Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to each of the 15 projects funded through the John Bunyan fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Over the past two financial years (2018 - 19 and 2019 - 20), we allocated £1m to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) projects via the Magna Carta Fund. FoRB policy programming is now done through the John Bunyan Fund. This financial year, we have allocated less than before across human rights programmes because of delays as a result of COVID-19. This reduced amount also reflects the shorter delivery period for the remainder of this financial year. £100,000 has been allocated this financial year through the John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion or Belief. None of this funding remains unallocated. Last financial year, the 15 research projects received around £140,000 in total.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department provides to projects (a) with and (b) for religious communities facing discrimination throughout the world.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Since 2018, the FCO has allocated more than £1 million for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) projects through the Magna Carta Fund for human rights. This included projects to combat intolerance and encourage respect among individuals of different faiths, beliefs and those of no belief. Following the Bishop of Truro's independent Review of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, we also launched the John Bunyan Fund for FoRB, through which we funded 15 research projects that looked at the challenges facing different communities, including Christians, Yazidis and Humanists. John Bunyan Fund projects also looked at cross-cutting issues such as migration and the double vulnerability experienced by women from minority faith backgrounds. Programme funding allocations for financial year 2020-2021 are yet to be confirmed.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department provides to the Government of Pakistan in response to Pakistan’s Supreme Court Judgment of 2014 to establish a National Council on the safeguarding and protection of the rights of religious minorities.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
At the UN Periodic Review of Pakistan's human rights record in November 2017, the UK called on Pakistan to strengthen protection of minorities and establish an independent National Commission for Minorities. We regularly raise our concerns about discrimination against minority communities with the Pakistan Government at a senior level. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, during his visit to Islamabad in February 2019. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.
Through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to combat intolerance and encourage respect amongst individuals of different faiths and beliefs through education. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the implementation of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Judgement of 19 June 2014 to protect the rights of religious minorities in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
At the UN Periodic Review of Pakistan's human rights record in November 2017, the UK called on Pakistan to strengthen protection of minorities and establish an independent National Commission for Minorities. We regularly raise our concerns about discrimination against minority communities with the Pakistan Government at a senior level. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about protection of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, during his visit to Islamabad in February 2019. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.
Through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to combat intolerance and encourage respect amongst individuals of different faiths and beliefs through education. The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.
Asked by: Lord Gordon of Strathblane (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about addressing hate speech against Christians and other minorities in schools, the workplace and places of worship.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of minority communities, including religious minorities, with the Pakistani Government at a senior level. I raised the treatment of religious minority communities with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February. While in Pakistan, I also met a range of Pakistan's faith leaders to discuss freedom of religion or belief.
Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to promote greater tolerance and religious freedom. In November 2018, the Government announced a new £12m fund to bolster the work of civil society and NGOs to promote respect and the value of religious diversity and tolerance.
We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards. It is vital that Pakistan guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of ethnicity or belief.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the outcomes of his Department's Magna Carta Fund project on the UN guiding principles on business and human rights in Colombia.
Answered by Mark Field
Over the 2016-2018 financial years, we financed a project, implemented by Centro Regional de Empresas y Emprendimientos Responsables CREER in Colombia, to help implement the measures in Colombia's National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights which provide for non-judicial remedy of potential disputes related to extractive industry projects. The guide for firms, produced following extensive consultations, workshops and three pilot projects, can be found here (in Spanish).
For more information on the global objectives of this (and other) programmes, please see our ODA collection pages on GOV.UK . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains committed to meeting transparency requirements, published on gov.uk
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Pakistan to continue to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a long history of supporting Freedom of Religion or Belief for all people. We stand up for everyone's right to practise or not practise a religion that is in line with their conscience, wherever they are in the world.
We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. I raised the treatment of religious minority communities with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February, and in subsequent telephone calls.
Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to promote greater tolerance and religious freedom. In November 2018, the Government announced a new £12 million fund to bolster the work of civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations to promote respect, and the value of religious diversity and tolerance.
On 30 January 2019, the Foreign Secretary and the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, launched an Independent Review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office support for persecuted Christians overseas. The Bishop submitted his interim report on 3 May; he will submit his final report in the summer.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security and safety of journalists throughout the world.
Answered by Mark Field
Media freedom is under attack across the world. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that 80 journalists and media workers were killed in 2018. An additional 300 are currently in detention and 60 are being held hostage. We are very concerned about the high number of countries using restrictive laws to stifle freedom of expression and prevent the functioning of an independent media.
The UK believes that access to fair and accurate information is the lifeblood of democracy. As such we are committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists, which is why we have launched a global Media Freedom Campaign for 2019. Our aim is to shine a spotlight on media freedom, and in so doing to raise the cost to those abusing it. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also funds a number of programmes promoting media freedom overseas through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.
Asked by: Ann Clwyd (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) develop protection mechanisms and (b) provide emergency protection funds for female journalists at risk.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists, including female journalists, who face particular challenges. We have launched a campaign to shine a global spotlight on the subject of media freedom and to increase the costs to those who target journalists for their work. We have been liaising with multilateral, bilateral and civil society partners to explore the effectiveness of the protection mechanisms and funds that already exist, and consider how we can best support and enhance these efforts. This includes consulting with our partners and with female journalists on the steps we can take to minimise the added risks faced by women working in this field and to provide increased protections for them.
We have also supported women journalists through our ongoing project work. Through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy the FCO supports the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law by funding numerous projects overseas. This includes funding for various programmes promoting media freedom. In addition, we have supported media development training for Syrian journalists in exile through International Media Support and the Guardian Foundation. These initiatives are aimed at strengthening local capacity for investigative journalism and in support of public narratives on accountability. This support also has a focus on gender sensitive reporting and representation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to collect data on marginalised religious or belief groups in countries in which her Department operates in a way which does not put those groups at risk.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Through UK Aid Connect, DFID will provide funding to a consortium led by the Institute of Development Studies to collect data on marginalised religious or belief groups in a way which does not put those groups at risk. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is supporting a project to explore models for better data on Freedom of Religion or Belief through the Magna Carta Fund.