through our support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Unicef Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which includes work to promote child protection in Cabo Delgado.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking in response to reports that in Mozambique girls are being forced to convert to Islam or become slaves.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are deeply concerned by the threat from extremist groups in north-eastern Mozambique, including the impact of the conflict on women and girls who are very vulnerable in this region. The UK is committed to working with the Government of Mozambique to tackle the insurgency and its underlying drivers. We work in partnership with key stakeholders, including local civil society organisations working in the North of Mozambique, ensuring that their work draws on recent analyses and assessments, including a report by the Observatory for Rural Environment from 2021 on the impact of the conflict on women and girls. The UK is also supporting implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in Mozambique, working with government, civil society, security actors and the private sector, in order to reduce the risk of abuses and promote respect for human rights.
In addition to promoting girls' access to education in Mozambique through the UK's contribution to the Global Partnership for Education, the UK is addressing the challenges around child marriage in Mozambique through our support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Unicef Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which includes work to promote child protection in Cabo Delgado.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her Department's policy that Daesh (ISIS) crimes against Christian and Yazidi women constituted genocide.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide as appropriate under the Genocide Convention, to which the UK is party. It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. This policy does not inhibit the UK from taking robust action to address the egregious human rights abuses committed by Daesh.
We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Yazidis, Christians and other minorities, as well as Muslim populations in Syria and Iraq. We note the conviction in a German court on 30 November 2021 of a former Daesh fighter for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. We are following this case and its review closely. We will continue to use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the Christian population of the Middle East.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations. Multilaterally, we work with the UN, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, G7 and other fora to promote FoRB.
In addition to our bilateral and multilateral action, we will host an international Ministerial conference on 5-6 July 2022, in London. The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on FoRB will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts on tackling attacks by Boko Haram against women and girls in Nigeria.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are deeply concerned at the devastating impact of attacks by extremist groups, including Boko Haram, on women and girls in Nigeria. We condemn all incidents of violence against civilians. The UK Government continues to put women and girls at the centre of our approach to foreign policy, including preventing violence and supporting women's participation in peace efforts.
The Foreign Secretary has made tackling conflict-related sexual violence one of her top priorities, and Nigeria is one of nine focus countries in the UK's Women Peace and Security (WPS) National Action Plan. At our recent dialogue in support of our Security and Defence Partnership with Nigeria, we committed to collaborate and share best practice on implementation of our respective WPS National Action Plans. We have raised conflict-related sexual violence in Nigeria with the Nigerian Government and Nigerian stakeholders, and continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all those at risk of violence, and to bring perpetrators to justice. We have offered to provide training in support of efforts to ensure gender perspectives are taken into account during security operations. I was able to discuss Nigeria's complex security situation, and the UK's offer of support, with the Vice President and Foreign Minister during a visit to Abuja last month.