State Immunity Act 1978: Remedial Order

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2021 Written Statements

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

In 2017, the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Benkharbouche v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2017] UKSC 62 held that certain provisions of the State Immunity Act 1978 were incompatible with articles 6 and 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The incompatibility related to employment claims brought by individuals employed by diplomatic missions in London. The Government have considered the Supreme Court’s judgment and decided to address the incompatibility by way of a remedial order under section 10 and schedule 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will lay the draft remedial order before Parliament in due course.

[HCWS788]

Treatment of Uyghur Women: Xinjiang Detention Camps

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Thursday 4th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the treatment of Uyghur women in Xinjiang detention camps.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

I acknowledge the strength of feeling about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, which is shared by hon. Members across the House. The BBC report to which my hon. Friend refers is chilling. It includes deeply distressing testimony of the rape, torture and dehumanisation of Uyghur women in Xinjiang detention centres. It is a further compelling addition to the growing body of evidence of the gross human rights violations being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang. The evidence of the scale and severity of these violations is now far reaching. It paints a truly harrowing picture. If China wishes to dispute this evidence, it must allow unfettered access to the region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or another independent fact-finding body.

This Government are committed to taking robust action in respect of Xinjiang. That is why on 12 January the Foreign Secretary announced a series of targeted measures to help ensure that British organisations are neither complicit in nor profiting from the human rights violations in the region. This includes a review of export controls as they apply to Xinjiang, the introduction of financial penalties for businesses that do not comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and support for UK Government bodies to exclude suppliers that are complicit in forced labour.

These measures demonstrate to China that there is a reputational and economic cost to its policies in Xinjiang, and it is why the UK has played, and will continue to play, a leading role in building international pressure on China to change course. In October 2019 and June 2020, the UK led the first two joint statements on Xinjiang at the UN. In October 2020, 38 countries joined the UK in a robust statement at the UN Third Committee. This diplomatic action is vitally important. More countries than ever are speaking out about Xinjiang. China has already been forced to change its narrative about the camps, and its denial of these violations is increasingly hard to sustain. The Foreign Secretary has made clear the extent of our concern directly to his counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and I have raised the issue with the former Chinese ambassador in London.

On the specific allegations of forced birth control, we have raised these with the Chinese authorities and used our national statement at the UN Human Rights Council last September to draw international attention to this deeply concerning issue.

I can assure the House that we will continue to work with our international partners, including with the new US Administration and through our G7 presidency, to hold China to account for its actions. The UK has called repeatedly for China to abide by the UN’s recommendation to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained, and I know that right hon. and hon. Members will join me today in reiterating that call.

[Ms Ghani]

I thank the Minister for his powerful statement. Yesterday, the BBC broadcast harrowing footage of Chinese state-orchestrated abuse against Uyghur women on an unprecedented scale.

“They had an electric stick, I didn’t know what it was, and it was pushed inside my genital tract, torturing me with an electric shock.”

That is the testimony of Tursunay Ziawudun. “They did whatever their evil minds could think of. They were barbarians. I felt I had died. I was dead.” Then there are the gang rapes of Uyghur women by the police in front of other camp detainees, as a form of re-education, seeking out those who look away to punish them even further.

These horrifying stories add to the huge and growing body of evidence detailing atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang—atrocities that may even be genocidal. These horrors have led the Board of Deputies of British Jews to compare the plight of the Uyghurs to the Holocaust. But as everybody in this House knows, there is no prospect of China being held to account through the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice. So I ask the Minister: how will the Government get the court judgment they need to act when all international routes are paralysed by China? We cannot be bystanders to the deliberate attempt to exterminate a group of people. Not again.

Will the Minister make a promise today that no further deepening of ties of any kind will take place with China until a full judicial inquiry has investigated these crimes? Will he commit himself to a meeting with Rahima Mahmut, a Uyghur survivor, who is known by so many in this House? Rahima is a brave woman, risking her safety to save her family and her people. The United Kingdom cannot stand by and do nothing about the extermination of the Uyghur—mass rapes, scalping and forced sterilisations. We can act and we must act.

[Nigel Adams]

May I thank my hon. Friend again for her powerful questions and her speech? I know how important this is to her. I reiterate that the Foreign Secretary announced a series of measures on 12 January in response to the human rights situation in Xinjiang. This will help to ensure that UK businesses are not complicit in human rights violations. We are leading international efforts to hold China to account, and of course I would be delighted to meet with Rahima, the Uyghur lady whom my hon. Friend referred to.

Importantly, we will continue to work on this incredibly crucial issue alongside our international partners, pulling together, including making the statement that we did late last year alongside Germany and 38 other countries. We will work with the new US Administration, under President Biden. May I thank my hon. Friend again for bringing this incredibly powerful testimony to the House? Anybody who has seen the report by the BBC—I congratulate the BBC on producing it—cannot help but be moved and distressed by what are clearly evil acts.

[Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)]

The Chinese Government’s brutal campaign of oppression in Xinjiang is a scar on the conscience of the world. The Labour party stands shoulder to shoulder with the Uyghur people. We already know about the forced labour camps, and yesterday we heard utterly heartbreaking testimonies from Uyghur women who have been systematically raped, sexually abused and tortured. This follows last summer’s harrowing accounts from Uyghur women who are victims of forced sterilisation and forced intrauterine device insertion. The Chinese Government’s own statistics show that birth rates in Xinjiang fell by a third in 2017-18—further evidence that what is happening may meet the international legal definition of genocide, which the new US Administration have already acknowledged.

Last month the Foreign Secretary rightly condemned the events in Xinjiang as

“barbarism we had hoped was lost to another era”—[Official Report, 12 January 2021; Vol. 687, c. 160.]

Surely the time for tangible action has now come. First, where on earth are the Magnitsky sanctions that the Opposition and Members across the House have been calling for since last June? The Foreign Secretary said that the body of evidence in Xinjiang is “large, diverse and growing”, and we know the names of the senior Chinese officials who are responsible for these atrocities. The US sanctioned them last summer. Who in Government is holding this up?

Secondly, 20% of the world’s cotton comes from Xinjiang. We welcome the steps that the Government have taken to help UK business cease being complicit in forced labour, but they did not go far enough. Companies must be accountable, not simply transparent. Rather than tinkering around the edges of the Modern Slavery Act, will the Minister commit himself to bringing forward legislation that moves us to a system of mandatory due diligence?

Next Tuesday, when the Trade Bill returns, the House has the chance to send a united message to the world that genocide can never be met with indifference, impunity or inaction. This should not be a partisan issue. Given that it is a long-standing Government commitment that courts, not the Government, must rule on genocide, will the Minister join with us and colleagues across the House to give UK courts the powers to determine genocide and therefore prevent the UK from ever doing trade deals with genocidal states?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions, which raised a number of issues. He mentioned the US announcement regarding genocide. It is worth pointing out that the US has a different process for determining genocide that is not linked to a court decision. With regard to sanctions, we have had targeted measures in response to this matter. On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary announced a series of robust actions to ensure that no companies profit from forced labour and we will target in a forensic way those companies that are doing so, whether deliberately or otherwise. Of course, we are carefully considering any further designations under our global human rights regime. We keep all evidence and potential listings under review.

[Mr Speaker]

Let us head south to the Chair of the Select Committee, Tom Tugendhat.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con) [V]]

I very much welcome the urgent question from my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani). She is raising a central point on the humanity that we share with people around the world, including with citizens of China. I was very keen that the Government should assist companies here, because we heard only yesterday that Manchester University is in partnership with the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation unaware of its connections with the surveillance state that is going on in Xinjiang. Will the Minister commit to helping British institutions, academics or, indeed, companies to make sure that they are not complicit with any genocidal regime or any autocratic state using data or technology that they have provided together to oppress people? Those institutions cannot always know such information themselves, but the Foreign Office can certainly assist them.

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend, the Chair of the Select Committee, is right to raise this matter, especially around academia. UK universities are open to the world and we warmly welcome overseas students, including, for example, from China, but we will not accept collaborations that compromise our national security. We do work with academia to make sure that any links are closely monitored —whether that is with students or foreign military organisations—and we also work with British companies over the measures that the Foreign Secretary announced in January.

[Mr Speaker]

We now head to SNP spokesman Alyn Smith.

[Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP) [V]]

The plight of the Uyghurs is a well-trodden path within the House, and evidence of the dreadful situation just keeps mounting. I really commend the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) for bringing this forward today, because it is important that we keep the matter very much on our radar. I do not regard the Minister as part of the problem here. We are all supportive of his efforts that are under way, but we would like to see more. I have three particular points. I have raised before the academic links that the Chinese state has with UK institutions. Much greater clarity is needed there. On EU co-ordination, there are measures within the EU-China trade deal that could be activated. Frankly, the EU could be a bit sharper in activating them over this to trigger a dispute resolution. The most fundamental thing that the UK Government could do is to change their face on the genocide amendment, which is before the other place in the Trade Bill. At a stroke, that would change how the UK does business on this and would be a really positive sign. The time for the Government to reverse their position on that is long overdue.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his measured questions. On that last point, may I be absolutely clear that we understand fully the strength of feeling on this matter with regard to the Trade Bill? We agree that there must be enhanced scrutiny for Parliament on both the issue of genocide and also the Government’s response to this most serious crime. As a result, the Government are looking to see how we can ensure that relevant debate and scrutiny can take place in Parliament in response to credible concerns about genocide. I know that Ministers have been reaching out to colleagues across the House in this regard. We want to work with Parliament to find a credible solution—a parliamentary solution—that is both robust and properly accountable to the House.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con) [V]]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on her question and the BBC on its programme. A litany of terrible, terrible abuse —rape, mass internment, people going into concentration camps, people being sterilised, people being maltreated, abused and tortured—which sounds like something from 75 years ago, but it is not; it is today. With respect to the Minister, it is no good anymore coming to the Dispatch Box to say that he agrees with all this. Where are the Magnitsky sanctions on individuals? We have all the evidence necessary. Finally, why, oh why are the Government going out of their way to block this amendment that is coming back to the House of Commons, which will give the courts the power to decide that this is genocide? The Minister has just said in his statement that only the courts can say it is genocide, so let us stop this nonsense, please. Allow the amendment to go through and get the courts to make that decision. It will be a leading position from a British Government—that is the way to go.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his continued interest. I know how strongly he feels about the issue. Again, to be absolutely clear, we understand the strength of feeling, in particular around the Trade Bill, and we believe that there must be more enhanced scrutiny by Parliament of genocide and our response to the crime. That is why we will work with him and other right hon. and hon. Members in that regard.

As we have said, competent courts include international ones, such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and national criminal courts that meet international standards of due process. On sanctions, we have already come up with targeted measures in respect of UK supply chains. Those are direct actions. Nobody should be any doubt. We are being very clear in our public statements about what is going on in Xinjiang. As I have said, we are carefully considering further designations.

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD) [V]]

I echo the words of the Minister in thanking the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) for obtaining this important urgent question. The best thanks that we could give to the hon. Lady and others in this House would be to actually act. What we saw on the programme was shocking, but it can no longer be any surprise. Nobody can say now that they do not know what is happening there.

The Minister has said it twice now: genocide is a matter for the courts, unlike in the United States. Surely the logic of his own arguments is that, when Lord Alton’s amendment to the Trade Bill comes back to this House next week, the Government should be supporting it or, at the very least, finding a form of words that they will bring forward to achieve the same end. I am afraid that warm words and hand wringing are no longer enough.

[Nigel Adams]

The right hon. Gentleman always talks in a measured and passionate way about this issue. I reiterate the comments that I made earlier to the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock): the US has a different process for determining genocide, but it is not linked to a court decision. Our long-standing policy is that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court.

We are looking to work with right hon. and hon. colleagues to ensure that the relevant debate and scrutiny can take place here. That work has been going on while the Bill has been in the other place. No doubt there will be further such conversations over the weekend as we lead up to the Bill coming back.

[Dr Liam Fox (North Somerset) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on securing the urgent question today. It is right to shine a light on the vile atrocities being carried out in Xinjiang. The official denials by the Chinese state today are a humiliation for China on the world stage. I, too, would welcome stronger Magnitsky-style sanctions against individual officials, but is not the bottom line that we have to face up to the fact that, when totalitarian regimes become established, there is a limit to what we can do from outside? Therefore, there is all the more moral responsibility on us to confront China’s strategic aims in other parts of the world and to give support to Governments around the world who believe in democracy, freedom and the rule of law.

[Nigel Adams]

Again, my right hon. Friend is spot on. That is why the UK Government are leading international efforts in this regard to hold China to account. We led the first two joint statements at the UN on this issue at the Human Rights Council in June 2020 and at the Third Committee in October. The growing international pressure on China reflects the diplomatic leadership that the UK has been giving, not least in bringing together a total of 39 countries, alongside Germany, to express our concern at the situation in Xinjiang.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

As the case of the horrifying treatment of the Uyghur women outlined by the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) demonstrated very well, women and girls from marginalised religions or belief communities often encounter unique persecution and challenge due to their religion and gender. Other examples, such as the sexual violence suffered by Yazidi women and kidnapping and forced marriage of young Christian, Sikh and Hindu girls in Pakistan, like 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz and 13-year-old Arzoo Raja, serve to emphasise the scale and severity of this problem. What action are the Government taking to tackle issues at the intersection of gender violence, inequality and freedom of religion or belief violations?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman raises two or three horrific cases, and he is right to refer to the issue of sexual violence suffered by Yazidi women and young Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. We absolutely recognise that women and girls from religious minorities can often suffer because of their gender and faith. That is why we ensure that our human rights policy work considers the intersectionality of human rights—for example, the importance of addressing the specific issues that may be experienced by women from particular religious minority communities.

[Mr Richard Holden (North West Durham) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on securing this urgent question. Many of my constituents are deeply concerned about the plight of the Uyghur community in China, and also the abuse, oppression and undermining of international agreements that is taking place in Hong Kong. What steps is my hon. Friend taking to support freedom of religion in China?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is, like the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), right to raise this issue. We are deeply concerned about the persecution of people because of their beliefs or their religion. The freedom to practice, change or share faith or belief without discrimination or opposition is a human right, and that is something that all people should enjoy. We are working very hard on this. The Prime Minister recently appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) as special envoy on freedom of religion and belief. We work with and meet officials around the globe. Specifically, we met Chinese officials in 2019 and expressed our concerns, for example, on the pressures that Christians are facing. We raise cases directly. My ministerial colleague, Lord Ahmad, continues to work in this regard as the Minister responsible for human rights.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab) [V]]

Will the Minister explain the Government’s strategy for the G7 in Cornwall? The UK has the opportunity to work with its democratic allies to send a very strong message that China’s treatment of the Uyghur women in Xinjiang is completely unacceptable to the international community. Does he agree that actions speak much louder than words?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady raises the G7 and the opportunity we have as chair this year, and she is right to do so; ensuring that multilateral fora are at the forefront of holding China to account is really important. As I have said many times at the Dispatch Box, we have raised the situation in Xinjiang many times. We work very closely with our international partners, and I am pretty confident she can rest assured that the issue we are discussing will be brought forward as a matter of urgency with our G7 colleagues.

[Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con) [V]]

It is more important than ever that we work with allies around the world to protect the values we share. What steps is my hon. Friend taking to co-ordinate with our Five Eyes partners, so that we can both monitor and combat China’s clear human rights abuses?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend talks about what we are doing internationally, which is really important. We have taken a leading international role, and the impact of our diplomacy is reflected in the growing number of countries that have joined our statements. We will continue to try to get the widest caucus of support, to ensure that measures brought forward hold China to account, as long as they are as effective as possible. We will continue to work with international partners, including Muslim and Arab countries and those in the region, as well as the traditional Five Eyes and European partners, to try to expand this caucus of like-minded states.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Given that the evidence of industrial-scale human rights abuse, including mass rape, torture and cultural genocide, is incontrovertible and known to the Chinese Government and the Chinese President, will the Government now give the UK courts the power to judge genocide; instruct our industries to ensure that we source our cotton not from the slave trade of Xinjiang but from democracies such as India; and instruct our pension funds and institutions not to invest in companies that are complicit in abuse, including surveillance companies? After all, our actions will be judged; our words will be ignored.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

Again, I want to be absolutely clear: we are committed to ensuring that our trade policy is consistent with our international obligations. Trade does not have to come at the expense of human rights. That is why the Foreign Secretary announced further measures on 12 January. We will continue to work in this regard. Our long-standing position on determining genocide is that competent courts include international courts—the ICC and the ICJ—and national criminal courts that meet international standards of due process.

[Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con) [V]]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on securing this urgent question. The Minister may be aware that I am vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative. Does he agree that there is a need to set up a PSVI body to document crimes, support survivors and lead prosecutions and that China must allow such a body of independent observers unfettered access to Xinjiang—or East Turkestan, as it is also known —so that they can report on what is occurring there?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she does on the preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative APPG, and I would like to wish her a happy birthday. We have made it clear that the UN human rights commissioner or another independent fact-finding body must be given unfettered access to Xinjiang. We have called for that repeatedly in joint statements and national statements at the UN. It is vital that China allows such access without delay. If, as China claims today, these allegations are mere fabrications or fake news, how can it object to granting access?

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) for securing this urgent question.

In 2018, some 80% of all inter-uterine devices used in China were implanted in women in Xinjiang province, even though they account for only 1.8% of China’s population. Forced sterilisation, rape, sexual torture and violence are happening before our eyes and are clearly documented. We know we are not the only nation that is trying to speak up on this issue. The Minister has talked about the importance of human rights access; will he update us on the conversations he has been having with the Australians, who have also been leading on this issue at the UN, in order that we can show the world a joint economic and diplomatic approach to holding China to account?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that we need to co-operate on an international level, and we are. I had a meeting yesterday with the Australian deputy high commissioner and we discussed Xinjiang. It is crucial that we work together in all sorts of different multilateral fora and bilaterally with like-minded countries. As I have said previously, the impact of our diplomacy is reflected in the growing number of countries that have joined us in our statements.

[Elliot Colburn (Carshalton and Wallington) (Con) [V]]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on securing this question. The BBC programme was indeed harrowing, and many Carshalton and Wallington residents have raised it with me. One of the most distressing aspects of the treatment of the Uyghurs is the sickening online propaganda suggesting that they are somehow happy with or, indeed, responding well to their so-called re-education. Will my hon. Friend the Minister outline what conversations he has had with his colleagues in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and in tech about tackling this harmful online content?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. Content that denies that these atrocities are going on should be judged as harmful content. We are developing an online harms regulatory framework, which will establish a new duty of care to ensure that companies have processes in place to deal with the sort of disinformation and harmful content to which my hon. Friend refers.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]]

The public are truly appalled by the further horrific crimes that have now come to light. We cannot allow this situation to be tolerated. Will the Minister advise us on what more can be done to tighten the restrictions to prevent Xinjiang cotton and other goods manufactured by prisoners from entering UK supply chains and ending up in our shops?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is correct to raise this issue; it is important that we take action in this regard. We believe that the measures announced by the Foreign Secretary in January are robust. We have led the international action in this regard. The measures in respect of UK supply chains are targeted and will help to ensure that no British organisation, whether in the public or private sector, is complicit in human rights violations in Xinjiang.

[Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con) [V]]

I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

We all agree that nobody should profit from the abuse of others. Forced labour is a hideous crime. I welcome what the Minister has said regarding the use of the Modern Slavery Act, but will he consider introducing provisions similar to those used in the United States, where hot goods produced by forced labour are prevented from even entering the country, to stop perpetrators profiting from their abusive behaviour?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the work she did when she was the Minister responsible for the Modern Slavery Act; it has had a huge impact. In respect of the US Department of Labour’s hot goods provision, we certainly do not rule out taking further measures. Xinjiang’s position in the international supply chain network means that there is a risk of businesses inadvertently or otherwise sourcing from suppliers that are complicit in the use of forced labour. That is why we have announced the package of measures to ensure that businesses that profit from forced Uyghur labour are not part of the supply chains. It includes the introduction of financial penalties for businesses that do not comply with the Modern Slavery Act and guidance for businesses operating in Xinjiang, and also support for UK Government and public bodies to exclude suppliers who are complicit in forced labour.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab) [V]]

We have heard of the Chinese regime carrying out forced sterilisations on Uyghur women as well as carrying out forced abortions and tearing children from their mothers. As if it could not get any worse, we now know they are systematically raping and torturing women in their detention camps; nowhere is safe for them. As we approach the next stage of the Trade Bill, now is the time for the Government to accept Lord Alton’s amendment to finally call this programme of abuse what it is: genocide. If the Minister’s Department continues to refuse, what exactly is it waiting for China to do before it takes this action?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady is right to raise the deeply disturbing reports of forced sterilisation; we had a debate in this place late last year on the issue. It adds to the growing body of evidence about the disturbing situation that Uyghurs in Xinjiang and other minorities are facing. I can assure the hon. Lady that the Government fully understand the strength of feeling on this matter; that is why we are looking to work to ensure that the relevant debate and scrutiny can take place in Parliament, where there are credible concerns about genocide in defined circumstances.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con) [V]]

The news from Xinjiang becomes ever more horrific, so what can the Government do to help us as consumers know when we shop online exactly where our products are coming from? Are the Government having conversations with the big online retailers so that we will know if anything we are buying is coming from either Xinjiang or China? Can the Government help in this area so our collective power as consumers can be brought to bear?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that point. It is important that we strengthen the measures that we announced previously on the Modern Slavery Act and that we announced in January on strengthening the overseas business risk measures, making it clear to businesses, whether online or otherwise, that if they are investing or have supply chains in Xinjiang they must not inadvertently or directly be complicit in the exploitation of forced labour. We are reviewing the export controls to ensure that we are doing everything we can to prevent the export of goods that may contribute to human rights violations, and, as I mentioned to the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby), the financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply with these transparency obligations will be severe.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab) [V]]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) for seeking this urgent question. I have a simple question that has been asked several times already this morning, but as I have not heard a clear answer I will ask it again: why do the Government continue to drag their feet on applying Magnitsky sanctions to Chinese officials in Xinjiang when the evidence of serious human rights violations is so compelling?

[Nigel Adams]

We have taken action. We have led international action; we have targeted measures, as announced in January; we will continue to work closely with our partners and lead international efforts to hold China to account, including by working with the new Administration in the United States; and I can tell the hon. Lady we are carefully considering further Magnitsky designations on the Chinese regime and keeping all the evidence and the potential listings under close review.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The treatment of the Uyghurs by the Chinese regime is beyond appalling. The Minister was right to say in his statement that the initial step we need to take to resolve the situation is for the Chinese to allow unfettered access for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. What possible excuse could the Chinese regime have for preventing that, and how are Her Majesty’s Government going to bring that about?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend makes a very valid point. If China has nothing to hide and claims again today that these allegations are false, there is absolutely no excuse for unfettered access not being granted to the UN human rights commissioner, and we have constantly called for that to happen.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani) on securing this urgent question, but it is the third urgent question we have had on the treatment of Uyghurs, and indeed the Foreign Secretary made a statement on the issue not three weeks ago. I reiterate the comment by my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) that thoughts and prayers are no longer sufficient. What else do the Government and their international partners require to take action?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We are taking action. We have taken action with regard to Xinjiang. We have raised this directly with the Chinese authorities; the Foreign Secretary has raised it with his direct counterpart, and I have raised it with China’s ambassador—now the former ambassador—to the UK. We announced a series of measures in January, and we funded the research that helped build the evidence base for what is going on in Xinjiang. We will continue to work not just on our own but with our international partners to ensure that China is held to its international obligations.

[Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con) [V]]

First, I thank the Minister for his work. He is a good Minister; it is a difficult brief, and he does his job diligently. However, does the Foreign Office believe that it is ethically right to sign preferential treaties with states credibly accused of genocide? Systematic rape, sexual torture, forced sterilisation, re-education camps, forced labour, Orwellian surveillance—this is a tragedy happening in our time and it demands moral recognition, so why are the Government blocking our meaningful genocide amendment to the Trade Bill? Will they please work with us to introduce a meaningful amendment to that Bill that recognises the criticality—the moral imperative—of recognising genocide, and a genocide that is happening now, in our age?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments; I knew there was going to be a “however” or a “but” at some point. I know how passionate he is about this issue. To his first question, of course it is not right that we should be entering into these agreements with genocidal countries. I can again be absolutely clear that we understand the strength of his feeling on this matter, and that of other hon. and right hon. Members. We want to work, and we are working, with hon. and right hon. Members right across the House—work that will continue in the run-up to next Tuesday, when the Bill comes back to this place.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP) [V]]

The extent of these crimes of sexual violence can only be considered to be systematic and a further symptom of the genocide being carried out, using a whole armoury of appalling tactics, by Chinese officials. Can the Minister tell us whether the Government are considering adopting an atrocity prevention strategy to ensure that the resources of all Departments always operate in a way that is consistent with our values?

[Nigel Adams]

We are working incredibly hard with our international partners to ensure that there is an effective response to the situation in Xinjiang. The hon. Gentleman raises a very good point. We will continue to do that. I do believe that our diplomatic pressure is having an international impact, by virtue of the fact that the most recent statement had 38 countries joining us. We will continue to work both directly—bilaterally—and internationally to ensure that China is held to account for its international obligations.

[Imran Ahmad Khan (Wakefield) (Con) [V]]

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), I was appalled by the statement from the Chinese embassy condemning the BBC report about the treatment of Uyghurs, including the systematic rape of detained women, as little more than fake news. This is another example of the Chinese state denying genocide, despite it being glaringly obvious that the Chinese Communist party is orchestrating the systematic eradication of the Uyghur.

Unlike some today, I believe that whether a totalitarian state is established or not, we must have the courage and confidence to resist inhuman despotism, as this country proudly has in the past. Will my hon. Friend tell me when and which additional measures the Government intend to employ in the light of the overwhelming and still growing mountain of evidence of human rights abuses and shameless lies by the Chinese Government?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Again, I know how passionate hon and right hon. Members feel about this particular issue. With regard to the measures, we have taken action, as he knows, both at the UN and with our statements bringing together our international partners. We announced further measures in January aimed at targeting companies that are potentially indirectly or inadvertently profiting from forced labour. We will continue to look and to lead international efforts to hold China to account. We will consider carefully further designations under our global human rights regime, and we will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review. It is important that sanctions are developed responsibly, and it is not appropriate to speculate on who may be designated in the future.

[Mr Speaker]

I am now suspending the House for three minutes to enable the necessary arrangements for the next business to be made.

Myanmar

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

I would like to update the House on the situation in Myanmar. On Sunday evening, Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, seized control of the country, declaring a state of emergency in the early hours of Monday morning. The country is now under the effective control of the commander-in-chief and the military vice-president, Myint Swe. At around 0200 hours local time on 1 February, the Tatmadaw began detaining politicians and civil society leaders across the country, including the democratically elected Aung Sang Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. The Tatmadaw has said that this state of emergency will continue for a year.

The army has also taken control of the airports. Only military broadcasters are still on air, and phone lines and the internet remain at risk of being disconnected again. The military’s actions follow on from its accusations of fraud during November’s election. Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy won by a landslide and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party’s share was drastically reduced. While there were significant concerns about the disenfranchisement of minority groups such as the Rohingya, there are no suggestions of widespread irregularities. International observers, such as the Carter Centre and the Asian Network for Free Elections, found no evidence of significant irregularities in the elections. As such, the United Kingdom considers the election result to credibly reflect the will of the people and that Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party is the rightful winner of the election.

The commander-in-chief has indicated an intention to hold new elections to replace the results of those in November 2020. Any dispute regarding the election results should be resolved through peaceful and lawful mechanisms. The Myanmar Supreme Court is hearing a case on alleged irregularities but has not yet decided whether it has jurisdiction. The reports today of the arrest of the chair of the Union Election Commission are deeply concerning.

The events of Sunday night have filled us all with a profound sense of revulsion and sadness. Our thoughts are with the people of Myanmar, who have once again been robbed of their inherent democratic rights. The elections in 2020, though by no means perfect, were an important step on Myanmar’s path to democracy. We and others welcomed them as a strong endorsement of Myanmar’s desire for a democratic future. Myanmar’s transition has been troubled, with a constitution rigged in favour of the military, a campaign of atrocities and systematic discrimination against the Rohingya and other minorities, and a faltering peace process.

This coup threatens to set Myanmar’s progress back by years—potentially decades. As such, we are clear in our condemnation of this coup, the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar and the unlawful detention of democratically elected politicians and civil society by the military. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary both issued statements to this effect on Monday morning. It is essential that Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unlawfully detained are released. We must receive assurances that their safety, wellbeing and rights are being respected. The state of emergency must be repealed, arbitrary detentions reversed, the outcome of the democratic elections respected and the National Assembly peacefully reconvened. We are aware that there is a risk that demonstrations could provoke a violent response, taking Myanmar back to the dark days of the 1988 uprising or the 2007 saffron revolution, in which scores of civilians were killed.

As for the UK response, we are pursuing all levers to ensure a peaceful return to democracy. First, we have made representations at the highest level within Myanmar to encourage all sides to resolve disputes in a peaceful and legal manner. The Foreign Secretary had a call scheduled for later this week with Aung San Suu Kyi prior to her detention. We are clear in our demands that this call goes ahead and we hope that it will serve as an opportunity to confirm her safety. I formally summoned Myanmar’s ambassador to the UK to the Foreign Office yesterday. In the meeting, I condemned the military coup and the arbitrary detention of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and made it clear that the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected, and the elected National Assembly peacefully reconvened. We are doing all we can, working with those in Myanmar, to support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.

Secondly, the international community has a role to play. We are engaging with partners globally and in the region to help to align objectives and find a resolution to the crisis. We will work through multilateral fora to ensure a strong and co-ordinated international response. As president, the Foreign Secretary is co-ordinating G7 partners on its response, aiming to build on its quick statement last week on Navalny. The UK has urgently convened the UN Security Council, which will meet later today. As a champion of the rules-based international order and democratic government, we are driving the international response, including in our role as president of both the G7 and the UN Security Council, urging the military to immediately hand back power to the Government that were legitimately elected in November 2020. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations also has an important role to play, as do the principles of the ASEAN charter, including the rule of law, good governance, and the principles of democracy and constitutional government. We continue to engage with ASEAN partners to support a regional response, and I held a meeting with the Thai vice-Foreign Minister this morning.

Thirdly, it is the military’s actions that instigated this coup. The UK already has a number of measures in place in response to the military’s past and ongoing atrocities. On 19 September 2017, the UK announced the suspension of all defence engagement and training with the Myanmar military by the Ministry of Defence until there is a satisfactory resolution to the situation in Rakhine. The MOD no longer has a defence section in Yangon. The United Kingdom has already imposed sanctions on 16 individuals responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. We sanctioned all six individuals named by the UN fact-finding mission report, including the commander-in-chief and his deputy, who are the architects of the current political situation and who also have the power to de-escalate the crisis and restore democracy. We will assess how best to engage with the military, if at all. We have also enhanced private sector due diligence to prevent UK funds from going to military-owned companies.

The UK does not provide direct financial aid to the Myanmar Government, but we provide some targeted support, working through other international organisations and multilateral bodies. In the light of the coup, the Foreign Secretary has today announced a review of all such indirect support involving the Myanmar Government, with a view to suspending it unless there are exceptional humanitarian reasons. It is important that our response holds the military accountable.

We will continue to support the people of Myanmar. We will continue leading the international response to this crisis and calling on the military leaders in Myanmar to relent, revoke the state of emergency, release members of the civilian Government and civil society, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, reconvene the elected National Assembly, respect the results of the November 2020 general election, and accept the expressed wishes of the people of Myanmar. I commend the statement to the House.

[Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement.

The Labour party will always speak up for universal rights and freedoms, the rule of law and democracy across the world, including in Myanmar. We know that democracy is in retreat around the world, and for the first time since 2001, democratic Governments are outnumbered by authoritarian regimes. What took place in Myanmar yesterday and over the weekend serves to remind us of the daunting scale and nature of the challenge we face. This military coup is a flagrant breach of the constitution of Myanmar, and must be condemned in the strongest terms. The army’s claims of voter fraud are utterly spurious. This is a naked power grab.

While Aung San Suu Kyi’s failure to stand up for the human rights of the Rohingya people has been deeply troubling, the fact is that her party secured a landslide victory in the November elections, and Myanmar’s young democracy must be respected and protected. Let us not forget the human cost of this coup: many brave elected representatives and activists were rounded up in the dead of night, their families terrified by the men in uniform on the doorstep. Now they languish in prison cells.

How has it come to this? Well, for decades, the power-hungry Myanmar military has oppressed and persecuted the Burmese people, committing countless atrocities—most notably against the Rohingya, for which it currently stands accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice. Experts on Myanmar are clear that the tacit support of China, combined with the rest of the world turning a blind eye, has given the military the confidence to enact this coup, based on the assumption that the international backlash will be negligible and lethargic. The UK and the wider international community must act swiftly and effectively to prove the military wrong on this. The UK Government must move from warm words of condemnation to tangible action. As the penholder on Myanmar at the Security Council, the UK has a particular and unique responsibility to lead the international response. We welcome the Security Council session the Government have convened today, but we believe there are further steps that must be taken.

First, the Government must lead by example by imposing sanctions on the Myanmar military and all its business interests. When I urged the Minister to take this action last year, he argued against such measures on the ground that it would have a negative impact on foreign investment into the Myanmar economy. Well, there is nothing like a military coup to damage foreign investment, so surely the Minister must now accept that his argument no longer stands up to scrutiny and that the Government must immediately impose sanctions that directly target the military and its financial backers. We on the Opposition Benches strongly support the Magnitsky sanctions against individuals in Myanmar, but let us be clear that they are designed predominantly for countries where senior officials have economic interests in the UK, such as Russia and China, and this is not the case for Myanmar.

Secondly, the UK Government should seek to extend the arms embargo against Myanmar so that it is as close as possible to global in its scale and scope. Clearly, authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China will be unlikely to participate, but we must seek to build the broadest possible coalition of countries committed to not selling weapons to Myanmar.

Thirdly, now must surely be the time for the Minister to commit the UK to joining the Netherlands and Canada in formally supporting the Gambia in its case of genocide brought against Myanmar at the ICJ. Will he also call for Myanmar’s first report to the ICJ, published last June, to be made public in order to shine a light on the atrocities committed by the military? I would also like the Minister to set out what conversations he has had with the Bangladeshi Government to ensure that humanitarian aid contributed by the UK is sufficiently reaching the Rohingya who have fled to Cox’s Bazar.

Finally, what consular support are the UK Government offering to UK citizens who are in Myanmar and caught in the middle of this appalling military coup?

I respect the Minister, and I know that his heart is in the right place on this issue, but I have to say to him that this statement falls far short of what we need and what we expect—nothing on sanctions, nothing on the ICJ. The people of Myanmar need a stronger response, and they need it now.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone of his response, and also for welcoming the international engagement, in particular at the UN Security Council. As he rightly remarks, as penholder, we have brought forward by a day a meeting on Myanmar at the Council as a matter of urgency, and that meeting will take place in New York this afternoon.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned sanctions on the military. I politely point out to him that we have already imposed sanctions on 16 individuals responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar, including six individuals named by the UN fact-finding mission report. However, of course we will work closely with our international partners to consider next steps in that regard and we will constantly consider all the tools at our disposal.

The hon. Gentleman asked whether we would support an international arms embargo. We are a long-standing supporter of an arms embargo in Myanmar. We worked with EU partners to secure and tighten a strong EU arms embargo following the 2017 Rohingya crisis. Since we left the EU, we have transitioned this into domestic law. Our autonomous sanctions regulations prohibit the provision of military-related services, including the provision of technical assistance, to or for the benefit of the Tatmadaw.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the case brought by the Gambia. We have been very clear in our support for the ICJ process, which is putting pressure on Myanmar, and particularly the military, to do more to protect the Rohingya. We have pressed the civilian Government to engage constructively and transparently, and we urge the military to comply with the provisional measures ruling.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned Bangladesh. We are working very closely with the Bangladesh authorities and we are speaking with the Bangladesh Government. We are the second largest donor to support the Rohingya who are currently in Bangladesh.

We are following the advice very carefully of our post in Yangon on the situation involving UK nationals. We will continue to update British nationals in that regard. They are advised to stay at home, to make only essential journeys and to continue to check travel advice and embassy social media pages. I have spoken with our ambassador on a couple of occasions over the last 24 hours, and we continue to closely monitor the situation.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement and agree with much of what the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) said. When looking at sanctions, we know that Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd is alleged to be paying out dividends of around $18 billion to $20 billion a year to the army. Is it not particularly galling that, despite this army claiming to serve the people and to put the public interest first by overthrowing a democratically elected leader, Myanmar is the single worst country in the world for vaccinating its citizens? Does that not demonstrate that, rather than being servants of the people, the Myanmar armed forces are its pillagers, its occupiers and its thieves?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, makes a very good point. The UK military, in contrast, has done a fantastic job of supporting the roll-out of vaccinations here. As he knows, we unreservedly condemn the military coup in Myanmar and the detention of members of the Government. The military’s action is not conducive to supporting the most vulnerable people, so we call for the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly. The results of the elections in November 2020 must be adhered to, as must the express wishes of the people of Myanmar—they need a democratically elected Government who can help see them through this pandemic.

[Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP) [V]]

I hope I have demonstrated in the House that I do not believe in fabricating difference. I agree with all the content of the Minister’s statement, and I commend him on it, as far as it goes. I would like to press him on further action that it would be useful to take.

This is yet another reminder of the importance of all of us—Government, state and individuals—being vocal advocates at home and abroad for the rule of law. I invite the Minister to mention to his ministerial colleagues just how damaging it was for the UK to mull the idea of breaking recently agreed international provisions in a “limited and specific” way. That really has weakened all our credibility in this discussion.

I support the international efforts that the Minister is taking forward, particularly within the G7—a position that the UK can use to the betterment of this. There is a strong case for further sanctions against the Burmese military as an organisation. There have been welcome sanctions on individuals, and there could be more of those, but the military is a huge commercial enterprise that is vulnerable to sanctions. I would also like reassurance on something that the Minister did not mention, which was co-operation with the EU. I think the EU’s position on this will be important, and co-ordinating on that will be very much to the benefit. It is early days yet, but what assessment has been made by our mission within country of the already dreadful situation of the Rohingya? Is there a risk of flight of Rohingya into Cox’s Bazar and into Bangladesh? Can the Minister give a reassurance that if more aid is necessary, we stand ready to provide it to the Bangladeshi Government, because this will take a concerted international effort? If he continues along those tracks, he will have our support.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his co-operative tone on matters such as this. I believe we are all on the same page in this regard, and his comments about us working with international partners are absolutely right. Given our presidency of the G7 and the UN Security Council, we are using these opportunities to drive forward the international response, and that will include dealing and liaising with our friends in the EU. We all need to stand together to demonstrate that we will not stand for a subversion of democracy. We are talking with a broad range of international partners, including the neighbours of Myanmar, and especially the ASEAN countries. The hon. Gentleman mentioned aid. This year, the UK is spending £88 million in-country in Myanmar on supporting the people of Myanmar. In addition, since 2017 we have spent almost a third of a billion pounds supporting humanitarian aid and supporting the Rohingya who are displaced and have found themselves in Bangladesh.

[Imran Ahmad Khan (Wakefield) (Con) [V]]

Like all Members of this House, I found myself deeply disappointed when Aung San Suu Kyi chose to take no action against the genocide of Rohingya, but that grave failure should not temper our condemnation of the quasi-constitutional military coup, which undermines the futures, freedoms and democratic rights of the Burmese people. Will my hon. Friend the Minister further outline what his Department is doing to promote the fundamental and universal rights of democracy, freedom and liberty in Burma in light of the recent events?

[Nigel Adams]

I know how passionate my hon. Friend feels about values and democracy, and I assure him that the United Kingdom places the highest premium on respect for democracy and the rules-based international system. We have been talking to regional and international partners about that, and we call on Myanmar to respect the principles of the ASEAN charter, including the rule of law, good governance, as I mentioned, and the principles of democracy and constitutional government.

[Imran Hussain (Bradford East) (Lab) [V]]

For over three years, I have repeatedly called for the Government to enact sanctions against the Burmese military for its brutality in the Rohingya genocide, but on each occasion those calls were rejected by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which essentially told me that imposing sanctions would endanger the fledgling democracy in the country. Does the Minister now agree that this military coup shows that those were unfounded claims and, frankly, poor excuses for refusing to act in the face of the genocide against the Rohingya? Instead, the Government did more harm than good by emboldening the Burmese military.

