Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Government of India on (a) attacks against Christians in Chhattisgarh and (b) promoting freedom of religious belief in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and to the promotion of respect and tolerance between communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination, regardless of the country or faith involved. We continue to monitor reports of violence against religious minorities in India, including Christians in Chattisgarh, raising concerns directly with the Government of India when we have them. Our High Commissioner regularly meets religious representatives, including Christian communities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, regularly speaks to the High Commissioner of India and freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Government in India on (a) promotion freedom of religious belief and (b) anti-conversion laws.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Reports of violence against religious minorities are a matter for the Indian police and legal system. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our Deputy High Commissions across India regularly meet with religious representatives and official figures. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks with the High Commissioner of India, and freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with her counterpart in India on religious violence.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Reports of violence against religious minorities are a matter for the Indian police and legal system. However, we raise issues directly with the Government of India where we have them, including at Ministerial level. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks with the High Commissioner of India, and freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they will make to (1) the government of India, and (2) its High Commission in London, concerning the approval of the Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Act; and in particular about that Act’s compatibility with the protections for freedom of religion in the constitution of India.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We raise human rights issues directly with the Indian government, where we have them. The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief for all and promoting respect and understanding between different religious and non-religious communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Any reports of discrimination against religious minorities are a matter for the Indian police and legal system. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our Deputy High Commissions across India regularly meet with religious representatives and official figures.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the treatment of minorities in India.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government is committed to defending the rights of minorities, including Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, and promoting respect and tolerance between different communities. This includes hosting a recent international Ministerial Conference on 5 and 6 July which brought together governments, parliamentarians, faith and belief representatives, and civil society to strengthen international efforts to ensure freedom of religion or belief for everyone. India, like the UK, has a long democratic tradition of inclusive governance. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and oppose discrimination against minorities. Where we have them and when appropriate to do so, we raise concerns directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level, while recognising that reports of discrimination against minorities are a matter for the Indian police and local legal system. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions follow these reports closely.
Our network of High Commissions regularly engage with minority groups, meet representatives from minority communities and run projects supporting minority rights. Our project work primarily tackles the drivers of human rights violations, working with minority communities to encourage empowerment. We promote women's rights, promote the LGBT+ community in India and demonstrate our support. We also meet with religious representatives and, over the last three years in India, we have worked with local non-governmental organisations to bring together young people of diverse faith backgrounds to work together on social action projects in their local communities and build positive relationships between them.
Asked by: Claudia Webbe (Independent - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the arrest of journalist Mohammed Zubair, what steps her Department plans to take to help protect the freedom and safety of religious minority journalists in India.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are aware of the arrest of Mohammed Zubair, a journalist and the co-founder of Alt News, and concerns around media freedom in India. The British High Commission in New Delhi continues to follow these events closely, while recognising that the Indian judicial system is a matter for the Government of India. The UK Government remains committed to media freedom, and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters, including media freedom and freedom of religion or belief, and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level.
We work closely with and regularly engage India's vibrant media, which promotes lively debate across the political spectrum, and do this through the annual South Asia Journalism Fellowship Programme under our flagship Chevening brand which includes over 60 Indian alumni. In 2021, we supported the Thomson Reuters Foundation in running workshops for journalists reporting on issues such as human trafficking and child labour. On 5 May 2021, the then-Foreign Secretary led a discussion with G7 members and guest states, including India, on further multilateral coordination to promote media freedom. He stressed to all states the importance of media freedom and combatting the use of arbitrary detention and encouraged support for UNESCO's Global Media Defence Fund.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to the Indian Government on the safety and security of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are aware of recent reports about the situation in Uttar Pradesh and we condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level.
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow reports of violence and discrimination closely, while recognising that these are matters for India. It is for the Indian Government to address the concerns of all Indian citizens, regardless of faith.
Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)
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 her Indian counterpart on (a) abductions, (b) forced conversions and (c) forced marriages of women and girls in India; and what steps she is taking to help support that Government in ending those practices.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We engage with India on a range of human rights matters, including at Ministerial level, working with Union and State Governments and with Non-Governmental Organisations. Reports of human rights abuses or discrimination against religious minorities are matters for the Indian police and local legal system and should be investigated thoroughly, promptly, and transparently.
The UK Government works through UN partners UNFPA and UNICEF to support the actions by the Indian Government and civil society to end child marriage. The first phase of the UK's support to the UN Global Programme to End Child Marriage (2015-20) helped five Indian states to implement evidence-based action plans, provided over four million girls with life skills training, and nine million community members to explore alternatives to child marriage. In November 2021, the UK announced £18 million of new funding to prevent child marriage across 12 focus countries, including India.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had any recent discussions with Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party's persecution of Muslims in India.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks to the High Commissioner of India, and human rights including freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow reports of violence and discrimination closely, while recognising that these are matters for India. It is for the Indian Government to address the concerns of all Indian citizens, regardless of faith. Our network of High Commissions across India also regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights. For example, we have hosted Iftars to celebrate the important contribution Indian Muslims and other communities have made to Indian society. Moreover, we have supported a UK-India Interfaith Leadership Programme for a cohort of emerging Indian leaders of diverse faith backgrounds, creating an opportunity to exchange UK-India experiences on leading modern, inclusive communities.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international counterparts to help tackle forced conversions in India.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of Freedom of Religion or Belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. Our network in India will continue to monitor developments, including legislation, related to religious conversions.
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions across India regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights. Over the last three years in India, the FCDO has worked with local Non-Governmental Organisations to bring together young people of diverse faith backgrounds to work together on social action projects in their local communities and build positive relationships between them. We have supported a UK-India Interfaith Leadership Programme, creating an opportunity to exchange UK-India experiences on leading modern, inclusive communities. We engage leaders of all faiths in India to understand their perspectives, using important milestones, alongside the wider international community.