Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to her Bangladeshi counterpart on the deteriorating health of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and access for her to adequate healthcare.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Lord Ahmad, the Minister for South Asia, visited Bangladesh on 15 November to 17 November and met with the Government of Bangladesh, civil society actors and other key figures. During the visit, Lord Ahmad reiterated the UK's commitment to supporting human rights and democratic values.
We will continue to stress to the Government of Bangladesh, both in public and in private, the importance of respect for human rights and the rule of law. We expect those in detention, including Khaleda Zia, to be treated in accordance with Bangladesh's international commitments on human rights. We regularly engage with the Government of Bangladesh on the treatment of those in detention and on the integrity and independence of the judicial process.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to take steps in response to the Hong Kong Watch report's finding that more than 100 former members of the Afghan security forces have been summarily executed or disappeared by the Taliban since it took power in Kabul in August 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the reports by Human Rights Watch and others of targeted killings of former Afghan Security forces (ANDSF) and continue to track it closely. On 5 December the UK, along with the EU and 20 states, joined a US statement condemning the reports of summary killings and enforced disappearances of former members of the ANDSF and calling on the Taliban to effectively enforce the amnesty for former security forces and government officials.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made personally to her Indian counterpart on the four-year incarceration of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal; and whether officials in her Department have, in any of their communication with the Indian authorities, have described the incarceration as arbitrary detention.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously, and we regularly raise Mr Johal's case directly with the Government of India at official and Ministerial level. The Foreign Secretary last raised Mr Johal's case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 22 October 2021. This Government will continue to look to raise our concerns, including allegations that Mr Johal's detention is arbitrary, at all appropriate opportunities.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Chinese Government on the wellbeing of tennis player Peng Shui.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 20 November, the FCDO called on the Chinese authorities to assure the safety of Peng Shuai. We continue to follow her case closely.
Everyone should be allowed to speak out without fear of repercussions. All reports of sexual assault, anywhere in the world, should be investigated.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the date on which the Afghan Citizens Resettlement programme will open; and what steps the Government is taking to secure the safe passage out of Afghanistan of journalists and former journalists whose lives are immediately at risk until the Afghan Citizens Resettlement programme opens.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Afghan Citizen Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide those put at risk by recent events in Afghanistan with a route to safety. The ACRS is one of the most generous schemes in our country's history under which we will welcome up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans over the next year and up to a total of 20,000 in the coming years. The Foreign Secretary has discussed the ACRS with the Home Secretary and Lord Ahmad has had regular meetings with the Minister for Afghan Resettlement, Victoria Atkins, most recently on 27 October. Officials are in daily contact. The scheme is not yet open and further details will be announced in due course by the Home Office. Further details on the scheme will be published here: Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to convene the UN Security Council as the UN penholder on Myanmar and in the context of the Burmese military build-up and increased attacks in north western Myanmar.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is deeply concerned about the situation in Chin and Sagaing States, particularly the significant troop movements by the Myanmar Armed Forces and reports of multiple civilian casualties. Current clashes have created mass displacement, with thousands of people now fleeing across the Indian border into Manipur and Mizoram state. This not only exacerbates the crisis in Myanmar but causes further regional instability. On 15 October the British Embassy in Yangon released a statement urging the military to end their campaign of violence and flagging our concern for communities, their livelihoods, property and places of worship. We are monitoring developments closely and are in discussion with our international partners in the UN Security Council.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has plans to remove the Burmese Military Attache, Captain Soe Aung, from the UK.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK strongly condemns the military coup in Myanmar and the violent crackdown on innocent people. Any decision to declare a foreign diplomat "persona non grata" under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations would need careful consideration in view of the wider implications of such a decision.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government funded (a) the two flights that left Afghanistan for Qatar on 9 and 10 September 2021 carrying 13 and 21 British nationals respectively and (b) other flights from Afghanistan to Qatar in the last two months.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
To date the Qatari Government has not charged for their flights from Afghanistan to Qatar.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the 220 female judges who are currently in Afghanistan are brought to the UK as rapidly as possible.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All those at risk of persecution in Afghanistan are eligible to apply to the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, which will welcome up to a total of 20,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK over a five-year period. Women and girls at risk and those who have stood up for the rule of law, including female judges, will be eligible for the scheme.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to (a) make representations on North Korea's recent testing of a new 1,000 mile cruise missile at the UN Security Council and (b) have cruise missiles included in the scope of weapons that are considered to be endangering regional and world peace.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
These tests are a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and a threat to regional peace and security.
North Korea must change course and take immediate steps towards complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation. Alongside our allies and partners, the UK is committed to peace on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the rules-based international system and securing an end to North Korea’s unlawful activities.
We urge North Korea to refrain from further provocations, and to return to dialogue with the US.