[Nigel Adams]

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman has kept up to speed, but in fact the United Kingdom has already imposed sanctions on military individuals, including the commander-in-chief and his deputy. We are absolutely clear. If the hon. Gentleman’s campaigning over the past three years on this issue has led to that, I congratulate him, but we have already delivered sanctions for human rights violations in Myanmar. Let us be absolutely clear, the commander-in-chief and his deputy are the architects of this current crisis.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

The actions of the Myanmar military are an assault on democracy and the democratically legitimate Government. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that they immediately confirm the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the safety of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Prime Minister had a phone call with Aung San Suu Kyi before Christmas and the Foreign Secretary was due to have a phone call with her this week. It is essential that she and all those who have been arbitrarily detained are released. We must receive assurances that their safety, wellbeing and rights are respected—I reiterated that to the Myanmar ambassador when I summoned him to Foreign Office yesterday. As I said, there should have been a call later this week, and we hope that one will take place to serve as an assurance of Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety and wellbeing, because it is vital that we are able to confirm that she is safe.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

The Minister will know that the major player in this crisis is China, the economy of which Myanmar is far more dependent on than others. The relationship between the military and the Chinese Government has in the past been ambiguous, given how destabilising China’s actions are to the region. Notwithstanding whatever grievances we may have in respect of the Uyghurs and Hong Kong, this is a moment in which we should be working together, including with China, to solve this crisis. Can the Minister make an assessment of China’s likely response at this time? Have our Government had conversations with the Chinese Government about such a co-ordinated international response?

[Nigel Adams]

Very much so. The Foreign Secretary is leading on this issue with the G7 and we hope to have some further news in that regard in the next day or so. We are absolutely on the front foot internationally in that regard. I know that the hon. Lady is passionate about this particular country. Let me be absolutely clear about what we are calling for: the military leaders must revoke the state of emergency and release the members of the Government and of civil society.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con) [V]]

The events in Myanmar have shown that democracy is fragile. The reality is that the actions of the democracy-denying narcissist Trump in the past three months have undermined such values. Will my hon. Friend the Minister not only work with the G7, as he said, but impress upon the new US Administration how important it is for established western democracies to show strength and to stress how important it is that democracy is honoured? Will he ensure that the G7, as a group, moves together to ensure that this situation comes to an end?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for his question. We are absolutely working through the G7 and engaging the UN Human Rights Council. As I said, we are urgently convening the UN Security Council. We have, of course, engaged with our American friends at both official level and at Foreign Secretary level. Over the next day, we will be making sure that Myanmar is high up the agenda. We are using such opportunities to drive forward the international response and, as I said, we will not stand a subversion of democracy.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab) [V]]

I have been privileged to visit Myanmar with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and as an observer at the NLD’s first party conference, which was a time of great optimism that was sadly not entirely fulfilled. It is now clear that we could have handled things differently in that interim period by applying more pressure for constitutional reform and reducing the power of the military. Will the Minister say a bit more about what we hope to achieve by sanctions now, other than the restoration of democracy and Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from detention? What are our slightly longer-term goals in terms of trying to reduce the power of the military and putting Myanmar on a more democratic footing?

[Nigel Adams]

I think the reasons behind the Magnitsky-style sanctions announced a few months ago were pretty clear. We are absolutely clear that there were human rights violations in Myanmar and, I repeat, we sanctioned all six of the individuals named by the UN fact-finding mission report. We will obviously work closely with our international partners to consider next steps in this regard, but the UK Government’s priorities at this immediate time are to ensure that the military leaders revoke the state of emergency, release those held, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and reconvene the elected National Assembly.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

I welcome the Minister’s statement. The events in Myanmar are a reminder that we need a strong international community to be able to respond to such events. With that in mind, I echo other Members’ calls for further sanctions. May I also draw his attention to the humanitarian violations going on and the need to create a preventing-sexual- violence- in-conflict body in this country with international co-operation to ensure that we can support survivors of sexual violence, genocide and human rights violations, document such cases and lead international criminal cases against the perpetrators?

[Nigel Adams]

I know how passionately my hon. Friend feels about these issues, particularly with regard to his work with the former Foreign Secretary prior to being elected to this House. I repeat that it is completely unacceptable for a democratically elected Government to be overthrown by the military in this way. We are, of course, working with international partners on all the issues he refers to, and we will continue to do so. We are monitoring the situation, and we have been very concerned about the humanitarian situation over the last 72 hours. As he will appreciate, following a military coup it is difficult to get to the places we need to be, but he is right to raise the issues and we will continue to monitor the situation extremely closely.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

This appalling military coup and overthrow of a democratically elected Government is undoubtedly a major setback for the progress and development of Myanmar. However, the likes of me are particularly concerned about the desperate plight of the Rohingya Muslims, who have faced a genocide. Approximately a million had to flee their own country and are now refugees in Bangladesh and other nations. What is the Minister doing to spearhead an international effort to ensure that there is no further crackdown by the authoritarian military regime on the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya still in Myanmar, many of whom are interned in camps and unable to move freely, with extremely limited access to basic health and education services?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point, which is well made. As he will appreciate, the situation in the country is evolving rapidly. We are monitoring the situation as closely as we can, but we are also working closely with our partners. I talked about us convening the meeting this afternoon in New York so that we can have a joint response with the UN Security Council.

I assure him that we will ensure that we continue to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, including for the Rohingya. We are alert to the possibility of all sorts of horrific violence, such as identity-based violence, being committed—there are reports of that. We are one of the largest donors to Rakhine state, which is one of the poorest states in Myanmar. Our assistance helps with education, nutrition, livelihoods and health, and we are supporting all communities.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con) [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend for his statement. Will he update the House on what steps the Government are taking to mobilise international diplomacy against the Myanmar military?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on to raise this. We are working through multilateral forums to ensure that there is a strong and co-ordinated international response. As I have said previously, we have urgently convened the UN Security Council for today. We are also leading the way through the G7 and engaging the UN Human Rights Council. Given our presidency of the G7 and the UNSC, we are using these as an opportunity to drive forward the international response. We must take leadership and demonstrate that we will not stand again for subversion of democracy.

[Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP) [V]]

May I associate myself with the remarks of the Minister and the two Opposition Front-Bench spokespersons? The Minister has reminded us that the commander-in-chief and his deputy are responsible for the current emergency situation in Myanmar. They and their associates are also responsible for the wholesale and systematic campaign of rape, torture and murder of the Rohingya Muslims, entirely for racist reasons. Can he give us an assurance that, in among the other discussions that are now required within the international community, high up on the agenda will be a restated determination that everyone who was responsible for those atrocities in Myanmar will one day be brought to justice and held to account for their crimes?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this. We must ensure that there is accountability for those who have committed atrocities. The United Kingdom is clear that the Myanmar military undertook a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya in 2017, and we are pushing for those guilty of atrocities to be held to account. In our joint statement to the UN Security Council on 11 September, we called for Myanmar to make progress on this accountability, and in the current absence of a credible domestic process, all options must be on the table, including referral to the International Criminal Court.

[Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con) [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend for his statement today on the concerning situation in Myanmar. Does he agree that the UK must be at the forefront of condemning these actions at the United Nations?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Yes, we are engaging with a range of partners to encourage dialogue, peaceful resolution of the crisis and, importantly, the restoration of democracy. The Foreign Secretary has been speaking to his counterparts from other states and has a call scheduled with the US Secretary of State for later this week. He will also be speaking to the Japanese Foreign and Defence Ministers this week, and the Prime Minister is trying to arrange a call with his Japanese counterpart. We will work through multilateral forums to ensure a strong and co-ordinated international response.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind) [V]]

Obviously, we must all absolutely condemn the coup in Myanmar. It is appalling what has happened, but sadly, the overpowering, brutal presence of the military has been a feature of the lives of people in Myanmar since the 1960s. Even during the recent slightly more democratic period in Myanmar’s history, the military have occupied a special place in which they have been essentially untrammelled by any democratic accountability whatsoever, and the Rohingya people have suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of that. Hopefully, one day, we will look forward to a more democratic Myanmar. Does the Minister agree that when that happy day eventually comes, there has to be a constitution that does not give unaccountable power to the military but instead brings them under the control of a parliamentary democracy?

I am pleased that the Minister mentioned the United Nations Human Rights Council in his statement and one of his responses. Would it be possible for him to urge the UN Human Rights Council to put together very rapidly a delegation to be sent both to Myanmar and to Cox’s Bazar to examine the human rights abuses that have happened, take the necessary evidence and condemn those that should be condemned—sadly including Aung San Suu Kyi, who stood up in support of the military when her country was quite rightly condemned for the treatment of the Rohingya people?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question. We will of course continue to work through all multilateral forums, including at today’s meeting of the UN Security Council, which we brought forward, and by pulling together our G7 partners, in order to have the appropriate response. I am sure the right hon. Gentleman would agree with me that what we want to see is the Myanmar military revoke this state of emergency. The civilian Government, Aung San Suu Kyi and civil society people who have been seized must be released. We want to see the reconvening of the National Assembly, as I am sure he does. It is absolutely key that Myanmar respects the result of the November election and, more importantly, accepts the expressed wish of the people of Myanmar.

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

I welcome the Minister’s statement. In a previous job, I was in Myanmar for the BBC. It is so depressing watching this new tragedy unfold. The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting today, which is of course incredibly welcome. Does the Minister share my concern that China’s stranglehold on UN institutions and its alleged closeness to the Myanmar military mean that it might stifle the meeting today and going forward? Can he offer any succour for people like me who have those concerns?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for her remarks. Of course, we must work closely with our international partners. That is why we have brought forward today’s meeting at the UN Security Council. Obviously, we cannot second-guess the outcome of the meeting this afternoon. I share many of my hon. Friend’s concerns about the ability of countries to veto action in that multilateral body, but be in no doubt that the United Kingdom is on the front foot and is leading the international response on this crisis.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab) [V]]

The Burmese military is as financially corrupt as it is brutal and anti-democratic. The Burmese military have managed to squirrel away stolen assets from the Burmese people, in the UK, in British overseas territories and in other democratic countries in the world. Can we not do more to make sure that they can be returned to the Burmese people?

While China still plays a role in refusing to allow those who are accused of genocides to come to a proper international court, how can the Minister be sure that those that perpetrate genocide are not just going to get away with it? If we cannot get such determinations in an international court, would it not make sense that they are made in a court of law in the UK?

[Nigel Adams]

I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is trying to make. On the reference to genocide, we have been very clear that we support the current case in the ICJ process, putting pressure on Myanmar. I think the case will develop significantly in the coming months; we are monitoring that case very closely.

I do not have a crystal ball with regards to the points the hon. Gentleman raised about China, but we are going to very closely consider the legal arguments and, for example, establish whether a UK intervention would add value in the current case that has been brought to the ICJ.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con) [V]]

This is a huge setback for the people of Myanmar and for the development of open societies in the ASEAN region as a whole. The civil disobedience movement started by Government hospital doctors suggests an awful potential for protests and violence. While the Minister is quite right to highlight UK initiatives for an emergency session of the UN Security Council and with ASEAN, which has called for a return to normality, can I ask what contacts my hon. Friend and his Department have had with China to discuss the best way to return stability as soon as possible?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend, who I know is extremely passionate, for all the work that he does on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government in that region. ASEAN does have an important role to play. I had meetings with the Thai Vice Minister this morning. Yesterday, I spoke with the Laos ambassador, and I have further calls with all ASEAN nations over the next 48 hours. It is important that there is adherence to the principles of the ASEAN charter, which includes good governance and the rule of law. We will, of course, be speaking with China in this regard, as it is a significant player in the region. We are completely clear that the principles of democracy and constitutional government should be returned for the people of Myanmar.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab) [V]]

This coup is the latest in a horrifying series of actions by the Myanmar military against the people of that country. We must do all we can to secure the immediate release of the democratically elected leader and all those who have been detained unlawfully. The military, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, have been acting for years with impunity, including in the atrocities committed against the Rohingya and other minorities.

The interventions of our Government, as well as those of the international community, have been insufficient. The UN Security Council meeting today is critically important, and I welcome that. Can the Minister tell the House whether our Government will be pushing for further tougher, targeted sanctions against the Burmese military and formally supporting the genocide prevention case at the International Court of Justice, led by the Gambia, to protect the remaining Rohingya people in that country? It is not good enough for the Minister to keep saying, “We are reviewing it,” or, “We are supporting it, but we are not prepared to formally support it yet.” It is time that we took action. If this coup is not enough to force our Government to act, then I do not know what else will force them to act to get behind this case. I hope the Minister can be more vociferous in answering those questions today.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know how passionate she is about Myanmar and the plight of the Rohingya. We have had meetings on this matter directly. We are using our penholder role to ensure that Myanmar stays on the UN Security Council agenda. We convened the Security Council three times last year to discuss the case brought by Gambia, covid and the situation in Rakhine and the Chin states. We have been very clear that Myanmar has to make progress on accountability. The case will develop significantly in the coming months and, as I said in a previous answer, we will be carefully monitoring developments to consider the legal arguments to establish whether a UK intervention would add value, but I am sure the whole House will want to see the outcome of the UN Security Council meeting in New York this afternoon.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con) [V]]

I very much welcome the Foreign Secretary reviewing UK international development assistance to Myanmar, particularly given the coup that has taken place in the past few days. However, for many years, UK taxpayers’ money has essentially been wasted in that country, as we have seen human rights abuses against the Rohingya and the Chin people, and indeed, in the last Parliament, the International Development Committee being blocked from visiting that country by the Government. Can I ask that that review be extremely robust?

[Nigel Adams]

Absolutely. My hon. Friend is right. I would, though, take him to task a tiny bit. I am not entirely sure that our third of a billion pounds that we are spending to support the Rohingya could be deemed as wasted; this is vital humanitarian assistance. As I said, we are spending £88 million this year in Myanmar. He is absolutely right to condemn the coup in Myanmar. We need to see the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly. We want the results of the election respected and, importantly, we need to see the expressed wishes of the people of Myanmar respected, which I know my hon. Friend is very passionate about.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab) [V]]

As the Minister knows, over 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar following an escalation of violence over the past few years. Many residents in Ilford South have written to me concerned that the recent coup is yet another in a long line of worrying developments for Rohingya people. Will the Minister explain what measures the Government have taken to protect Rohingya people, who may now face even greater levels of persecution and oppression?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the plight of the Rohingya. We are working very closely with our partners to ensure that lifesaving humanitarian assistance is delivered for the Rohingya. We are alert to the possibility of further violence being committed. As I mentioned to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith), we are one of the largest donors in Rakhine state, which is one of the poorest states in Myanmar. We will continue to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the most vulnerable areas.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con) [V]]

I welcome the fact that we have called a meeting of the United Nations Security Council today. Will my hon. Friend elaborate on our approach to that meeting, given the fact that permanent members such as China and Russia have veto powers?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

Our presidency of the UN Security Council, as my hon. Friend knows, began on Monday. Initially, the meeting was scheduled for Thursday. We brought it forward to ensure that this is viewed as a matter of urgency by the UN. Our representatives will be there this afternoon, as will those of other members. I have no reason not to believe that all our international partners are concerned about the situation in Myanmar. There will no doubt be a read-out following that meeting.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for his clear commitment to freedom and democracy. As the House is all too aware, this is not the first time in recent years that Burmese military leaders have committed unconscionable crimes. Their brutal assault against the Rohingya community, which has displaced hundreds of thousands and murdered thousands, was described by the UN as a

“textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

Does the Minister agree that the international community’s failure to take substantial action against the Burmese military following that assault has emboldened its leaders to act against democracy in Burma?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point. This is a cause that rightly he champions every time he comes to this House. I gently point out that we have taken action against the Myanmar military, specifically the six individuals who were named in the UN fact-finding report. Sixteen in total were on the receiving end of our sanctions regime.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con) [V]]

I thank the Minister for his statement. Does he agree that the sanctions already in place on the Myanmar military show that the UK has long taken action against human rights abuses there?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right. I think it shows clear leadership. As I said to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), the six named individuals in the UN fact-finding report were in receipt of our sanctions, and 16 individuals in total. We will closely monitor the situation, working with our international partners. We do not rule anything out.

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

What effect will the Government’s decision to cut their aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national product have on their ability to sustain the level of humanitarian and development funding that the Minister has spoken of in Myanmar and for Rohingya refugees?

[Nigel Adams]

We will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable; we are committed to doing so. We want to support the Myanmar people in their aspirations for democracy and peace, but we will not provide support for the Myanmar military Government. We will be reviewing all UK aid spending in Myanmar. We do not provide any direct financial support to the Government as it is. In response, the Foreign Secretary has today commissioned an urgent review of all our aid spending to ensure that we are not indirectly supporting the military Government. This review will be based first on maintaining support for the poorest and most vulnerable, and not giving undeserved legitimacy to the military regime, and it will help to protect the foundations for a more inclusive and accountable Myanmar.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I thank the Minister for his statement and for responding to 25 questions for just a couple of minutes short of an hour.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Tuesday 19th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

What steps he plans to take at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2021 in response to (a) Sri Lanka’s recent withdrawal from its human rights obligations under resolution 30/1 and (b) forced cremations of people who die from covid-19 in Sri Lanka.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

We are disappointed at Sri Lanka’s withdrawal of support for resolution 30/1; we made that clear in statements at the United Nations Human Rights Council in February, June and September 2020. We are working with international partners and have had discussions with the Sri Lankan Government on how to take this forward at the UNHRC in March. We are committed to the principles of the resolution, and our approach to Sri Lanka will be a priority for the UK at the HRC over the next few months.

[Wes Streeting [V]]

The UK’s leadership on the issue of human rights in Sri Lanka, in terms of both historical and ongoing human rights abuses, has been critical. We saw, whether through David Miliband as Foreign Secretary or David Cameron as Prime Minister, the importance of leadership at the very highest level. What specifically will the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister do as leaders of the core group ahead of that crucial UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March to ensure that the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka do not go unpunished, and that we can look forward to a future based on truth, justice and reconciliation for all the peoples of Sri Lanka?

[Nigel Adams]

As I pointed out in my response, we are absolutely committed to the principles of the resolution. My ministerial colleague, Lord Ahmad, discussed human rights and accountability with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and the high commissioner in November and December respectively. We have spoken with Sri Lankan officials and with Geneva over the last week on these very issues.

[Stephen Kinnock (Aberavon) (Lab)]

We on the Opposition Benches believe that the Government’s foreign policy should be rooted in our country’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law. Therefore, we deeply regret that in February 2020 the Sri Lankan Government withdrew from their Human Rights Council obligations to promote reconciliation and accountability following the country’s devastating civil war. More recently, the Sri Lankan Government have introduced forced cremation for covid-19 victims, a policy that has absolutely no basis in science, rides roughshod over the traditional practices of Sri Lankan religious minorities and has rightly caused hurt and outrage among Muslim and Christian communities across the UK. So I ask the Minister: what steps has he taken to persuade the Sri Lankan Government to end forced cremations, what work is he doing with international partners ahead of the next Human Rights Council session in March to ensure that the Sri Lankan Government re-engages with the peace, reconciliation and accountability process, and what discussions has he had about human rights in the context of UK-Sri Lankan trade deal negotiations?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and he is right to raise it. We have shared guidance and scientific background with the Government of Sri Lanka on how the UK has ensured that burials can continue to operate in a safe format within the World Health Organisation guidelines. We also discussed, via my colleague Lord Ahmad, the importance of minority rights with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in November. Our high commissioner to Sri Lanka has raised forced cremation several times with the Sri Lankans—most recently, just over a week ago. We continue to speak with Sri Lanka, and have done so within the last week, and with Geneva regarding its commitment to upholding this resolution. We are certainly committed to it, and we will continue that dialogue.

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

What assessment he has made of the effect of events at the US Capitol building on 6 January 2021 on the state of democracy worldwide.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)]

What steps he is taking to ensure UK science and technology plays a role in international development.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

Scientific advances funded by the UK have helped drive reductions in extreme poverty, declines in childhood mortality and increases in life expectancy across the developing world. Our investments, including in affordable rapid diagnostic tests for covid-19 and the world’s first child-friendly antimalarial drug, are delivering benefit to hundreds of millions. We will continue to leverage UK and global scientific excellence and invest in cutting-edge technology and research to provide solutions to critical development challenges.

