Arrest of Sudanese Prime Minister
Debate between Rehman Chishti and Vicky Ford(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Vicky Ford
We are already actively calling for a briefing at the UN Security Council to ensure that the situation gets the attention that it deserves. We welcome the statement by the UN Secretary-General, condemning the actions of the military today.
Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)
I welcome the Minister’s response to the urgent question and thank the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) for bringing it to the House.
The Minister has said that what has happened today is a real setback for the rights of women and girls in Sudan. Will she also join me in saying that it is also a real setback for religious minorities there, because under the previous Government the apostasy laws were removed and there was real improvement for religious minorities, including the Christian community? Will the Minister work with the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, which I co-chaired when I was the British envoy, to ensure that a multilateral approach can be taken with regards to the United Kingdom’s continuing commitment to freedom of religion or belief?
Vicky Ford
My hon. Friend has a true passion for freedom of religion or belief, and I absolutely share that passion. As I said, the acts of the military today have been an unacceptable betrayal of all the people of Sudan who have stood up for that freedom and democracy. It is vital that Sudanese people should be able to meet to protest and to pray without fear of violence. That is another reason why we are so concerned about the actions today, and why we say that the actions of the military today are wholly unacceptable.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Rehman Chishti and Vicky Ford(7 years ago)
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Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)
Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Chloe Smith)
The fundamentals of the Northern Ireland economy remain strong, with growth last year at 1.6%. Economic activity is up, exports have risen, unemployment has fallen to levels not seen since before Labour’s recession of 2008, and 42,000 more people are in work compared with 2010.