Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nigel Adams and Steve Baker

Tuesday 19th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[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.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nigel Adams and Steve Baker

Tuesday 13th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

We are working closely with the Home Office on our response for the BNOs, and there will be much more detail coming out in due course.

With regard to the cases that the hon. Member raises, we have raised the cases of the people detained in Shenzhen with the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong, and we have made it clear that due process should be followed. The rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong, including their rights to freedom of speech and assembly, are expressly guaranteed in the joint declaration, and rights committed to under the declaration must be upheld. Under the memoranda to the joint declaration, BNOs are entitled to consular assistance in third countries, but not in Hong Kong, Macau or mainland China. The Chinese authorities do not recognise dual nationality, and absolutely would not grant UK consular access for those individuals. On sanctions, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell).

[Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con)]

What steps he is taking to assist the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago to repatriate their citizens stranded in the UK as a result of the closure of that country’s borders in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Xinjiang: Uyghurs

Debate between Nigel Adams and Steve Baker

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

The hon. Lady is right to raise those particular matters. At the risk of repeating myself, let me say that we have raised this issue several times at the UN and bilaterally with China. This report, which we have seen in the past 24 hours, adds considerably to our serious concerns about what is going on in Xinjiang. It is incredibly difficult to get access, and she will be aware that the lack of NGO presence and our inability to provide support, through whichever Government Department, affects that direct contact with the Uyghur women. It is heartbreaking to read that report, which contains incredibly personal tales—we have all seen that in the past few hours—and it adds to our concerns about what is going on in Xinjiang.

[Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con)]

It is with the utmost horror that I record what is at stake in this debate: the full might of an industrialised, advanced state, with a single-party Government, appears, under a mounting body of evidence, to be seeking to eliminate from its society a section of people based on their identity—not for the first time in history. In such circumstances, speaking as someone who represents thousands of British Muslims in Wycombe, I must ask: do the Government understand that this is not an abstract and remote call for action, but something of the most profound importance to individuals and families right here in the UK?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is spot on, and I know that the situation is of great concern to communities, not just in Wycombe, but across the constituencies of right hon. and hon. Members in this House. We absolutely recognise the concern that there will directly be among British citizens and residents, and, of course, this is of great concern to the UK Government, but I can assure my hon. Friend and his constituents that we will be taking a lead on this matter internationally, not just through the UN, but through whichever forums we can do so.

China’s Policy on its Uighur Population

Debate between Nigel Adams and Steve Baker

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Westminster Hall

[Nigel Adams]

The reality is that, now we have left the EU, designing the first piece of UK autonomous sanctions legislation will be complex, and it is worth taking the time to get it right. The hon. Member will have to have some patience, but the matter is very much on our radar and we will do it.

[Mr Baker]

The Minister probably cannot do it before the end of the year, but perhaps he could make a statement setting out the answers to some of the questions in detail, because we want to know what the Government are going to do.

[Nigel Adams]

That is absolutely right. Members have my commitment that we will introduce our own sanctions regime, but we have to put the secondary legislation in place to ensure that we get it right.

The hon. Members for St Helens South and Whiston (Ms Rimmer), for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) and for Manchester, Gorton (Afzal Khan) mentioned the allegations of organ harvesting. We have been in touch with the World Health Organisation on that issue. We note the publication of the findings of the report on forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China. We are reading that report very carefully and considering it alongside all possible evidence. Our position is quite simple: if this is true, the practice of systematic state-sponsored organ harvesting would be truly horrifying.

The hon. Member for Bolton South East asked what we are doing to ensure that people are released. I assure her that all our diplomatic activity is focused on urging China to end the policy, including closing the camps and releasing those detained. My hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alicia Kearns) asked about international engagement. I assure her that lots of our engagement includes Muslim-majority countries, which is crucial. She rightly talked about the Human Rights Council action, including a resolution. I hope to set out the extensive UK activity and leadership in the area.

We have repeatedly raised Xinjiang in our national statements, and most recently in the current human rights session yesterday. The Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, raised CCTV and the company Hikvision. He may or may not be aware that, in the last few days, the Home Secretary cancelled the invitation for Hikvision to attend a security conference in the UK. That is very important.

We condemn the actions of the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang in the strongest possible terms. China is pursuing policies that prevent people in Xinjiang from lawfully practising their rights to freedom of religion or belief, speech and association. More than a million Uighurs and other ethnic minorities have been extra-judicially detained. We continue to urge China to end those policies. It is in the interest of China’s international reputation and the long-term stability of Xinjiang that China honours its commitments to its own constitutional provisions on freedom of religion or belief and the universal declaration of human rights. I assure all Members that we will continue to urge the Chinese Government to change course and to do so.