[Dr Murrison [V]]

The Government are doing extremely well in rolling out the vaccine in the UK. The AstraZeneca vaccine in particular is potentially deployable in developing countries. Will the Minister say at what point we will pass vaccines that we have ordered that greatly surpass the need of our population to COVAX? Does he agree that it is vital that, in advance of that, we do everything in our power to develop healthcare infrastructure in developing countries, without which a credible vaccine roll-out is just not possible?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. I agree that we should be incredibly proud of the work that we have done with regard to the vaccine.

I have had meetings with my Philippine counterparts on vaccines, alongside AstraZeneca. We are supporting equitable access through our funding for the COVAX facility. We are one of the largest donors to the COVAX advance market commitment to support access for 92 developing countries; we have committed £548 million. COVAX’s partners, which include Gavi, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, have huge experience in supporting developing country immunisation systems and the programming of immunisation. We expect the initial roll-out to COVAX AMC countries to start in the first quarter of this year.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

What progress the Government have made through international co-operation on tackling antimicrobial resistance.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

We are aware of reports that an Indian soldier has been charged after the deaths of three Kashmiri men. We welcome assurances from the Indian Government that their army is committed to ethical conduct, and that disciplinary action will be undertaken in accordance with Indian law where necessary. Where we have concerns about human rights in Kashmir we will continue to raise them with the India and Pakistani Governments.

[Sarah Owen [V]]

Three young Kashmiris working as labourers were abducted and brutally murdered by an army counter-insurgency officer. Illegal weapons were strapped to their bodies and they were wrongly branded hardcore terrorists. I know the Minister shares my concern that horrific abuses in Kashmir are not new or uncommon, but as our country continues to chart a new course internationally, can he tell us what the Government are actually doing to protect human rights in Kashmir and why the Secretary of State, sat next to him, lacks the courage to speak out against injustices around the world?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady, I know, is very passionate about this area and speaks on behalf of many of her constituents who have an interest in Kashmir. I can assure her that the Foreign Secretary has spoken directly with his counterpart as recently as December on this issue. India and Pakistan are long-standing important friends of the UK. We encourage both to engage in dialogue and find lasting diplomatic solutions to maintain stability in the region. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or act as a mediator; it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir.

[Mr Baker [V]]

A Kashmiri man showed me footage of his home in Kashmir on fire, purportedly after being shelled by India. I have provided to the Government some evidence that cluster munitions were used by India against another village in Kashmir. These things really matter to my constituents. After the pandemic, people in Wycombe could easily be in their homes in Kashmir. Is it not time to take seriously a UN report on the human rights situation on both sides of the line of control, to have a co-ordinated international effort to put UN human rights inspectors on both sides of the line of control and then to move forward with a new human rights framework for the UK, which can reassure diaspora communities such as mine in Wycombe that the UK is standing up for their human rights when they are in the countries from which their families and their ancestors hail?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is 100% correct to raise this matter again. He is a constant champion for his constituents on this area. We do recognise that there are human rights concerns in both India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Again, we encourage all states to ensure that domestic laws are in line with international standards and to co-operate with UN human rights officials and all mechanisms of the Human Rights Council. We have requested permission for officials from the British high commission in New Delhi to visit India-administered Kashmir as soon as the situation permits.

[Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles) (Lab)]

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Kashmir

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Wednesday 13th January 2021 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) for securing the debate, and to all hon. Members for their contributions. We have heard some really passionate speeches from my hon. Friends the Members for Bury North (James Daly), for Hyndburn (Sara Britcliffe), for Keighley (Robbie Moore), and for Peterborough (Paul Bristow), from the right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar), and from the hon. Members for Brent North (Barry Gardiner), for Bradford West (Naz Shah), and for Strangford (Jim Shannon).

The situation in Kashmir undoubtedly elicits strong feelings and is of great concern to the Government. I assure the hon. Member for Luton North that my colleague, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses Kashmir with representatives of the Governments of India and Pakistan. I hope to be able to address many of the issues that have been raised by hon. Members, and leave a bit of time for the hon. Lady to sum up at the end.

Pakistan and India, as we all know, are magnificent countries, as I said in yesterday’s debate. We enjoy incredibly strong and enduring ties with both countries. We have long-standing partnerships with India and Pakistan, based on a wide range of shared interests, including trade, security, development and investment. The Indian and Pakistani diasporas are the largest in the UK, with over 3 million Brits having Indian or Pakistani heritage. These vibrant diaspora communities make a vital contribution to the richness and diversity of British society and the broad and deep relationships between our countries, and those ties enable close co-operation between our Governments. That was evident—as I am fully aware, because it happened within 72 hours of my taking on this role—when we supported the return of thousands of British nationals from India and Pakistan in the wake of the covid-19 outbreak.

Just before turning to the detail of the debate, it is important to highlight the impact that covid-19 has had in Kashmir. According to official figures, there are nearly 3,000 cases of covid-19 in India-administered Kashmir, and 13,000 cases in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. We are in regular contact with both Governments about the situation, and also discussing the economic and health implications of the pandemic in those countries.

Turning to Kashmir, I stress that the Government’s policy remains stable; it is unchanged. We continue to believe that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation, one that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people: as the hon. Members for Brent North and for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) mentioned, this was laid out in the 1972 Simla agreement. It is not appropriate for the UK Government to prescribe a solution or act as a mediator in this regard, but it would be wrong to not acknowledge that there are serious human rights concerns in both India-administered and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. This has been confirmed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in his reports, and has also rightly been raised by the hon. Member for Aberavon.

The situation in India-administered Kashmir has been of particular concern to many here today, including this Government, especially since the revocation of article 370 of the Indian constitution in 2019 and the introduction of a number of restrictions on assembly and communications by the Indian Government, which has been raised by many Members. We understand that some of these restrictions may have been relaxed, with broadband internet partially restored, along with some access to social media. This is welcome news, but more should be done, as the hon. Member for Luton North rightly says. There have been recent elections to the District Development Council in India-administered Kashmir, the first to take place since the revocation of article 370.

However, we are concerned that some restrictions remain in place, including on internet connectivity. This was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley, and I thank him for speaking up on behalf of the people of his constituency on the issue of Kashmir. We in the UK Government call for these restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible.

[Barry Gardiner]

The Minister mentioned the DDC elections. Would he confirm that over 50% of the population freely took part in those elections, and that the largest single party—as opposed to the combined parties—that won in those elections was, in fact, the Bharatiya Janata party?

[Nigel Adams]

I do not have the exact results of the election to hand, but I suspect the hon. Gentleman does, and I am more than happy to go along with him.

Since 2019, we have closely followed reports of detentions in India-administered Kashmir—I think my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North, who again has been a real champion on behalf of his constituents on the issue of Kashmir, raised this. We welcome the release last year of former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. According to the Indian Government, all individuals who were detained under so-called preventive measures since the constitutional changes have now been released. That is welcome, but of course we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The hon. Members for Luton North and for Bradford West rightly raised the issue of violence against women and girls and the use of rape as a weapon of war in Kashmir—a point that would also have been raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker), who we have heard today is, sadly, self-isolating. He has long been a champion for Kashmir. Affecting one in three worldwide, violence against women and girls is one of the most systematic and widespread human rights violations of our time. Any allegations of human rights violations must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and transparently.

We are aware of the media reports that the hon. Member for Luton North raised that an Indian soldier has been charged with murder, kidnap and criminal conspiracy after the deaths of three Kashmiri men. We welcome assurances from the Indian Government that the army is committed to ethical conduct in its operations and that disciplinary action will be undertaken in accordance with the law where necessary.

We have repeatedly raised our concerns about detentions and restrictions with the Indian Government. The Foreign Secretary has raised Kashmir with his counterparts, including during his visit to New Delhi last month, when he discussed the situation with his counterpart. He has urged, again, India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue. My noble friend Lord Ahmad is in regular contact with his counterparts, Indian and Pakistani Ministers and senior officials and most recently raised our concerns about the human rights issues with the Indian Foreign Secretary on 3 November. We reinforce these concerns through our high commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad and here in London.

The hon. Member for Aberavon asked whether I would be trying to facilitate a visit. We are requesting permission for officials from our high commission to visit Kashmir as soon as the situation permits.

It is incumbent on all Governments to ensure that domestic laws are in line with international standards. Any allegations of human rights violations or abuses must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and transparently.

We heard a very moving speech from my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn about her visit to Kashmir. She is an excellent advocate for the region. We call for all restrictions in Kashmir to be lifted as soon as possible.

The hon. Member for Luton North mentioned religious discrimination. We condemn any instances of discrimination, regardless of the country or faith involved. We urge India and Pakistan to exercise restraint across the line of control, to de-escalate tensions and to improve their lines of communication.

My hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough spoke passionately about Kashmir on behalf of his constituents and urged us to raise those issues with the two sides. I can confirm that the Prime Minister has spoken with Prime Minister Modi of India and Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan about the importance of keeping channels of communication open and the importance of managing regional tensions.

The people of Kashmir deserve the opportunity to thrive and succeed, so, more broadly, we welcome the commitment that the Indian Government have made to the economic and social development of India-administered Kashmir. We continue to seek further details of their plans.

Let me end by reassuring hon. Members that the situation in Kashmir remains an important issue for the Government. We continue to talk frankly to the Governments of India and Pakistan about our human rights concerns and to call for all remaining restrictions in India-administered Kashmir to be lifted as soon as possible. We strongly believe that everyone everywhere should enjoy equal rights and protections under the law.

India: Persecution of Minority Groups

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing the debate and the role he plays on this issue in this House. I pay tribute to all his work as chair of the APPG for international freedom of religion or belief. I am grateful to all hon. Members for their contributions. My right hon. Friends the Members for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) and for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers), and the hon. Members for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) and for Bradford West (Naz Shah) all made very thoughtful and insightful speeches. Like the hon. Member for Brent North, I am a little surprised to be here. Nevertheless, we are and have the opportunity to recognise and share the feeling in the House on these vital issues. Later in my speech, I will respond to the points hon. Members raised.

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. It is one of our human rights priorities. Nobody should be excluded because of their religion or belief. Discrimination, as we all know, does terrible damage to societies. Importantly, it holds back economies. A country cannot fully develop or thrive while members of minority communities are oppressed. It is a core message of our diplomacy that communities are stronger, more stable and more prosperous when they embrace their diversity rather than fear it.

In November, my ministerial colleague who is responsible for human rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, underlined our commitment to freedom of religion or belief, speaking at the ministerial meeting to advance freedom of religion or belief and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance Ministers’ forum. All hon. Members present will know that in 2019, the previous Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt), commissioned the Bishop of Truro to undertake a review into the Government’s support for persecuted Christians. I want to confirm yet again that this Government remain fully committed to implementing all the Bishop’s recommendation and promoting freedom of religion or belief for all.

I am delighted, as I am sure everyone here will be, that we have confirmed that my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) will continue that implementation, as the Prime Minister’s new special envoy for freedom of religion or belief. The hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) was absolutely right to raise that point, as well as the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden), who, in a previous debate, pushed on when that appointment would be made. I am thrilled that it was made before the Christmas break. I am sure that my hon. Friend will do a fantastic job.

Those of us who have had the pleasure of visiting India know that it is a magnificent country. It is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. It boasts over 20 official languages, over 1,500 registered dialects—it is very similar to Yorkshire in that regard— and a rich tapestry of religious minorities, alongside its sizable Hindu majority. It is also the birthplace of the other great religions of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Most notably in the context of this debate, it is also home to the world’s third largest Muslim population—over 195 million people—and approximately 28 million Christians.

Shortly after partition, India’s first Prime Minister, Nehru, said:

“Whatever our religion or creed, we are all one people.”

This is the foundation stone of India. Regardless of religious differences, all citizens can consider themselves Indians.

Indians are rightly proud of their history of inclusive government, and their secular constitution, which hon. Members have referred to. This guarantees citizens equality before the law. We are proud of our diversity and religious pluralism in the UK, and those are shared values, central to the governance of both our countries. They lie at the heart of our partnership, which is further strengthened by the UK’s 1.5 million-strong Indian diaspora—the living bridge between us.

However, as hon. Members have noted, India faces challenges in enforcing its constitutional protections for freedom of religion or belief. The situation for religious minorities across India varies depending on where they live, their socioeconomic background and how their numbers compare to other communities. Some have suggested that the UK turns a blind eye to these challenges, because we do not want to criticise an important partner. I can assure the House that this is not the case. On the contrary, thanks to our close relationship, we are able to discuss the most difficult issues with the Government of India and make clear our concerns, as they do with us, and as one would expect from close partners and friends.

[David Linden]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way and have a huge amount of respect for him, but can he put on record that when the Prime Minister sits down with Prime Minister Modi, he will raise this with him in person?

[Nigel Adams]

Absolutely. The hon. Member is right to raise this. There is a real opportunity, when that trip goes ahead, not just to talk about what is incredibly important in our trading relationship with India, but to put on the table our concerns around these issues. In that vein, I can confirm that during the Foreign Secretary’s visit to India in December, he raised a number of these human rights issues with his Indian counterpart, including the situation in Kashmir and our concern around many consular cases.

Most recently, our acting high commissioner in New Delhi discussed the UK’s parliamentary interest in minorities in India with officials from India’s Ministry of External Affairs on 4 January. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials here in London discussed the situation for India’s religious minorities with the Indian high commissioner on 29 December. Our Minister responsible for human rights and our relations with India, Lord Ahmad, speaks regularly to his opposite number in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and with the Indian high commissioner here in the UK. Where we have concerns, he raises them directly with the Indian authorities.

Over the last three years, our high commission has worked with local non-governmental organisations to bring together hundreds of young people of diverse faiths in three cities in India to work together on social action projects in their local communities, thereby promoting a culture of interfaith dialogue. Our diplomatic network across India also regularly meets religious representatives from all faiths to understand their perspectives. We use important milestones such as Inter Faith Week to reach out to these communities. In May, our high commission hosted a virtual Iftar, engaging over 100 Muslim and other faith and civil society contracts across India. There was positive media coverage, reaching around 7 million people.

In September, our high commission hosted a virtual roundtable with faith leaders from the Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Christian communities to understand how faith groups in India have responded to the pandemic, to celebrate their important contribution to supporting local communities, and to promote joint working between faith leaders. This year, our high commission will support an interfaith leadership programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Christians and Muslims. Hopefully, this will create an opportunity for: UK-India interfaith dialogue on tackling shared global challenges such as climate change; exchanging expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities; and promoting values of tolerance and multiculturalism.

The hon. Member for Strangford raised the case of Father Stan Swamy. Human rights defenders make an essential contribution to the promotion of the rights of their fellow citizens. We acknowledge that they face growing threats, and the UK works with many international partners to support them through our networks of high commissions and embassies. We have directly raised the case of Father Stan Swamy with the Indian authorities, most recently on 12 November. We will continue to monitor such cases and raise them directly with Ministers where appropriate.

With regard to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, Lord Ahmad has previously raised our concerns about the impact of recent legislative and judicial measures on India’s minorities directly with Ministers. We have not yet received any confirmation from the Government of India on whether an India-wide national register of citizens will be implemented. We keenly await details of any next steps that they take following the NRC in Assam.

[Naz Shah]

Will the Minister give way?

[Nigel Adams]

I am conscious that I have to give the hon. Member for Strangford a couple of minutes at the end of the debate, so if the hon. Lady does not mind, I need to conclude.

I end by saying that we look to the Government of India to address these concerns and protect the rights of people of all religions. That is in keeping with India’s constitution and a proud and inclusive tradition. Our high commission in New Delhi and our network of deputy high commissioners across India will continue to monitor the situation closely. Where we have concerns, we do not hesitate to raise them directly with the Indian authorities.

Uyghur Slave Labour: Xinjiang

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on what the Government are doing to deal with the overwhelming evidence of the Chinese Government’s use of Uyghur slave labour in Xinjiang province.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

Evidence of forced Uyghur labour within Xinjiang and in other parts of China is credible; it is growing and it is deeply troubling to the UK Government. Yesterday’s media reporting, based in part on Chinese Government documents, suggests that forced labour is occurring on a significant scale. The reports raise particular concerns regarding the cotton industry, with serious implications for international and UK supply chains. We have consistently made clear our view that all businesses involved in investing in Xinjiang or with parts of their supply chains in Xinjiang should conduct appropriate due diligence to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support, or risk being seen to support, any human rights violations or abuses.

In our national action plan, implementing the UN guiding principles on business and human rights, we set out our expectation that UK businesses should respect human rights across their operations and their international supply relationships. While there is an important role for Government, businesses have a clear responsibility to ensure that their supply chains are free from forced labour. We have issued clear guidance and held regular meetings with businesses and industry stakeholders to underline our concerns and the importance of thorough due diligence. We have also financed projects to build the evidence base and increase awareness of the risks. This includes the high-profile report “Uyghurs for sale”, which has led several companies to take action in respect of their supply chains.

I have updated the House on a number of occasions on the UK’s international leadership and extensive diplomatic activity to hold China to account. Most recently, alongside Germany, we brought together a total of 39 countries in a joint statement at the UN General Assembly Third Committee in October. That sent a powerful message to China on the breadth of international concern, including on the issue of forced labour. In September, we devoted our entire national statement at the UN Human Rights Council to China, again raising forced labour.



In summary, the UK has taken the lead internationally. We have shone a light on the evidence of what is going on, to raise awareness and urge action, and we have provided clear guidance to business. However, the Government acknowledge that, in light of the gross human rights abuses being committed, there is more to be done. That is why, in September, the Home Secretary announced plans to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and why the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is co-ordinating extensive work right across Government to address this deeply concerning issue.

I will conclude by reassuring the House that we recognise and share the depth of cross-party concern on the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We have made that concern abundantly clear to the Chinese Government, and we expect China to live up to its responsibilities under international law and to the commitments it has made as a leading member of the international community. Continuing to stand up for those whose human rights are oppressed remains a top priority for this Government.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith]

Let me make it clear that this question is not about being anti-Chinese—far from it. It is about the abuses of the dictatorial Chinese Communist Government and its ruling elite. On Monday, Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China adviser Adrian Zenz published research taken from internal Chinese Government files, which showed that in 2018 the prefectures of Aksu and Hotan sent 210,000 workers via coercive labour transfer to forcibly pick cotton for a Chinese paramilitary organisation, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. That is, in effect, slave labour. Furthermore, Mr Zenz and IPAC have also shown that the Chinese Government forced Uyghur women into sterilisation. As a result, the Uyghur population in those regions fell by as much as 84% between 2015 and 2018. That is action verging, I believe, on genocide.

Meanwhile, the peaceful proponents of democracy in Hong Kong are locked up and forced to flee their homes; Christians and Falun Gong have suffered organ harvesting, while half a million Tibetans have been forced into labour camps. The Chinese Communist party is oppressive at home and bullying abroad—just look at the its actions in bullying Australia for calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of covid, and the revelations over the weekend that supposedly secure institutions such as even the Foreign Office have been penetrated not only by CCP members, but by members of the fanatical United Front. The security issues are paramount.

I ask my hon. Friend when he will announce that those responsible for all these evils will be sanctioned under the Magnitsky regimes. We have been going on and on about that, without answer. Will he commit to reviewing all our dependency on China and to putting that on a secure basis? May I ask what he is doing now about the penetration by those United Front entryists into the embassy and other secure institutions in the United Kingdom? Will his Department support the forthcoming genocide amendment that is now in the other place?

I simply say to my hon. Friend that we must condemn—not just criticise, but condemn—the actions being taken by this abusive Government. We have learned in the past that appeasement does not work. That is why we must take this head-on, right now, before it becomes too big to manage.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend both for securing this urgent question and for the work he does with colleagues cross-party on this important issue. He raised the question of members of the CCP and United Front getting access to some of our institutions. First and foremost, we protect our most sensitive information by ensuring that local staff do not have access to it, regardless of whether they hold any party affiliation, and we undertake robust vetting of staff. We value the work of local staff immensely and they help to promote UK prosperity, but, as he knows, there are 91 million members of the Chinese Communist party; it is a mass-membership organisation at the heart of Chinese government, business, academia and social life.

