Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of (a) arrests of political leaders, (b) arrests of residents and (c) internet restrictions in Indian administered Kashmir; and what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on those reports.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir closely. We welcome reports that some restrictions have been relaxed and some of the detained have been released. However, we remain concerned at the ongoing detentions and continued restrictions in some areas. We call for these to be lifted as soon as possible and we have raised our concerns with the Indian Government. Most recently, Lord Ahmad, the Minister for South Asia, discussed the situation in Kashmir and our concerns with Indian Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs Mr Muraleedharan and, separately, the Indian High Commissioner. The British High Commission in New Delhi also regularly raise our concerns with the Indian Government at senior levels.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department reported their religion as Islam in the latest period for which figures are available; what the reported ethnicity of those staff was; and how many of those staff were employed at each grade.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs around 13,000 staff, around 5,000 of whom are UK-based and 8,000 local staff. The FCO only holds diversity data centrally for UK-based staff. According to March 2019 data from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), available publicly online, 4.5 per cent of UK-based FCO staff identified as Muslim, excluding Wilton Park and FCO Services staff. This 4.5 per cent figure does not include 'do not wish to declare' responses. According the ACSES survey, the FCO's reporting rate for religion or belief was 65.3 per cent in March 2019, excluding both blank and 'do not wish to declare' responses.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's position is at the UN in relation to the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir; and whether the Government opposes the removal of article 370 and 35A by the Indian Government within that region.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
As the Foreign Secretary said in his Statement to the House on 3 September, we are deeply concerned about the situation in Kashmir. We want to see a reduction in tensions in Kashmir, respect for internationally recognised human rights and steps taken on all sides to rebuild confidence. The situation in Kashmir was discussed in the UN Security Council on 16 August and the UK continues to call for restraint and action to address current concerns, and welcome efforts to do so as soon as possible. The UK's longstanding position on Kashmir is that it is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the welfare of Uigher Muslims being held in internment camps in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. Visits to Xinjiang by diplomats from the British Embassy in Beijing have corroborated much of this open source reporting.
Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so. At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ran from February to March 2019, Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Xinjiang during his opening address (on 25 February). The UK also raised concerns about Xinjiang during our item 4 statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on “Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang” on 13 March.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
During China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November 2018, the UK made a statement which described our concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs.
Following the Universal Periodic Review, Lord Ahmad issued a statement where he said: “I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the re-education camps and the widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs. The UK and many of our international partners have made clear during China’s UPR that this is a priority issue. We recommended that China should implement CERD recommendations in Xinjiang and allow the UN to monitor implementation.”
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether Uighur Muslims in Chinese camps have been denied their basic human rights.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. Visits to Xinjiang by diplomats from the British Embassy in Beijing have corroborated much of this open source reporting.
Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so. At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ran from February to March 2019, Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Xinjiang during his opening address (on 25 February). The UK also raised concerns about Xinjiang during our item 4 statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on “Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang” on 13 March.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
During China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November 2018, the UK made a statement which described our concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs.
Following the Universal Periodic Review, Lord Ahmad issued a statement where he said: “I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the re-education camps and the widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs. The UK and many of our international partners have made clear during China’s UPR that this is a priority issue. We recommended that China should implement CERD recommendations in Xinjiang and allow the UN to monitor implementation.”