Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its Hate Speech and Disinformation programme in Pakistan in (a) tackling hate speech and (b) helping to hold perpetrators of hate speech to account in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Online Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme (2022-25) works to provide training and spearhead policy discourse on the issue of hate speech and disinformation in Pakistan. For example, the programme trains government officers to identify false and hateful narratives, including those which affect women and religious minorities. The programme has trained over 1000 university students on digital literacy. The programme funded voter education videos and supported a news show on Pakistan Television, inviting experts to discuss disinformation ahead of the Pakistani elections. Holding perpetrators of hate speech to account is a matter for the Pakistani Authorities and Judiciary System.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the role of the Pakistan judiciary in protecting persecuted minorities.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not comment or interfere with judicial processes in Pakistan. They are a matter for the Pakistan judicial system. However, the UK does regularly engage with the Government of Pakistan to advance key priorities and interests, including on human rights and the rule of law. The former Foreign Secretary met the caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-Ul-Haq Kakar, on the 23rd September, where he raised the importance of protecting the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, condemned the violence and discrimination faced by religious minorities in his meeting with Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on 13 September.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the role of the judiciary in Pakistan in supporting UK funded programmes in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not comment or interfere with judicial processes in Pakistan, they are a matter for the Pakistan judicial system. Pakistan's judiciary is not a partner in any UK funded programmes in Pakistan.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Answer of 13 June 2023 to Question 186930 on Developing Countries: Debts Written Off, what progress his Department has made on introducing debt relief measures for developing countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has provided over £2 billion in debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and continues to provide roughly £190 million a year to compensate the Multilateral Development Banks for forgone debt repayments. In response to the COVID pandemic, the UK supported the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and suspended UK debt repayment from April 2020 to December 2021. Collectively $12.9 billion of repayments were suspended from almost 50 countries. Additionally, the UK provided £150 million towards IMF debt repayment relief through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.
The UK plays a leadership role in international discussions on developing country debt which we monitor closely with His Majesties Treasury. As set out in the White Paper on International Development, published last November - through our membership of the Paris Club, G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable we are pushing for improvements to the global debt architecture and using our position in official creditor committees to help return countries to debt sustainability where necessary.
The UK is also leading contractual debt innovations, notably Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs) that pause debt repayments when a natural disaster hits. UK Export Finance (UKEF) was the first export credit agency globally to offer these, and the Government is pressing for all creditors to offer these in loans - most recently co-hosting a workshop on CRDCs at COP28 and securing several Multilateral Development Banks and other countries to offer these.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the memorandum from the Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre, presented on 12 December 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are reviewing the memorandum from the Batang Kali Action Committee and will respond to the Committee in due course.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 8779 on Artificial Intelligence: Elections, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the use of deepfakes during recent elections in Bangladesh.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We noted the results of the Bangladesh Election on 7 January. As democratic elections depend on credible, open, and fair competition, we are concerned by the reported use of deepfakes and AI generated disinformation to undermine the democratic process in Bangladesh. The UK Government works continuously to understand, assess and address the risks presented by emerging and critical technologies. In the lead up to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit, a suite of products was published by the Government to help inform the public and Summit participants of our assessment of the risks and opportunities associated with the use of AI.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in the Government of Bahrain on the detainment of Sayed Ahmed al-Abar.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not had recent discussions about this individual case with the Government of Bahrain. However, Bahrain is well aware of the UK's long-standing policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, in all countries, as a matter of principle. During Bahrain's Universal Periodic Review in November 2022, the UK recommended an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and has continued to discuss this with the Government of Bahrain.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 317 on Bahrain: Human Rights, what reports his Department has received on the ability of (a) civil society organisations and (b) journalists who have received support from the Gulf Strategy Fund to (i) operate independently from and (ii) voice opposition to the Bahraini authorities.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO remains committed to supporting reform in Bahrain, including through projects delivered via the Gulf Strategy Fund. We work closely with implementing partners to ensure that projects deliver results and value for money, including in the case of the two projects in question which provided training for a) 38 members of civil societies; and b) 26 members of the Bahrain Journalists Association. Beneficiaries of both projects provided positive feedback on the effectiveness of the training provided.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 317 on Bahrain: Human Rights, what data his Department holds on the support that (a) civil society organisations and (b) journalists have received through the Gulf Strategy Fund.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Information about Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) projects delivered by the British Embassy in Bahrain in FY 22/23 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-development-assistance-oda-fcdo-international-programme-spend-objectives-2022-to-2023/fcdo-gulf-strategy-fund-gsf#:~:text=Supports%20delivery%20of%20a%20safe,around%20the%20World%20Cup%2022. The FCDO remains committed to supporting reform in Bahrain, including through projects delivered via the GSF.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to call for the release of Jagtar Singh Johal.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to seeing Mr Johal's case resolved as soon as possible. We have raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including his allegations of torture, with the Government of India on over 110 occasions and will continue to do so. The Prime Minister raised Mr Johal's case in talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 September. Mr Johal's case was raised most recently on 13 November by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, with the Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Consular staff visit Mr Johal regularly to check on his welfare and did so most recently on 26 October.