My right hon. Friend also raised the question of sanctions. Of course, that is an issue that we have discussed on a regular basis since announcing our regime in July. We are constantly and carefully considering further designations under that regime, and we will keep all potential listings under review.

My right hon. Friend also asked about the amendment to the Trade Bill in the other place. Our commitment to upholding human rights and opposing genocide in all its forms is unequivocal. The Trade Bill applies only to trade agreements that have already been signed with the EU that we are rolling over as an independent trading nation. None of the agreements that we have signed, which have been scrutinised by Parliament, have eroded any domestic standards in relation to human rights or equalities.

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab) [V]]

Yesterday, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis described the treatment of the Uyghur people as an “unfathomable mass atrocity”. He added:

“Let no person say that the responsibility lies with others.”

The shocking BBC revelations must be the trigger for action, following accounts of forced sterilisations, beatings and re-education camps, which undeniably share features of genocide.

Yesterday, it became clear that Britain is deeply involved in this story. We are tied to the Uyghur people through our global supply chains, importing cotton born of forced labour into our markets and, in doing so, unwittingly helping to sustain these appalling mass atrocities. I want to hear about action today. The Government must introduce Magnitsky sanctions and work with our allies to maximise their effect. Has the Minister discussed targeted sanctions with partners in North America, Europe and Australia?

In October, the Foreign Secretary said he needed to “gather the evidence”, but by December no Xinjiang officials were included in the updated Magnitsky list. Without further evidence, we will not make progress, so how are the Government going to work with allies to pressure China to allow the UN access to Xinjiang? Has the Minister considered the use of the 1984 convention against torture, a potential international legal process that does not present the same jurisdictional challenges facing the International Criminal Court or face the same evidence bar?

When the BBC asked British companies to confirm that cotton from Xinjiang was not used in their supply chains, only four were able to do so. If that does not fire our sense of urgency, what on earth will? The review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 concluded that for many companies it was simply a “tick-box exercise”, with 40% not complying at all. It recommended enforcement and stronger processes. What are the Government waiting for?

Can the Minister confirm today that no public body, whether it is the NHS, the armed forces or his own Department, uses cotton from Xinjiang? If he cannot, will he tell us what he is going to do to ensure that the Modern Slavery Act covers public bodies and that not a penny of public money is spent on allowing the mass persecution of the Uyghur to continue?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. I share the Chief Rabbi’s serious concerns about the gross violations of human rights that are being perpetrated against Uyghur Muslims—and other minorities, it is fair to say—in Xinjiang.

The hon. Lady is right to mention the report. We have repeatedly urged businesses involved in investing in Xinjiang or with parts of their supply chains in the region to ensure that they conduct the appropriate due diligence—to ensure that those activities do not support human rights violations or abuses. We have reinforced that message through engagement with businesses, industry groups and other stakeholders. Of course we work internationally in our co-operation on these issues; we were able to pull together 39 countries at the UN to support our statement.

On the Modern Slavery Act, incidentally, the UK is the first country in the world to require businesses to report on how they are tackling modern slavery in their operations. The Home Office has announced a series of measures to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act, including extending transparency obligations to certain public bodies, which the hon. Lady mentioned, and those measures will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows. I can also tell her that the FCDO is co-ordinating extensive further work across Government to address this deeply concerning issue, which we acknowledge.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

First, I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith). This report by Adrian Zenz is extremely powerful and makes clear and sobering reading. I am sure the Minister will have followed the Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, where we heard from Uyghur activists—one in Europe and one in the United States—as well as human rights lawyers and a UN expert. They all made clear their view on the human rights violations that we are witnessing today.

The Minister has heard the call for Magnitsky sanctions to be urgently applied and not merely promised, as we have sadly heard too much in the House. Will he commit to ensure that the resources of the Foreign Office at home and abroad will help companies to ensure that they track slave products and slave labour through their supply chains and that Her Majesty’s Government will help them to inspect factories and supply routes around the world?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee is right. That is why we will be taking measures to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act. As I mentioned, the FCDO is co-ordinating further extensive work. We are working right across Departments to ensure that we have the correct response. That involves supporting businesses, which do an awful lot of trade in that part of the world, and we have been making it absolutely clear that they need to ensure that their supply chains are free of forced labour, otherwise there will very likely be consequences. He knows that sanctions are being constantly and carefully considered. They also need to be developed responsibly and on the basis of evidence. It is not appropriate to speculate on any individuals who may or may not be sanctioned in the future.

[Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on bringing this important issue to the House. I am pleased to follow three very strong contributions that I agree with. There is common ground here and a common effort, so I do not propose to cover that ground again. I will boil it down to two concrete questions for the Minister.

The Minister is right to say that companies have a primary responsibility for their own due diligence, to ensure that they are not profiting from slave labour, but there has been a lot of carrot, and it is time for some stick. The BBC has shown up the Government’s inaction in auditing UK companies’ involvement in and potential profiting from slavery, so I repeat my call for a Government audit of UK companies involved in this. I was struck by his comments to the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) about the FCDO’s work across Departments to have parallel efforts on Government procurement. Could we have a statement to the House specifically on those efforts in early course?

[Nigel Adams]

We will be able to update the House on that cross-Government work in due course—likely in the new year. The hon. Gentleman says that we are behind the curve. I would politely mention that the UK being the first country to require businesses to report how they identify and address modern slavery should be to this Government’s credit. The Home Office made it clear in September that we intend to strengthen those laws. He will have to wait a little bit longer in terms of those actions being brought to the House.

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

I want to add my weight to the Chief Rabbi’s intervention, which exposes the abuse of the Uyghur. The Chief Rabbi also said that there must be an

“urgent, independent and unfettered investigation into what is happening.”

Can the Minister comment on that? As crimes against humanity by the Chinese Government grow, has the Chinese ambassador been summoned to explain what is happening?

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, on which I sit, is conducting an inquiry into UK business supply chain links to Xinjiang. We are now implicated in this, and we have to take action, not speak powerfully on this issue. Finally, may I encourage the Minister to reach out to the incoming Biden Administration, to learn more about the United States Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and see how we can collaborate to prevent the abuse of Uyghur men, the exploitation of Uyghur women and the destruction of the lives of Uyghur children?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise a number of points. We are seriously concerned about a number of gross violations of human rights that are being perpetrated against Uyghur men and women and other minorities in Xinjiang. The Chief Rabbi is spot on, and we share his concerns about these violations that are being perpetrated. As I said, we are working internationally and co-operating with our partners on this issue. I am hopeful that my hon. Friend will draw some comfort in the new year from the new measures that we bring forward.

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[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

As people shop for their Christmas presents, we are all grateful to be able to buy products from our fifth largest trading partner, China, but I am sure that many people would be appalled to know that by shopping for some brands, they are inadvertently spending their money on such abhorrent practices as slave labour. To help consumers make wise choices now, will the Government create a publicly available watchlist of companies of concern? Will the Minister consider a total ban on any products that are linked in any way to human rights abuses?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for the way that she engages with FCDO. Most parties are on the same page in this situation, and our officials meet businesses and industry stakeholders regularly to make them aware of the scale of forced labour issues. I ask her to have a bit of patience into the new year, when we will bring to the House the next stage of support and action via the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We will also be able to talk a little more about cross-Government work.

I forgot to answer one point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), about the Chinese ambassador. He has been summoned to the Foreign Office to meet the permanent under-secretary, and following the publication of the report in the last couple of days, yesterday we made our views known strongly to the embassy.

[Dr Liam Fox (North Somerset) (Con)]

The principle of non-intervention in another country’s internal affairs is generally a good one, but surely it is applicable only when people are able to choose the Government whom they live under, and where their rights and freedoms are respected. Does my hon. Friend agree that with respect to totalitarian states there is a duty on all strong and free nations to speak out for the weak and forgotten, even when politically uncomfortable or inconvenient?

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend makes a good point. We are not dealing with a country with a normal party system. We have long worked with international partners on this issue, and we led the first joint international statements at the third committee of the General Assembly last year, as well as in June at the UN Human Right Council. As I said, to get 39 countries to join our statement at the third committee about the situation in Xinjiang was no mean feat but, as ever on these issues, my right hon. Friend is spot on.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

This House is united in its joint calls for our Government to act and respond robustly. I first raised the treatment of the Uyghurs in this House in 2015, yet here we are five years later and the situation remains every bit as desperate. I know it is not the personal responsibility of the Minister, but I believe we have a moral obligation to use whatever channels are available to ensure that all is done to penalise China. We must apply as much pressure as we can to help those who are being persecuted only because of their religion and their faith.

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[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is a long-term champion of freedom of religion and belief. We are deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners, and I know he cares deeply about that. We are concerned about the actions that are going on, and as the UK we are proud that we stand up and speak out when we see such violations occur. I know the hon. Gentleman will continue to bring such cases to the House, and if he would like us to follow up any specific cases, we are more than happy to do so.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

I commend the Government for the approach they have taken thus far and for their intention to ensure that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is made more robust to tackle this issue. With that in mind, can I push for an extension to the Magnitsky Act to be placed on those Chinese individuals we are able to identify? Can I also ask whether the Government might recognise the independent Uyghur tribunal set up by Sir Geoffrey Nice, which is due to report next year?

[Nigel Adams]

We are liaising. We are very much aware of the work my hon. Friend refers to, and our officials and Ministers are having discussions in that regard. He mentions sanctions. As he knows, we are constantly and carefully considering further designations, and we will keep all potential listings under review.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

May I remind the Minister, who I have a lot of time for, that we have all-party support on this issue? China is really waging a war against democracy and human rights —not just in Hong Kong and China but worldwide. Is it not about time that we sent President Xi Jinping a strong message that we will not continue to allow investment in our country or to allow wealthy members of the politburo to come to the classic luxury shops in this country—when they are open? Can we not send a stronger message now that we will not put up with this any longer and that our hearts and minds are with the poor persecuted people working as slave labourers?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Of course, trade with China is important to the UK. China is the UK’s fourth largest trading partner, and total bilateral trade was worth over £76 billion in the four quarters to the end of quarter 2 2020. However, as we continue to strive for that positive relationship, we will not sacrifice our values or our security. We are absolutely clear-sighted about challenges, and as we continue to engage we will always protect our national interest, speak up and hold China to its international commitments and promises.

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

In the 19th century, the House of Commons established its legacy on behalf of the enslaved and persecuted people in the world with the slavery and emancipation Acts. Is the Minister aware, after these questions, that whatever action he takes, the House of Commons will give him full support? The Chinese Government do not care a damn about mere words; only action will persuade them. Will he therefore summon the UK fashion industry to tell it that, unless it can prove that cotton is not picked with slave labour, it will stop importing from China? Will he also pursue the Magnitsky sanctions point, and will he, after Brexit, pursue with our allies the point on trade sanctions?

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue, as he has on other occasions. Of course we will continue to call out China when it abuses its international obligations. We have announced new measures that will strengthen the Modern Slavery Act. As soon as an opportunity arises, we will bring those to the House. I would ask my right hon. Friend to be a little patient, into the new year, on the other measures we hope to bring forward following our consultations across Government.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

The abhorrent persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang by the Chinese Government must receive sustained international condemnation. The UK Government must be a key player in that and must not sit back and let the abuses continue. What steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to support the appointment of a UN special rapporteur for the investigation of forced labour and ethnic persecution in Xinjiang?

[Nigel Adams]

We have been leading on this issue internationally, and I referred to the 38 other countries that joined us at the UN in one of the many statements that we have made on this issue. However, any action we take at the UN has to have an opportunity of succeeding, and there is no point bringing forward measures that will potentially give the intended target a propaganda coup.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con) [V]]

Like many right hon. and hon. Members across the House, I have been shocked, saddened and appalled by the plight of the Uyghurs in China. This was reinforced yesterday by the words of the Chief Rabbi. I would like to inquire what practical steps the Minister and the Foreign Secretary are taking to hold China to account for its disturbing and abhorrent actions.

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this again. We welcome the Chief Rabbi’s intervention, and we share his serious concerns about the violations that are being perpetrated against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are playing a leading role internationally in holding China to account for these violations. We have led or co-ordinated multiple joint statements on this issue. This groundswell of international concern does send a powerful message, and I can assure him that it is increasing the pressure on the Chinese authorities to change course.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP) [V]]

As future post-Brexit trade deals are negotiated, can the Minister confirm that the UK will not back down on its moral and ethical principles to secure any economic gains and that China agreeing to put an end to violations of its citizens’ human rights is an unmoveable precondition to the UK signing such a deal?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady raises a really important point. We have a high level of ambition for our trade and investment partnership with China. We want to work with China to increase trade and investment flows, to make sure that our companies can get market access and to set a mutual ambition for a future relationship, but as we strive for that positive future relationship, we will not sacrifice either our values or our security.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab) [V]]

I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing this urgent question. The treatment of the Uyghurs is atrocious. Will the Minister confirm that the imposition of measures intended to prevent births within an ethnic or religious group is expressly forbidden under the terms of article II(d) of the UN convention on genocide, and will he seriously consider what international actions can be taken beyond joint statements to respond to the human rights abuses being committed in Xinjiang?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to refer to this. We debated that very issue some months ago in the Chamber. Of course, we abhor any of those practices. He refers to the term “genocide”. That very much has a specific definition in international law. It is our long-standing policy that any judgment as to whether crimes against humanity or genocide have occurred is absolutely a matter for judicial decision.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con) [V]]

The ever-increasing body of evidence of industrialised atrocities by the Chinese Communist party brings into stark focus my calls for the creation of an atrocity prevention unit at the FCDO. Does my hon. Friend agree that, internationally, we must ensure that the cost to the CCP’s reputation and economy is so great that it finally ceases the appalling genocide being committed against the Uyghur people, and what steps is he taking to magnify those costs to the greatest extent possible?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her continued work in this area. I agree that it is absolutely vital that China understands the breadth of international concern about the situation in Xinjiang. She knows that we have taken the lead internationally on this issue. We have gone from 28 countries supporting a joint statement in June to 39 countries supporting a statement at the UN in October. This does send a powerful message to China, and if international businesses continue to take the action we are urging to ensure their supply chains are free of forced labour—I note that a number of prominent UK businesses have already done so—that will also send an important message to China.

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

Why has it taken the FCDO so long to apply the Magnitsky sanctions against Chinese Government officials responsible for grave human rights abuses against the Uyghur people—we have heard from other Members what has happened in Tibet and what is happening in Hong Kong—given the speed in which the Minister has said that they added sanctions to Belarussian officials previously?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman will know, because he has heard it multiple times at this Dispatch Box, that we are constantly and carefully considering further designations under the sanctions regime, but they have to be developed with absolute evidence in a responsible way. It is not right to speculate or rush into these measures. There is a pretty good chance of seeing asset flight if that is the case, but I can assure him that we are very carefully considering any further designations.

[David Johnston (Wantage) (Con)]

In the 21st century, businesses put a great premium on showing that they are socially responsible, yet it is impossible to be one if you use products that are the result of forced labour, so does my hon. Friend agree that our businesses need to establish immediately whether they are using anything that is a product of forced labour, and if they are, to cease doing so immediately?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this. I agree that there is a role for Government, but businesses have a vital role to play in ensuring that their supply chains are free of forced labour. We repeatedly urge businesses involved in investing in Xinjiang or with parts of their supply chain in the region to do so and to conduct that due diligence. We are going to make enhancements to the Modern Slavery Act. We have reinforced this message through very close engagement with businesses, industry groups and other stakeholders.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)]

Well done, Chief Rabbi, for being one of the most authentic voices to speak out in support of the Uyghur people. Well done, Ministers, too, for taking a lead in October at the United Nations. Will the Minister persuade not only his colleagues, but the Governments that he persuaded in October to support the Uyghur people, to look at national public procurement supply chains to ensure that, while it is difficult to persuade the fashion industry to eschew dubiously sourced cotton, national Governments are doing everything in their power to ensure that products in their supply chains—I am thinking particularly of uniforms—have nothing to do with cotton sourced from countries that may be using forced labour?

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend is right. As I said, we are working cross-Government and we are working intensively with our international partners. It is absolutely the case that we should be bringing pressure to bear on those companies that are operating in the region. This is an area on which we will have a bit more to say in the new year, but I give him my assurance that we are working very co-operatively with our international partners on these issues, as well as across Government.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Some of the comments that the Minister has made remind me of his predecessor’s responses to the situation in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims. It shows that the failure of our Government to take a strong international leadership role to secure justice sends a dangerous message to repressive Governments around the world that ethnic cleansing and genocide against Muslims and other minorities is an acceptable policy tool. That is the message that he is sending, so it is time that our Government stop making excuses. I appreciate what he is doing, but he needs to look at the record of action and inaction in the past and learn from that. That is why I call on him once again to heed the advice of Members across the House and start to apply sanctions—Magnitsky sanctions —and to seek a UN investigation into what is happening, as well as supporting the International Court of Justice case on genocide prevention led by the Gambia in relation to the Rohingya Muslims, because it is just not acceptable for our Government to continue to make excuses.

[Nigel Adams]

We are not making excuses. I have a lot of time for the hon. Lady and we have spoken at great length on these issues, both inside and outside the Chamber. We are taking a lead; if that was not the case, a rising number of countries would not be supporting our statements at the UN. We are of course looking very closely at the case in Myanmar—we have discussed it face-to-face on a number of occasions and will continue to do.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

I understand that these things are difficult, but I encourage the Minister to persuade our allies that, whatever the difficulties and costs of tackling this and other problems now, they will only go up. The sooner we deal with these issues, the easier they will be to tackle. On this particular issue, what steps can we take to ensure—not just through guidance—that UK companies are not benefiting from slave labour?

[Nigel Adams]

Like many right hon. and hon. Members, my hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. We constantly urge businesses involved in investing in this part of the world to ensure that their supply chains are free of forced labour and to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support, or give the impression that they support, forced labour. We constantly talk to industry groups, as well as directly to businesses. It is worth pointing out that we have financed projects to increase awareness of how international supply chains may contribute to human rights violations or abuses in Xinjiang.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP) [V]]

Concentration camps, forced labour, medical sterilisations —disturbingly, we have seen all this before. Until garment retailers and Xinjiang officials act, will the Minister legislate to require UK garment retailers to show on labelling if cotton is sourced from forced Uyghur labour in Xinjiang, so that consumers can decide for themselves which brands they wish to support?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this issue. We constantly raise serious concerns about the gross violations of human rights to which she refers. As I have said, we raised the deeply concerning latest new evidence directly with the Chinese embassy yesterday. I urge her to have a little patience in terms of the new measures on supply chains that the Government are going to bring forward.

[Laura Farris (Newbury) (Con)]

It was disappointing to read this week that the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court had declined to investigate China in respect of the persecution of Uyghur Muslims on the basis that the court did not have jurisdiction to do so, and we know that the UK tribunal led by Geoffrey Nice has no legal teeth of its own, so will my hon. Friend consider working with our many international partners to seek a special resolution at the UN and perhaps even establish a specialist tribunal, so that in time those responsible for these crimes can be brought to justice?

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[Nigel Adams]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. A whole range of options is available to us that involve working with the UN. As I mentioned in a previous answer, whatever steps we take have to have a realistic chance of being successful in that particular forum. We will continue to work with our international partners, as she suggests; working alongside our international partners is the best approach in this regard.

[Sam Tarry (Ilford South) (Lab)]

We have rightly heard from both sides of the House condemnation of the atrocious, barbaric and, quite frankly, harrowing treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. Members from all parties who have been working on the National Security and Investment Bill over the past month heard evidence from none another than Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, who sketched out a very complex picture that clearly showed that for far too long successive Governments have placed economic interests, including with China, far ahead of our human rights obligations. Will the Minister consider that and say whether he will look again at our relationship with China and not prioritise economic interests ahead of either national security or human rights?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. Obviously trade with China is important to us. As I said earlier, it is the fourth largest trading partner. It is important to help UK firms to overcome the economic challenges of covid and ensure our long-term prosperity, but I can guarantee the hon. Gentleman that we will not sacrifice either our values or our security in that regard.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con) [V]]

Clearly the footage shown on the BBC earlier this week showed factories located right next door to prison camps in Xinjiang. That is very disturbing and suggests very strongly that the people working in those factories are in the prison camps, and are not doing so willingly. It is also clear that the conditions under which people are living are inhumane. When he sees the Chinese ambassador, will my hon. Friend urge him to accept the need for an independent investigation into the treatment and detention of the Uyghur people, so that we can get to the bottom of this and ensure proper, humane conditions, and make sure that people are paid for the work they do and that they do so voluntarily?

[Nigel Adams]

We do make this absolutely clear; in fact, the Foreign Secretary has made it clear that the UN Human Rights Commissioner or another independent fact-finding body must be given unfettered access to Xinjiang to check the facts to which my hon. Friend refers. We call for that repeatedly in joint statements at UN bodies and we bring this up regularly with the Chinese ambassador to the UK, but I reiterate that it is vital that China allows such access without delay.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

What conversations has the Minister had with his counterpart in China about the treatment of the Uyghur people, and what conversations has he had with counterparts elsewhere to co-ordinate an international response to the human rights abuses being committed against the Uyghur in Xinjiang?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady asks a very good question. We regularly have conversations with our international partners, as exemplified by the 39 countries that joined us at the UN, and the Foreign Secretary has spoken directly with his counterpart in China on this very issue.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

The human rights violations in China have rightly sparked significant concern in my constituency, not least among the substantial Muslim population in Kensington. Will my hon. Friend commit to me that we will keep up the international pressure, in particular with the incoming US Administration?

[Nigel Adams]

Of course, it is absolutely key that we keep up the international pressure, working with our international partners, not least the United States and the incoming Administration. We are looking forward to working with the new Administration on all our shared interests, and the issue of Xinjiang and the Uyghur population will be high on our agenda.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I commend the work of the BBC for shining a bright light on these practices. It is a body that often gets a lot of bad press in this Chamber, but it has done a terrific job. Given that 20% of global cotton comes from the area—84% of Chinese cotton that goes into production—it is difficult for businesses to trace the source in their supply chains. What powers do the Government have under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and how are they exercising them? Why have the Government been quick to move on Belarus with Magnitsky sanctions, but slow on China?

[Nigel Adams]

On the final point, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that, as I have said numerous times at this Dispatch Box, we are carefully considering a range of designations under our global human rights regime. We have to do that in a responsible way, based on accurate evidence, and all potential listings in that regard are under review.

In terms of supply chains, we are repeatedly urging businesses involved in investing in Xinjiang, or with parts of their supply chains in that region, to ensure that they conduct the appropriate due diligence to ensure that none of their products, or the supply chains for them, have been involved in forced labour. I politely ask the hon. Gentleman, as I have other hon. Members, to wait until the new year, when we will be able to conclude our cross-Government work and come to the House to put forward some measures that hopefully he will be able to support.

[Dean Russell (Watford) (Con)]

There is no excuse in the 21st century for slavery to still exist, so will my hon. Friend agree that businesses should hear loud and clear today that they should never profit and see fashionable the opportunity to make money from the slavery and suffering of others? Will he please outline the steps that he is taking to build the largest possible international coalition, including business, to condemn the Chinese action?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is vital that China understands the breadth of international concern about the situation. That has been the focus of all our intensive diplomatic activity on the issue. As I said, it is reflected in the growth in the number of countries that have joined us, rising from 28 countries last year to 39 countries at the latest Human Rights Council in June.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is indeed chilling to see those pictures, and to read about what is happening not only in the re-education camps but now in this slave labour report. We have seen a decade of this Government getting closer to China, which has been deeply concerning for many of us. Now the Government are delaying in putting new measures forward—talking about the new year, and not saying when in the new year, or exactly what they will do. We cannot wait. The time is urgent now. People’s lives are being put at risk. Could the Government be clearer on exactly what they are bringing forward and when, and how they will bring more nations on board, because 39 countries are clearly not enough to stop this human rights abuse?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady will have to be patient, I am afraid, in terms of the parliamentary time that would allow us to bring forward the changes to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act, for example. She talked about our very recent relationship with China. We want a positive and mature relationship with China, which is a very important member of the international community. Without China, we risk not being able to tackle global challenges, but when we have concerns we will raise them, and where we need to intervene we do.

[Jo Gideon (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Con)]

My constituents in Stoke-on-Trent Central are deeply concerned and shocked by reports of forced labour of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. Britain’s Modern Slavery Act requires big businesses to detail their anti-slavery efforts annually; however, as my hon. Friend will know, well-meaning words fall short of action. What measures are the Government taking to ensure that UK businesses are not complicit in modern-day slavery?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend rightly raises the Modern Slavery Act. At the risk of repeating myself, I remind the House that we are the first country in the world to require businesses to report on how they are tackling modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. As she will know, in September the Home Office announced a series of measures to strengthen the Act, and transparency in thousands of businesses and public body supply chains. That involves extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more. We want more transparency and comparability by requiring organisations to publish their statement on our new reporting service. We will bring those measures forward at the first opportunity when parliamentary time allows.

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

That is very good to hear. I wonder whether those requirements will apply to the many organisations that have been handed covid procurement contracts by the Minister’s ministerial colleagues to lots of their different friends. We are all becoming very dependent on the use of large quantities of personal protective equipment that have been manufactured in China. What steps are the Government taking specifically to ensure integrity in those supply chains?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

We have taken steps to reduce our dependence on imported PPE. Thankfully, UK manufacturers are now capable of providing 70% of all items of PPE, except gloves, that we expect to use throughout the winter. The hon. Gentleman may not be aware that, before the pandemic, just 1% of PPE was produced in the UK. The FCDO is working through our embassy in Beijing to ensure that external due diligence service providers carry out open source checks on Chinese suppliers of medical products produced during the peak of the covid epidemic. All procurement processes were in line with the UK procurement regulations during this time.

[Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)]

I am sure that my hon. Friend will be absolutely appalled by the credible reports of forced abortions and forced sterilisation. Will he commit to taking action on this by formally and publicly condemning the population control practices of the Chinese Communist party and requesting that these cease immediately?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise these abhorrent issues. We debated this in the Chamber earlier this year when a report was made available. We will continue to hold China to account under its international obligations and to take the lead globally.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

China routinely breaches the international norms that we stand for, whether it be egregious trade practices, intellectual property or human rights issues such as those in Xinjiang. Will my hon. Friend outline the steps taken to raise our concerns directly with the Chinese Government?

[Nigel Adams]

Absolutely. Again, my hon. Friend is right to raise this matter. We did so yesterday directly with the Chinese embassy. The Chinese ambassador is regularly summoned to the FCDO—one would think that he would have his own car parking space by now, given the number of times that he has visited. The Foreign Secretary has raised our serious concerns about the situation in Xinjiang directly with his counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on a number of occasions, most recently in July.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

It has been nearly two years since the Environmental Audit Committee published its report into fast fashion. During that inquiry, we heard disturbing evidence about practices in the cotton trade in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and about bondage child labour in the cotton mills of Tamil Nadu, and there was also reference to prison camps in China as well. The Government rejected nearly all of our recommendations, including a requirement for due diligence checks on the supply chain. Does the Minister regard that as a missed opportunity, and what progress has been made in the past two years since that warning sign was raised by the Environmental Audit Committee?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this. As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, we will be strengthening the Modern Slavery Act. That will be done at the earliest opportunity when parliamentary time allows. Since the work that she refers to, we have also been carrying out extensive work across Government on this particular issue and, as I have said to other hon. and right hon. Members, I ask her to have just a little bit of patience into the new year and she will be able to see the further work that the Government come forward with.

[James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)]

Given that the FCDO routinely engages with its Chinese counterparts, may I please ask the Minister what its reaction is when confronted with the evidence and whether diplomacy with China has any effect at all?

[Nigel Adams]

I can assure my hon. Friend that China does care deeply about its international reputation. We have seen China change its narrative in response to international pressure. One example is that it has moved from outright denial of the existence of these camps to claiming that they are vocational education centres. Its vigorous protest against our multilateral activity suggests that it cares a great deal about the action that we are taking, so I disagree with those who say that our diplomacy has no effect. Of course, the situation in Xinjiang remains deeply concerning, but that is a reason to doubly intensify our diplomatic efforts and not to abandon them.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

Given the growing concern over the impact of disinformation emanating from Confucius Institutes, including efforts to deny that which is patently happening in Xinjiang, will the Minister and his Government colleagues be reviewing the presence of those institutions in the UK with a view to limiting their influence?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very good point that no one else has yet raised. A number of UK higher education providers host Confucius Institutes, and are responsible for ensuring that their partnerships are managed appropriately with the right due diligence in place. We take very seriously any concerns regarding the operation of international organisations at those education providers. Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes need to operate transparently and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

I thank the Minister for responding to the urgent question and other questions for exactly an hour. We are now going to suspend briefly, just for the sanitisation of the Government Dispatch Box; the other was not touched.

Hong Kong: Sentencing of Pro-democracy Activists

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alyn Smith (Stirling) (SNP)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the sentencing of the Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

We are deeply concerned by recent developments in Hong Kong. As the Foreign Secretary made clear in the most recent six-monthly report on Hong Kong, this has been and continues to be the most concerning period in Hong Kong’s post-handover history. The apparent focus of the Hong Kong authorities now seems to be on retribution against political opposition and the silencing of dissent. In the light of our concerns, we have taken decisive action in relation to the erosions of rights, freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong, specifically in response to the national security law. This has included a new immigration path for British nationals overseas, suspending our extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending our arms embargo on mainland China to Hong Kong.

We have made clear our concerns about a number of ongoing cases, and that includes the sentencing of the pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam on 2 December and the charges laid against the major media proprietor Jimmy Lai on the same day. We understand that the three sentenced on 2 December pleaded guilty to inciting people to take part in an unauthorised rally last year. They were not charged under the national security law. As the Foreign Secretary made clear in his statement of 2 December, prosecution decisions must be fair and impartial, and the rights and freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong under the joint declaration must be upheld. Hong Kong’s prosperity and way of life rely on respect for fundamental freedoms, an independent judiciary and the rule of law.

British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary for many years. That independence is a critical factor underpinning Hong Kong’s success. We want it to, and hope that it will, continue; however, the national security law that was imposed on Hong Kong in July poses real questions for the rule of law in Hong Kong, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms promised by China in the joint declaration. It is therefore right that the UK Supreme Court continues to assess the situation in Hong Kong, and the position of British judges, in discussion with the Government.

We have raised our concerns about these and other cases with senior members of the Hong Kong Government and the Beijing authorities, and we will continue to do so. We urge the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to bring an end to their apparent campaign to stifle legitimate opposition, and to reconsider their current course. The Government will continue to work with international partners to hold China to account, as we did recently at the UN Third Committee on 6 October, where 39 countries expressed deep concern at the situation in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet. The UK Government will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong and our historic responsibility.

[Alyn Smith]

I thank the Minister for his answer, and I find nothing to disagree with, but, as in previous discussions on Hong Kong across the House, we want more, and we want to see more action. The fact is that this is getting worse, not better, despite all the warm words that we have heard across the Chamber and, indeed, internationally. Joshua Wong was sentenced to 13 and a half months’ imprisonment, Agnes Chow to 10 months’, and Ivan Lam to seven months’, for offences that are at best trumped-up charges. That is a direct breach of the Hong Kong Basic Law, and of the Sino-British agreement, which guarantees one country, two systems.

These are not just breaches of human rights somewhere in the world of which we know nothing; they are direct breaches of the Sino-British agreement and direct infringements of personal rights, which the UK is guarantor of until 2047. We need far more action than we have seen. I do feel for our Minister. I have much respect for him. He did not make these decisions and he is not responsible for the internal workings of Hong Kong. We need to be realistic about what is achievable and what is not. For me, it is international action, concerted with our allies in the EU and internationally, that will force Beijing to change tack.

We have a number of ideas on what we can do now, here. We can push forward with Magnitsky sanctions. We have called for progress often enough; let us see some action on that now. We can do an audit of UK companies to check their involvement in slave labour with Chinese companies, because there is no question but that there are UK companies that are profiting directly from gross human rights infringements. We can take action on HSBC and other banks that are colluding with Beijing in order to enforce the national security law. We can also enforce further action in the fight against organised crime and fraud, which has been grievously weakened by events in Hong Kong.

We can also audit and shine a light upon the role of Confucius Institutes across our academic community within these islands, because there is no question but that they are involved in activities that go well beyond what their expected remit should be. On immigration, there is one point specifically that I would be grateful for an assurance from the Minister on. Joshua Wong, under current UK asylum legislation, would be barred from applying for asylum in the UK by this sentence, which we do not respect. Can the Minister assure me— perhaps this is a question for his colleagues as well—that the UK will look at reforming the asylum process to ensure that Hongkongers will have access to this country, and not be barred by trumped-up charges?

So international co-operation will lead on this. The UK has not been idle, but a lot more needs to be done because we are bound to the people of Hong Kong and they will not be forgotten by this House.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this question to the House. I know that it is a subject that we discuss on a regular basis, but it is only right that we do so, given our history with Hong Kong. He mentioned the case of Joshua Wong and the inability to claim asylum. There will, of course, have to be criminality checks for anyone who comes and claims asylum, but it would be perverse to turn away people from the UK because they have participated in democratic protests, like Mr Wong.

The hon. Gentleman talked about international co-ordination, and it is absolutely the case that we are working with international partners. We are focused on adding our voice to the widespread international concern to protect Hong Kong’s rights and freedom. We do not rule out any diplomatic options, and we will keep the position under review. He referenced sanctions; of course, we have had this discussion before. We are actively considering, and will continue to consider, designations under our global human rights sanctions regulations, but I am sure that he will totally understand that it would not be appropriate to speculate on who may be designated under the sanctions regime in future.

The hon. Gentleman also mentioned HSBC. We do not comment on issues related to individual private companies. Businesses will make their own judgment calls, and they will be judged on those calls, but we made an historic commitment to protect the autonomy, rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, and so has China.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

I congratulate the right hon.—or, rather, the hon.—Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith) on bringing forward this question. [Interruption.] Who knows? I shall certainly, on the basis of this, be promoting him. I agree with pretty much everything he said about the Magnitsky sanctions, and the bad behaviour regarding these trumped-up charges, which are based on an old colonial piece of legislation that should have been done away with years ago, and that has been condemned by the UN.

I draw the Minister’s attention back to HSBC, which the hon. Gentleman touched on. I had the privilege of listening to one of the legislators from the Democratic party of Hong Kong who has fled Hong Kong, Ted Hui. He made it very clear that he came to the UK, having gone to Denmark first, because he was worried about the charges that would be levelled against him. In the meantime, HSBC and two other banks, obviously prompted by the Hong Kong Government and China, have frozen his accounts for no reason whatsoever. I ask my hon. Friend the Minister and the Government to condemn this action. This is not a bank started in China and based in China that has nothing to do with the UK; it is a bank that benefits from its location here in London, and that is highly thought of in the trading community. It has behaved in a disreputable and appalling way in freezing the accounts of an individual fleeing for justice. Surely this is an outrage that the Government can now say should stop.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his continued commitment to this issue. He speaks very powerfully, obviously, but as I have just set out, and as the Foreign Secretary has made clear, businesses, including HSBC in Hong Kong, will make their own judgment calls. People will also make up their mind about those judgment calls. We have made an historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong to protect their autonomy and freedom, and, more importantly, so has China. To reiterate the point, we will hold China to its responsibilities.

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

The arrest and sentencing of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam sets a troubling precedent, and it is important that we send a united message in our opposition to attempts to erode the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The Government have recognised that there have been two breaches of the joint declaration, and a series of troubling incidents, including the charges against Jimmy Lai; the freezing of the assets of a former Opposition politician and democracy campaigner by a British bank; and this morning’s arrest of students on charges relating to peaceful protest. Despite the steps that the Government have taken so far, which the Minister outlined, and broad international condemnation, the Hong Kong Executive and the Chinese Government have not changed course.

The Government are in danger of trying to pursue two competing and confused strategies. We would like to know to what extent the Minister still believes that constructive engagement is possible. Does he share the view of the United States that Hong Kong is no longer an autonomous region, and if he does not, what is his plan to persuade Beijing to change course? If he believes that diplomacy is still fruitful, will he tell us what conversations the Government have had with the incoming Biden Administration about the development of a co-ordinated response? Will the Foreign Secretary consider convening a dialogue among our Five Eyes partners—including the new US Administration—in the new year, so that we can agree a broader, co-ordinated response? If he does not believe that that is possible, has he explored legal avenues through which the Chinese Government can be held to account? What progress has he made on sanctions, which we have debated in this House over and over again?

The Minister mentioned the role of British judges in Hong Kong. A decision to withdraw British judges would be hugely significant; it would suggest that the UK cannot continue to grant legitimacy to what is in essence no longer considered an autonomous system. I hope the Minister can see why such a step would make sense only in that context; otherwise, we risk doing further harm to the people of Hong Kong by removing an important safeguard in an independent judicial system. That is why we must hear today a clear view from the Government, and a strategy to match. Otherwise, the measures that the Government have taken so far on British national overseas passport holders, and the contemplation of the removal of British judges, coupled with an incredibly weak stance on the role of British businesses in the region, will be seen by Beijing not as a firm stance but as a retreat, which will send a message to the Chinese Government that they can continue on that path. That would be an utter failure of our obligations to the people of Hong Kong. We need to hear a clear view and a clear strategy from the Government today.

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. She mentioned Jimmy Lai; we are of course deeply concerned about the Hong Kong authorities’ apparent focus on pursuing legal cases against well-known pro-democracy figures like Jimmy Lai. It is crucial that the new national security law is not misused to silence critics or to stifle opposition. The freedom of the press is explicitly guaranteed in the Sino-British joint declaration and the Basic Law and is supposedly protected under article 4 of the national security law. There are indeed deeply worrying ongoing arrests of students, which are being used as a pretext to silence opposition. We always raise our concerns directly with Hong Kong and with the Chinese authorities; we urge them to uphold their international obligations.

The hon. Lady mentioned the incoming Biden Administration; the Foreign Secretary will of course be having conversations with his counterpart, and our ambassador in Washington is already engaged in conversations to set that up.

The hon. Lady also mentioned the role that British judges have played in supporting the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary for many years; we very much hope that that continues, although the national security law poses real questions for the rule of law in Hong Kong and the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms promised in the joint declaration. As the Foreign Secretary discussed with the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 October, appointments to the Hong Kong court are made independently, and we need to be mindful of that.

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

I, too, have concerns about HSBC and, indeed, Standard Chartered, both of which signed a petition supporting the draconian, authoritarian laws that have been introduced in Hong Kong.

On a wider note, I commend the Government on taking an ever-more robust stance on China. Its conduct over covid-19, with Beijing having tried to suppress the news of the outbreak; the militarisation of the South China sea; its debt-trap diplomacy through its one belt, one road, initiative; and now, of course, its actions in Hong Kong—all indicate how China is pursuing a competing geopolitical agenda. Will my hon. Friend confirm that the forthcoming integrated review will address the growing long-term threat that China poses, and will he say how we can work with our allies, not least the United States?

[Nigel Adams]

Absolutely. I thank my right hon. Friend for the leadership he has shown in this policy area. We can demonstrate that we are taking both practical and diplomatic actions with regard to China. I thank my right hon. Friend for his remarks about the more robust approach we are taking. I can confirm that the integrated review will very much reflect the broader strategy globally—the Indo-Pacific tilt, as it has been termed.

[Layla Moran (Oxford West and Abingdon) (LD) [V]]

First, may I thank the Minister and his officials for meeting me regarding the plight of young Hongkongers who are not BNO passport holders? Many of those young people have bravely demonstrated, and fear for their and their families’ futures. In answer to such questions in this House and elsewhere, the Minister has mentioned the youth mobility scheme. As he will be aware, there are only up to 800 places on that scheme, which is open for 48 hours in February, and they will be chosen by lottery—at random—by UK Visas and Immigration. Does he agree that leaving such matters to chance is not desirable? Will he work with me and others to implement a better scheme, ideally extending BNO passport status to all Hongkongers, regardless of age?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for visiting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office last week to discuss this issue. That offer has been made available to other parties and is very much available to the hon. Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith). I would have been meeting the Opposition spokesman on Asia this afternoon had it not been for this urgent question, but I am sure we will be able to get that re-diarised.

We have made a very compassionate and generous offer in terms of BNOs, which has been broadly welcomed. The existing youth mobility scheme is open to people in Hong Kong aged between 18 and 30. There are currently 1,000 places available each year. Dependants of relevant BNO passport holders are allowed to come here, and youngsters aged between 18 and 30 will be eligible to apply for those 1,000 places. Individuals from Hong Kong will also be able to apply to come to the UK under the terms of the UK’s new points-based system.

[Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con) [V]]

First, does the Minister at least recognise that it is probably only a matter of time before we pull UK judges from Hong Kong courts? Secondly, will he at least condemn the actions of HSBC? Frankly, its directors should hang their heads in shame. HSBC is freezing the accounts of Hong Kong citizens fearing oppression, and this afternoon, it has started freezing the accounts of churches in Hong Kong. Thirdly, he said that the new national security law should not be used to oppress people. Maybe I misheard him, but is it not patently obvious that that is what it is now being used for?

[Nigel Adams]

There were quite a few questions there. Perhaps my hon. Friend would like to apply for a Westminster Hall debate or some such; given his expertise in this area, that is probably not a bad idea. As I said, British judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary for many years, and we want that to continue. If there were no independent judiciary in Hong Kong, that would naturally play into China’s hands.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

May I remind the Minister that we in this House have a sacred duty? I was a member of one of the many all-party delegations that went to Hong Kong to persuade residents that they should trust China to keep its obligations on one nation, two systems. We have that obligation. The fact is that this quelling of democracy in Hong Kong is only the beginning. President Xi is an enemy of democracy worldwide who believes in world power and global economic and political domination. He has to be stopped in Hong Kong, because if not, he will not be stopped elsewhere in the world.

[Nigel Adams]

I hear exactly what the hon. Gentleman says. I am not entirely sure what the question was, but the UK Government are fulfilling our moral and political obligation to ensure that China respects its obligations under the joint declaration. I urge him to look at the action that we have taken on the new immigration path for BNOs. We consistently raise our concerns, such as the ones mentioned by the hon. Gentleman, with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities; the permanent under-secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office did so with the Chinese ambassador on 30 November.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

It is very clear that nothing that has been said in this place, by this Government or by any Government in the international community about the crisis in Hong Kong has had any effect whatever on the actions or intentions of the Chinese Government. Piece by piece, we are seeing the stripping away of the freedoms and liberties of the people of Hong Kong. Does the Minister recognise that there is a moment here when the international community needs to do more? It is not about turning up the rhetoric and getting more bellicose in our statements. It is about practical action that shows the Chinese Government that we are serious, and makes them feel some of the pain that the people of Hong Kong are feeling right now.

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. In terms of international action, that is exactly why we and 38 other countries at the UN General Assembly in New York joined in our statement, which expressed deep concern at the situation in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang. The United Kingdom will continue to bring together international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong. It is absolutely imperative that we speak up and call out the violation of their freedoms, and that we hold China to account for its international obligations.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

This House watches with sadness any reduction of the freedom of expression—guaranteed under the joint declaration—in Hong Kong, although, as the Minister confirmed, these sentences were not under the new security law. Does my hon. Friend agree that Hong Kong’s importance as a centre of international business hinges on its independent rule of common law, in which UK and other Commonwealth judges play a key role; that, without that, the system of one country, two systems, which Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher pledged would endure for 50 years, would be sadly weakened; and that we should not lightly make things worse for the people of Hong Kong?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this point. I agree that the assault on Hong Kong’s autonomy, rights and freedoms tarnishes China’s international reputation. The prosperity of Hong Kong and its way of life relies on respect for those fundamental freedoms, an independent judiciary and the rule of law. We have been vocal and practical in standing up for the people of Hong Kong, and will continue to do so.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab) [V]]

China’s human rights track record is extremely distressing. From the gross human rights violations against the Uyghurs to the senseless arrest of peaceful protesters in Hong Kong, is it not high time that the Government followed in the footsteps of Canada and the USA and applied Magnitsky sanctions as a matter of urgency against perpetrators of human rights abuses in mainland China and Hong Kong? Just today, eight students were arrested for protesting peacefully on a university campus. What reassurance can the Minister provide that the Government will be doing everything they can to prevent further arrests of young activists in Hong Kong?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right. We are deeply concerned about the situation this morning with the students in Hong Kong. The FCDO was carefully considering further designations under our global human rights regime, which we introduced in July. We will gather and keep under close review all the evidence and the potential listings.

[Jacob Young (Redcar) (Con)]

Many of my constituents in Redcar and Cleveland have contacted me in support of the people of Hong Kong. In this country we have historic ties and responsibilities to the people of Hong Kong, so can my hon. Friend assure me that we will never look the other way while China undermines the joint declaration it agreed to?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We made a historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong to protect their autonomy, rights and freedoms. We have highlighted China’s breaches of the joint declaration three times since 1997, the first being in 2016, the second in June of this year when China introduced the national security law, and the third, most recently, in November, with the imposition of rules to disqualify legislators in Hong Kong. We will continue to hold China to the obligations it freely assumed under international law.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP) [V]]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith) for gaining this urgent question.

HSBC stands accused, yet again, of colluding in the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong. Do the Minister and their Government agree with this point, and if so, what are they going to do about it?

[Nigel Adams]

As I said, the Foreign Secretary has made it very clear that businesses will make their own legitimate calls. We do not comment on issues relating to individual companies. However, the world will see that these companies will be making their own calls in this regard. We have made a historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong to protect their autonomy and freedom—and it is worth pointing out, yet again, that so has China.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con) [V]]

The people of Hong Kong were supposed to be protected by the Sino-British joint declaration, which consists of eight tenets, including a specific commitment to rights and freedoms such as those of the person, free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and association. This declaration was subsequently registered with the UN as a legally binding international treaty that remains in force today. The Minister said that the issue of China’s abuse has been raised three times at the UN. Is it not now time to build a consensus among the 38 nations to ensure that sanctions are imposed on China that have a dramatic effect on the country and make it take notice? The only way for Hong Kong to survive is for the one country, two systems framework to succeed.

[Nigel Adams]

We are building, and have built, that international coalition with 38 other countries, and that is why the statement has been made at the UN. My hon. Friend refers to sanctions. I know that right hon. and hon. Members here today are very keen to know which sanctions this Government are considering under our regulations, but I am afraid that I am going to have to repeat that it is not appropriate to speculate. [Interruption.] I am grateful to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) for almost repeating my line. But this is an absolutely serious point: whoever is designated under the sanctions regime, it is not right to speculate on it, as to do so would reduce the impact of these designations. [Interruption.]

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab) [V]]

Pro-democracy campaigner and owner of Apple Daily newspaper, Jimmy Lai, is a British citizen, so can the Minister confirm that he is receiving consular assistance? Does he believe that denying a 73-year-old man bail is proportionate or fair for allegedly breaking the terms of a lease? What conversations is he having with Carrie Lam about the use of the law in this manner?

[Nigel Adams]

We regularly raise our concerns directly with the Hong Kong authorities in this regard. We are very concerned about the arrest of Jimmy Lai and others. Normally, we do not provide consular assistance to dual nationals in the country of their other nationality. China does not recognise dual nationality. It is therefore impossible to be granted permission to provide consular assistance.

[Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)]

Joshua Wong has been imprisoned for over a year for participating in an unauthorised protest. Under the Government’s current immigration rules, that would bar him from being able to claim asylum. Will the Minister commit to following the Canadian Government and ensuring that such charges are not a barrier to vulnerable activists being able to claim asylum in the UK?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady makes a very good point, one I think I answered earlier in response to the hon. Member for Stirling (Alyn Smith), who asked this urgent question. It would seem rather perverse if somebody involved in pro-democracy demonstrations were unable to claim asylum.

[Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)]

China passed domestic law unilaterally to break the joint declaration. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the unilateral passing of domestic laws can never be an excuse to break international laws and agreements? [Laughter.]

[Nigel Adams]

I see what my right hon. Friend did there. All I would say is that we continue to raise our concerns with regard to Hong Kong and the way the joint declaration is effectively being abandoning. We consistently raise our concerns with the Hong Kong authorities, not least by bringing in the Chinese ambassador to be called by the permanent under-secretary.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Will the Minister outline how he is offering support to the peaceful pro-democracy stand against what many claim is Beijing aggression? Does he believe we are fulfilling our moral and political obligation to do our utmost to ensure that China respects its obligations under the Sino-British joint declaration? Respectfully, I believe we can and must do more, and that a reaction to this sentencing will be telling by itself.

[Nigel Adams]

Again, the hon. Gentleman is no stranger to championing this cause. I do think we are fulfilling our moral and political obligation to ensure that China respects its obligations under the joint declaration. As he will be aware, this is in line with our new immigration path. We have suspended our extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extended our arms embargo on mainland China to Hong Kong.

[Tom Randall (Gedling) (Con)]

In light of the long-standing close relations between this country and Hong Kong, will my hon. Friend assure me that he remains committed to welcoming the holders of British national overseas passports to our shores if China continues these assaults on Hong Kong’s freedom?

[Nigel Adams]

Very much so. My hon. Friend is correct. We will continue to welcome people from Hong Kong. In fact, the route will open on 31 January 2021 for BNOs. It is a new immigration route and a major change to the UK immigration system. It will afford all those with BNO status, and their immediate family dependents, the right to live, work or study in the UK, and give them a path to full citizenship.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

This is so frustrating. We gather every fortnight and we all say all the same things from all the Back Benches, and the Minister says all the same things from the Front Bench about how he cannot speculate and how it would be terrible to actually do anything. The truth of the matter is that we are allowing the Chinese Government endlessly to ratchet up the repression against the people of Hong Kong. Now, we even have British-based banks co-operating in that. For the avoidance of doubt, can I make it clear to the Minister that I do not want him to speculate about using the Magnitsky sanctions, I want him to use them? Secondly, surely to God the least we can do as a British Government is bring in the chairman and chief executive of HSBC and say, “You must not co-operate with oppression in China.”

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman will understand that it is important that sanctions are developed responsibly and on the basis of evidence. We are, as I have said numerous times, carefully considering further designations. I will not use the word he refers to. It is not appropriate to second-guess who may be designated in the future, because, as I have said many times, it could reduce the impact of designations.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

I am concerned that young Hong Kong demonstrators do not have BNO passports. Can my hon. Friend confirm that they will be eligible to apply for asylum in the UK, and that we will look on those claims favourably?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that. People are entitled to apply for asylum—that is, if they are outside their country and they fear that they could be in danger if they return.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP) [V]]

Countries such as Australia and New Zealand, for example, have largely clear and relatively consistent strategies on China. The UK’s position can at best be described as reactive and pretty thin. When can the Minister provide further detail of the actual strategy that the FCDO is adopting to press the Chinese state to grow within the international rules-based order and with respect for human rights?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her point, but, as I have said previously in this session, our strategy is demonstrated by our action. We have taken both practical and diplomatic action with regards to Hong Kong; we also take international action and bring together our international partners, including Australia and New Zealand, to whom she refers. As I said to my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), who is not in his place, when the integrated review is published it will very much reflect the broader strategy globally.

[Rob Butler (Aylesbury) (Con)]

The legally binding joint declaration was signed by China as well as the UK and makes clear that Hong Kong will have a high degree of autonomy. Does my hon. Friend agree that China must respect that, and will he assure the House that the UK will redouble its efforts with international partners to ensure that China does not just hear words of condemnation, but feels appropriate acts that demonstrate our disdain for these despicable attacks on democracy?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. We consistently raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities, and the Hong Kong authorities as well. As I referred to earlier, we have raised our concerns at the UN, where 38 countries joined our statement on 6 October expressing our deep concern about Hong Kong, and we will continue to bring together international partners in that regard to stand up for all Hongkongers.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab) [V]]

What support is the UK Foreign Office offering to BNO passport holders who have been arrested by Chinese state authorities, and how are consular officials providing advice to BNO passport holders being held in Chinese prisons?

[Nigel Adams]

As I said in a previous answer, China does not recognise dual citizenship. Therefore, gaining access to provide consular assistance to BNOs is nigh-on impossible.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for all he has said so far today. Does he join me in welcoming the fact that already this year 216,000 BNO passports have been issued to Hong Kong residents, more than in any other year from 1997 to this point?

[Nigel Adams]

It is absolutely right that my hon. Friend raises that. From July 2020, BNO citizens and their dependants have been eligible to be granted six months’ leave outside the rules at the border to the UK. From 15 July to 14 October 2020, that number was over 2,115. My understanding is that it is now up towards 3,500, but obviously the data is not necessarily a reliable proxy for the number that may apply for the visa when it opens in January.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con) [V]]

My hon. Friend will know that sanctions and other actions are effective only if large groups of countries join in with them, so what steps is he taking to mobilise the broadest and biggest coalition of international support to demonstrate freedom for Hong Kong and ensure that China understands that the actions it is taking are totally unacceptable?

--- Later in debate ---

[Nigel Adams]

There is no greater sign of international co-operation than when we managed to get 38 other countries to join us for a statement at the UN General Assembly, to express our deep concern about the situation in Hong Kong. We will continue to work on international partnerships in that regard.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

Our hearts go out to those who have been imprisoned in pursuit of their human rights, but they deserve more than that. They deserve to be remembered in our trade and in our purchases. Will the Minister support the human rights amendment to the Trade Bill, which is currently in the other place, and will he say how he will prevent companies that facilitate human rights abuses from being integrated into our supply chains?

[Nigel Adams]

We have made clear that companies should absolutely do their due diligence in terms of their supply chains. I do not think that the amendment to the Bill in the other place is the correct vehicle for such a provision. That is very much a technical Bill, and without its passing in good order we will not be able to take action on things such as the dumping of Chinese steel. The Bill is not the right vehicle, but other potential vehicles may be suitable.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

I am deeply concerned by these sentences, as are the people of South Ribble, who share my concerns about the trend of Hong Kong authorities targeting pro-democracy activists. Will the Minister join me in urging the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to stop this insidious campaign to stifle political opposition?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend could not be more correct in what she has said, and we are deeply concerned about the ongoing arrests, even as late as today. They are being used as a pretext to silence opposition, which is outrageous, and as I have said, we continue to raise our concerns directly with the authorities in China and Hong Kong. As they will have heard today, we as a Parliament are on the same page, and we are urging China to uphold the rights and freedoms that are protected in the joint declaration to which it is a signatory.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I thank the Minister for answering the urgent question. We will now have a three-minute suspension for the safe exit and entry of right hon. and hon. Members.

Covid-19: Freedom of Religion or Belief

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Rosindell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) and my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) on securing this debate, and I commend them for their long-term commitment to freedom of religion or belief. I agree with my hon. Friend that these debates are not quite the same without the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—nor is any Adjournment debate, for that matter. As my hon. Friend said, his passionate voice has been sadly missed from today’s debate, but I am sure, via the miracle of the internet, he will be tuning in to the debate. We wish him well in his isolation.

I also thank hon. Members for their ongoing work with the all-party parliamentary group, which continues to raise the profile and awareness of human rights to parliamentarians and the public alike. Like my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous), I very much hope that today’s debate gets picked up and gets some publicity. It is an issue that is debated regularly in Westminster Hall and in the main Chamber, because it is important to so many colleagues.

The pandemic continues to have a huge impact on countries and communities around the world. In this time of stress and uncertainty, religious and belief actors have a role to play in providing social and humanitarian services. Meanwhile, Governments must work with those actors to increase community cohesion and resilience, as well as to communicate important public health messages. Let me take this opportunity to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to championing freedom of religion or belief for all and to promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities.

[Steve McCabe in the Chair]

Freedom of religion or belief is a long-standing priority for this Government. Lord Ahmad, my ministerial colleague, continues to champion the cause as Minister for human rights at the FCDO. Religious intolerance and persecution are often at the heart of foreign and development policy challenges. Where freedom of religion or belief is under attack, other human rights are also threatened.

The FCDO is using all its diplomatic tools to ensure that nobody suffers because of their conscience. Nobody should be excluded because of their religion or belief. Discrimination not only damages societies, it holds back economies. Countries cannot fully develop while minorities are oppressed and communities are invariably stronger when they include everyone.



Development and diplomacy work hand in hand, and the FCDO is working on two particular freedom of religion or belief programmes: one is an Institute of Development Studies project, working with minority groups in Africa and Asia; and the other, with the University of Oxford and parliamentarians in nine countries, is working to reduce the use of language that intimidates minority religious groups during elections. That work is vital to advancing freedom of religion or belief.

The pandemic has undoubtedly brought out the best in many religious and belief communities around the world. We have seen remarkable acts of kindness, not least in the UK, including enhanced efforts to care for the vulnerable and actively sharing credible advice on health and safety precautions. Notwithstanding the overwhelmingly positive example set by many communities, we remain deeply concerned by the severity and scale of violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief in many parts of the world, as has been raised by hon. Members today, including a worrying increase in hate speech and the rising conspiracy theories that certain faiths or beliefs are to blame for the pandemic. We have heard examples of that today. Such incidents are completely unacceptable. The United Kingdom will continue to refute those divisive and harmful claims. No one should suffer in the pandemic because of their faith.

To ensure that the issue is not forgotten in these most challenging of times, we have stepped up our engagement at the United Nations and in other multilateral forums to ensure that freedom of religion or belief remains a top priority for all countries. In June, Lord Ahmad urged states to take steps to mitigate the impact of covid on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society, including religious and belief minorities, during the UK’s closing statement at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Just over a fortnight ago, we demonstrated our concern about the rise of antisemitism, which has been mentioned today, and other forms of discrimination in the wake of covid, in our statement to the UN General Assembly.

We will continue to use our influential voice to raise freedom of religion or belief at the UN, including urging the international community to work together to face the challenges presented by the pandemic. We have also issued a joint statement with the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, calling on states to ensure that any restrictions to the right to freedom of religion or belief are necessary, proportionate and time-limited to protect public health. Last week, Lord Ahmad attended the alliance’s Ministers forum, where he urged renewed efforts to prevent acts of violence that target individuals on the basis of their religion or belief.

It is particularly important at this time to ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society are actively included in response and recovery efforts. As we have heard today from all hon. Members in this Chamber, members of minority communities are suffering terrible discrimination and abuse throughout the world, so our work in the multilateral forum must be informed by what is happening on the ground. In Pakistan, for example, hate speech and attacks have been aimed at Shia Muslims and Hindus, and Christians are being denied food, support and healthcare. We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to ensure that all citizens enjoy the full range of human rights, as laid down in Pakistan’s own constitution, enshrined in international law and demanded, frankly, by human decency.

We are also concerned by the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and the decision by the Sri Lankan Government to mandate cremations for all those deceased due to covid—Lord Ahmad has raised that issue with the high commissioner. Ministers and officials at the high commission in Colombo continue to urge the Sri Lankan Government to ensure the protection of Christians, Muslims and other minorities in that country. In Iraq, covid has had a significant effect in the regions of the country formerly controlled by Daesh, including on religious minorities such as Christians and Yazidis. Many still remain in camps, where covid is leading to reduced services, and those outside the camps are struggling with livelihoods and access to essential services.

I will now address some of the more specific issues raised by hon. Members. My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton was absolutely right to raise Red Wednesday. I can confirm that the FCDO was lit up in red lights to demonstrate our solidarity with persecuted Christians across the globe. We will continue to work across Government to ensure that these international days are respected in the appropriate manner. She rightly raised cases of oppression of those of faith and other minorities across the globe. She cited evidence of some states allegedly, or actually, using the pandemic as an excuse to clamp down on minorities. She raised, as did other hon. Members, the plight of the Rohingya in refugee camps. I am proud of the work that we are doing to alleviate the suffering of the Rohingya. We are the second-largest donor of relief and support to those people, both in Bangladesh and in the camps.

My hon. Friends the Members for Congleton and for South West Bedfordshire spoke of North Korea. It is very difficult to assess the situation there, as they can imagine. Due to the pandemic, we have had to take the difficult decision to close our embassy in North Korea temporarily, basically to give our dedicated staff there some relief from the situation—they literally could not go out of the perimeter of the compound they were staying in. We took that difficult decision, but we hope to be able to return to that country at the earliest opportunity.

[Andrew Selous]

When the Foreign Secretary made his very welcome statement about Magnitsky sanctions, North Korea was one of the countries raised. He mentioned organisations, because it was not possible at that time to identify the individuals who led them. Has there been any progress in identifying the individuals concerned, to whom those Magnitsky sanctions will apply in North Korea?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right to mention sanctions. These Magnitsky-style sanctions can have great effect in holding people to account, especially those with assets outside particular countries. He will appreciate that it would not be correct to speculate on individual names—to do so would likely lessen the effect of any potential sanctions—but what I can tell him is that we are constantly monitoring potential individuals for our sanctions regime.

My hon. Friend the Member for Congleton mentioned the Bishop of Truro’s report. We have made great progress in adopting those recommendations. On recommendation 21, which focuses on sharing lessons from the implementation of the review’s recommendations, we continue to consider the best way to do that. We will implement them over the next 18 months, as we have committed to doing. We are very grateful to the bishop for his review. My hon. Friend also mentioned India. We are very concerned about reports of discrimination against minorities there, which is linked to covid. We condemn any form of discrimination based on religion or belief. India’s strength, like that of the UK, is in its diversity. We call on and trust India’s Government to address the concerns of peoples of all religions.

The hon. Member for Glasgow East rightly raised Sudan. Our embassy in Khartoum constantly monitors the human rights situation there, including on freedom of religion or belief, through engagement with civil society and their politicians, and we raise our concerns with authorities. Most recently, on 28 January, Lord Ahmad raised the importance of freedom of religion or belief with the Sudanese ambassador, including concern at the appalling burning of three churches in Blue Nile state. Lord Ahmad stressed the need for the Sudanese authorities to investigate that incident. We are undertaking project work to strengthen the effectiveness of the Sudanese National Assembly. This includes ensuring Sudanese policies and legislation better serve minorities and religious groups, in line with international standards on freedom of religion or belief.

Lord Ahmad also raised the issue of discrimination towards and the targeting of the Baha’i community in Iran. We regularly raise specific concerns about laws that might end up discriminating on the basis of religion or belief, and we do so publicly and privately—we make a judgment on which we believe will have the most positive effect. He also mentioned a replacement for the special envoy. I again pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) for his work in that role. The Prime Minister will be appointing a special envoy replacement in due course.

[David Linden]

I have a lot of respect for the Minister, but I am getting slightly fed up with hearing the words, “in due course”, which I know are a favourite of the civil service. Can he at least commit to saying that the appointment will be made before Christmas? Given how often we are in this Chamber raising these issues, it is rather frustrating to be told that they will be raised “in due course” when this does not actually happen.

[Nigel Adams]

I understand where the hon. Member is coming from. This is a bigger point. This is not something that needs to be rushed. There will be a replacement, but by no means are we stepping back from our commitment to this role. We know how crucial it is for liaison with the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief. However, the hon. Gentleman must forgive me if I cannot give a commitment on whether the appointment will be made this side of Christmas, however welcome that would be.

My hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire is a long-time champion for freedom of religion or belief. He rightly highlighted a wide range of countries where there are serious concerns about the ability to worship freely. We will always condemn any form of discrimination. We will always raise our concerns directly with the countries. He focused on China and the Uyghur population. We are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We all know about the so-called re-education camps. Our diplomats have visited Xinjiang periodically to observe that situation, because first-hand access is not easy.

We have repeatedly taken an international role in holding China to account on the issue, including statements at the UN Human Rights Council in June and in the UN Third Committee last October. At the time, the UK was the only country to have led a joint statement at the UN. On 6 October, the UK and 38 other countries made a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York, expressing our deep concern about the situation in Xinjiang, including the mass detention of Uyghurs. This reflects our diplomatic leadership internationally, including the personal involvement of the Foreign Secretary, in raising the issue with a wide range of partners.

On 25 September, we devoted our item 4 national statement to human rights issues in China at the UN Human Rights Council. That was only the second time the UK has dedicated its national statement to a single country—the first time was in 2018, on Russia, following the Salisbury poisonings. In July, the Foreign Secretary raised Xinjiang directly with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi. I raised my concerns directly with the Chinese ambassador in March.

As usual, my hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield (Imran Ahmad Khan) spoke eloquently on a subject that is very close to his heart. His experience of the discrimination that he has suffered as an Ahmadi Muslim makes him uniquely placed to comment on these injustices. As my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Danny Kruger) said, we all look forward to being able to worship to some degree in the UK after 2 December, in all places of worship. Collective worship is clearly preferable to services via Zoom, but that is a step in the right direction at least.

My hon. Friend the Member for Devizes also talked about his personal experience in Iraq. The suffering of Christians and many other groups in Iraq is a matter of serious concern. We are firmly committed to protecting members of religious minorities in Iraq and providing assistance on the basis of need, irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. We have committed £261 million in humanitarian support to Iraq since 2014, which will provide a vital lifeline of food, shelter, medical care and clean water for the most vulnerable, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities. We have also contributed £23.15 million to the UN development programme funding facility for stabilisation, which works to restore vital services across liberated areas of Iraq, and is heavily committed to areas that are home to minority communities—principally, and historically, those are Christian areas.

The hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) brings great experience in this area to his role as Opposition spokesman, and it is always good to see him across the Chamber in these debates. He rightly raised the issue of the reduction of the development assistance budget from 0.7% to 0.5%, but the pandemic has had a huge and severe impact on our economy, which has fallen to the worst levels in 300 years. That has forced us to take an incredibly tough decision to spend 0.5% of our national income on global poverty reduction next year, rather than the usual 0.7%. That was a very difficult decision to make, but it is a temporary one. We must protect the economy during the pandemic, but we intend to return to 0.7% as soon as possible.

Of course, we remain one of the most generous G7 donors: proportionately, we will spend more than the United States, Japan, Canada or Italy. In real terms, that means more than £10 billion to fight poverty, improve global health and achieve our UN sustainable development goals.

[Stephen Doughty]

I take the Minister’s sincerity, but those are political choices that the Government have made in breach of their own commitments. A lot of organisations, particularly those working on the crucial issues that we have debated, want some of the granular detail on which programmes will be cut, suspended, changed or altered. The Foreign Secretary just mentioned in the main Chamber that there will be another review over the next couple of months. When can we expect detail and confirmation of funding for the critical programmes that we have discussed?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to ask. All aid will be focused on seven global challenges where we can make the most difference: covid and global health security; girls’ education; science, research and technology; conflict resolution; humanitarian preparedness and response; trade and economic development; and, of course, climate change and biodiversity. The Foreign Secretary will decide the allocation of aid to other Departments in line with those objectives. All the projects will be assessed through a new management process, led by the Foreign Secretary with input from Ministers about their geographic and departmental responsibilities. That will be laid out, although I hate to use this term, in due course. The hon. Gentleman will have heard the Foreign Secretary’s commitment on that.

[David Linden]

The Minister is being extremely generous. I hope that he will reflect on David Cameron’s tweet yesterday about it being a regrettable move, given that we share the world with some of the poorest people. It was a deeply retrograde step. Global Britain is not a project that I and the SNP endorse, although I wish it well, but as Britain emerges from Brexit and goes on to the world stage, it strikes me that moving from 0.7% to 0.5% is not good for global Britain’s soft power. Even at this late stage, the Government should reconsider, because it looks so bad for project global Britain.

[Nigel Adams]

The important thing is that whatever aid we give, it has the greatest possible impact overseas. I heard what former Prime Ministers had to say yesterday. Nobody wanted to have to make that decision, but these are extraordinary times. There has been a severe impact on our economy. We will still be the second largest donor in the world in that area.

I would also say that we have managed to achieve 0.7% in previous years. We will be cutting it back to 0.5% temporarily, but I politely say to the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth that in 13 years in government, the Labour party never once achieved 0.7%. Not only that, it did not achieve 0.6% either. In two years, it achieved only 0.5%. We are, temporarily, going back to where we were at 0.5%.

[Stephen Doughty]

The Minister has made that point, and the Foreign Secretary tried to do the same earlier. When they resort to such personal points, it reflects a Government in wider difficulties. The reality is that in 1997, ODA was at something like 0.21%, and by the end of the Labour Government it had come close to 0.6%. There was a steady increase throughout the period after the Thatcher Government, the Pergau dam scandal and many other things.

Rightly—and I have credited them for it—David Cameron, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) and others stuck with the commitments and the increases, because there was cross-party consensus. It is a great regret that the Government, and the Chancellor in particular, have chosen to break that consensus. It is deeply regretted by many on the Minister’s side of the House, as he knows.

[Nigel Adams]

It is regretted right across the ministerial team, but such measures have been forced on us by the pandemic. It is a temporary measure.

[Imran Ahmad Khan]

The Minister mentioned a commendable list of seven areas that will now be the FCDO’s core areas of funding, but I noticed the absence of a vital one. Although he mentioned conflict resolution, there was no mention—unless it is a sub-category of that—of upstream conflict prevention. That is certainly the most cost-efficient and best way to stop conflicts occurring, and it is an area in which the United Kingdom has an incredibly valuable asset.

I used to be an active member of the Oxford Research Group with Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Gabrielle Rifkind and Tim Livesey, who used to be the chief of staff of the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband)—it is multi-party. It has a great arsenal of talent and people that it can employ for the sake of security elsewhere. If upstream conflict prevention is not included, are we selling Britain short?

[Nigel Adams]

I do not believe so at all. It is important to be mindful of all areas. Prevention of anything is better than cure in many ways and less expensive. My hon. Friend makes a hugely important point. We need to strengthen democratic institutions to ensure that these things are headed off. We need to ensure effective governance and free media as part of protecting human rights. All those things are positive contributors.

The effects of the pandemic have been overwhelming and far-reaching, and will continue to have an impact on our lives for some time to come. As a longstanding champion of human rights and freedoms, the UK has a duty to defend our values of equality, inclusion and respect at home and abroad. I thank all hon. Members for their excellent contributions and for the debate that we have had on the issue of the day. I assure the House that the Government will do just that: whatever obstacles lay in our path, we will continue to raise awareness of those who are persecuted for what they believe, stand up for the rights of minority communities around the world and defend the right to freedom of religion or belief for everyone everywhere.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nigel Adams Excerpts

Tuesday 24th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

What recent steps he has taken with the Home Secretary to ensure UK Government compliance with international human rights law in the handling of deportation cases.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

Deportations, removals and returns are a Home Office lead. The Home Office is responsible for ensuring that action is in compliance with the relevant legal frameworks. The Foreign Secretary and the Home Office meet regularly to discuss international business, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers periodically discuss FCDO support for return flights to specific countries with Home Office colleagues, most recently the resumption of flights to Nigeria and Ghana following a pause due to the covid-19 pandemic. The UK’s international legal obligations, including under international human rights law, underpin all those exchanges.

[Richard Burgon [V]]

The Julian Assange case is just one of many recent cases that have led to greater public discussion of the issue of extradition between the US and the UK in recent years. There are concerns across the House about our country’s extradition treaty with the USA. One is that the US can request extradition in circumstances Britain cannot, something the Prime Minister labelled “unbalanced” earlier this year. Another is that provisions within the treaty are not properly upheld—for example, the treaty bans extradition for political offences. What is the Minister doing to ensure that the ban on extradition for political offences is always upheld?

[Nigel Adams]

As the hon. Member may already know, changes were made under the previous Government to make the system more balanced. I can tell him that the FCDO is committed to upholding the full range of rights set out in the universal declaration of human rights and in international human rights treaties to which we are a state party.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Whether the Government have made representations to the Government of Pakistan on the killing of Mr Mahboob Ahmad Khan in Peshawar on 8 November 2020; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

We strongly condemn the murder of Mr Mahboob Khan, another recent and apparently religiously motivated killing of an Ahmadi Muslim in Pakistan. On 8 November, my ministerial colleague Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, publicly condemned the murder of Mr Khan. On 16 November, he raised concerns about killings of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, including Mr Khan’s murder, with Pakistan’s human rights Minister.

[Margaret Ferrier [V]]

I thank the Minister for his response. Given that four Ahmadi Muslims have been murdered on the grounds of faith in the past four months, the latest being 31-year-old Dr Tahir Ahmad murdered at home in Punjab just last Friday, what further representations can his Department make to the Government of Pakistan on ending their state-sponsored persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, which is rooted in federal laws that explicitly target Ahmadi Muslims?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She may be aware that we had a very robust Adjournment debate highlighting this issue last night. We remain deeply concerned by reports of discrimination and violence against any religious communities in Pakistan, including the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. We raise regularly at senior level with Pakistan our concerns about the mistreatment of Ahmadiyyas and other religious communities. On 3 November, FCDO officials in Islamabad met representatives of the Ahmadiyya community in Rabwah to engage with their concerns, as well as raising the matter with Pakistani authorities.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

What recent discussions he has had with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team on future co-operation between the UK and the US.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

We are very much strengthening our relations with the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Last month, I had a meeting with the ASEAN Secretary-General. I have also met all ASEAN ambassadors to London. The Foreign Secretary visited Vietnam in September and met ASEAN Foreign Ministers. Last week, I was in the Philippines and met Secretary of Foreign Affairs Locsin, among others.

[Antony Higginbotham]

I welcome the Minister’s meeting in the Philippines. He knows that our relationship with the Philippines is not just on security and defence, but extends to the 30,000 healthcare workers in this country who came from the Philippines. May I press him on the conversations that he has had with the Government in Manila about those 30,000 workers and how we can strengthen the healthcare relationship?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. While I was in Manila last week, I met a range of Cabinet Secretaries, including the Health Secretary and the Foreign Minister, as I said, and the British Red Cross. As my hon. Friend knows, there is currently a ban on Filipino nurses leaving the country. They are fantastic, committed health workers and we are very grateful to the 30,000 of them in the national health service. I am pleased to report that we managed to secure important progress in that regard. Following the discussions that I had with the Health Secretary, the Philippines President has confirmed that he will lift the ban, allowing our NHS to recruit these highly skilled and excellent health service workers.

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge and Malling) (Con)]

I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s efforts with ASEAN and his emphasis on the Indo-Pacific. He will no doubt have seen the fantastic Policy Exchange report by my hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), who has been instrumental in emphasising some of these points. Does he agree that this tilt towards the Asia-Pacific is fundamental to defending democracies in the region, to ensuring that British interests are valued and to respecting the individual rights of countries that for too long have been pressed by China to come under a different orbit?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee for his question. He is absolutely right, and I also applaud the work of my hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey in this regard. Our tilt towards the Indo-Pacific region as part of the integrated review is testament to how much we value that part of the world. There are a number of issues that we will raise with China. We are concerned in particular about issues around the South China sea, and these are conversations that we have regularly with China. I made our legal position on that very clear here at the Dispatch Box a couple of months ago. Our support in that area has been widely supported by our ASEAN friends.

[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

What representations he has made to the Government of Hungary on proposals to ban adoption for same-sex couples in that country.

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[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Canada and the Netherlands formally joining the Gambia in the International Court of Justice case on the genocide of Rohingya people by the Myanmar Government.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

The UK Government have been clear about their political support for the ICJ process, and we continue to urge Myanmar to comply with the provisional measures ruling. We are aware of the intention of the Netherlands and Canada to intervene and understand that they will take a final decision once the case progresses. We are monitoring the case closely and continue to consider whether UK intervention would add value to its merits.

[Rushanara Ali]

I am grateful to the Minister for that answer. The failure to secure justice and hold the Burmese Government and the military in particular to account sends a dangerous message to other Governments that genocide and ethnic cleansing are acceptable policy tools. We are seeing that elsewhere in the world, too. I have asked this question of the Minister and the Foreign Secretary time and again, so, let me ask it once again: can the Minister say very clearly that the UK Government will join that case? If he cannot say so today, will he commit to saying so soon? Very eminent British lawyers, such as Philippe Sands, are involved and are asking the British Government to support it, because if they do not, people will quite rightly ask whether it is a case of the UK Government taking the stance that it is acceptable to commit acts of genocide on Muslim minorities.

[Nigel Adams]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on her work on this issue, alongside the former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt). She is absolutely right that accountability is vital. The Myanmar military has committed atrocities against the Rohingya and other minorities, and there has been no tangible progress on accountability. We have been very clear about our support for the ICJ process. It is putting pressure on Myanmar to protect the Rohingya and to work towards genuine accountability. She mentioned genocide. We agree with the UN fact-finding mission that the events of 2017 constitute ethnic cleansing. We are clear that the question of whether genocide took place is a legal determination to be made by a competent court. The ICJ is a competent court and we welcome its consideration of the issue. I look forward to welcoming her and my right hon. Friend to discuss these issues in the FCDO shortly.

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[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

Christians, Muslims and others have been persecuted for their faith across India. What are the UK Government doing to ensure that people have freedom of religion and belief worldwide?

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that. Protecting and promoting the freedom of religion or belief is an important part of our bilateral and multilateral relationships, and we do not shy away from acting on our concerns. We continue to deliver the recommendations of the report by the Bishop of Truro. Of the 22 recommendations, we have fully delivered 10 and made good progress on another seven, and we are on track to deliver all 22 by the time of the three-year review in mid-2022.

[Douglas Chapman (Dunfermline and West Fife) (SNP) [V]]

It was reported last week that the Government are considering reducing our international aid spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of our GNI, despite that being a commitment enshrined in UK law and a firm Conservative manifesto promise. Does the Secretary of State agree that the pandemic landscape has changed things in such a way that this spending is probably needed now more than ever, and the FCDO must build up the resilience of vulnerable and developing countries to tackle current and future pandemics? Is the 0.7% commitment written in stone?

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[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab) [V]]

The human rights abuses that Kashmiri people have faced over generations are unacceptable. The 2018 and 2019 United Nations human rights reports documented the scale of these abuses, and since August 2019 things have only got worse. Just last week, shelling between India and Pakistan—two nuclear powers—across the line of control saw at least 15 people killed. This follows on from escalating tensions between India and China in the Galwan valley since the summer. Kashmiris feel that they have been abandoned by the international community, including the UK. What is the Foreign Secretary doing to contribute to an international coalition to support India and Pakistan in negotiations on de-escalating the immediate crisis, and will he commit to targeting development funding to support Kashmiris?

[Nigel Adams]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and for her continued emphasis in this regard. These matters about the region of Kashmir have to be settled bilaterally between Pakistan and India. What I can say is that we do raise this issue at every opportunity with both authorities. I am more than happy to ask the Minister for South Asia to meet the hon. Lady, so that she can get a deeper insight into the actions that the Government are taking.

[Simon Baynes (Clwyd South) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State comment on the FCDO’s activities promoting Wales in the world, particularly around the time of St David’s day each year? What other Wales-focused activities does it conduct in its embassies and diplomatic missions globally?

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[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The Minister for Europe is aware that my 18-year-old constituent, Tom Channon, tragically died at the Eden Roc complex in Mallorca in July 2018. That followed a similar death of Tomas Hughes, just weeks earlier. I believe there is a strong criminal case to be pursued for prosecution for negligence, and on 10 July this year I wrote to the president of the provincial court. I have pursued the matter persistently, but I still have not received a reply. Covid will have played a part, but does the Minister agree that waiting five months after the deaths of two 18-year-olds, two years earlier, is wholly unacceptable?

[Nigel Adams]

My right hon. Friend is right to raise that case. Deaths abroad of our constituents are always tragic, and our consular staff at post have spoken with the president of the provisional court in Palma. We have asked him for a response to my right hon. Friend’s letter. He is right to point out that there are some enormous workloads as a result of the covid pandemic, but the president has assured us that he will respond to the letter in due course. We will continue to push on behalf of my right hon. Friend and his constituents.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

Given that the Rajapaksa Government in Sri Lanka have effectively withdrawn from the commitments that the country made at the UN Human Rights Council, can we count on the Foreign Secretary to show the leadership we need to secure a new UN resolution, and ensure the prosecution of historical war crimes and accountability for previous human rights abuses, as well as an effective challenge to the present Government for ongoing human rights abuses?

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that issue and I applaud his work with the all-party group for Tamils, alongside that of other colleagues. We will work closely with our international partners and the Human Rights Council on how best to take forward this important issue. The Minister responsible for Sri Lanka, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised a number of those concerns, including the harassment of civil society and the militarisation of civilian functions, when he spoke with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 5 November. We have been clear in our support for the UNHRC framework, both in our discussions with the Government of Sri Lanka and with the UNHRC in February, June and September.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has witnessed the most appalling attacks and bullying by the dictatorial Chinese Government against Australia, including sanctions just because it asked for an independent inquiry into the covid issue. We stand together with our oldest friend and ally, so will the Secretary of State please now publicly condemn the actions of China, and support Australia at this very difficult time?