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, what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns about the treatment of (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities in Mali at the United Nations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns attacks on religious minorities in Mali. We have consistently called on all actors in Mali to respect human rights and adhere to international human rights law. For example, at the April 2025 Security Council briefing on the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, the UK expressed concern at the human rights abuses committed in the Sahel and called on the UN to lead the way in emphasising the importance of international humanitarian law. Through the Magna Carta Fund, the UK has also promoted ancient Malian texts enshrining progressive values such as religious tolerance. This has helped to underline that such values have local roots and undermine the notion that human rights are a Western import.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide clarity on the law on the public rights of navigation on non-tidal waterways; and if he will make a comparative assessment of his policy and Magna Carta.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the Hon Member to the reply previously given on 21 January 2025 to PQ 24394.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether UK aid is being used to address the depletion of important ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We remain concerned about the environmental damage from organised crime in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and Embassy officials have raised this with the Ministry of Environment. Through the Magna Carta Fund, the UK has supported civil society to protect indigenous environmental defenders. This has included the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where we support protection and judicial mechanisms for environmental defenders, and contribute funding to conservation and restoration schemes to protect fragile ecosystems.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will rebuild the Magna Carta School in Egham.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Magna Carta was announced as part of the school rebuilding programme in February 2024. The department remains committed to rebuild or refurbish all schools within the programme and we can confirm that early planning work for Magna Carta has started.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which development programmes funded by his Department are intended to help promote democracy in Commonwealth countries.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We work closely with Commonwealth partners, including through our programme funding, to promote core values that are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter, such as democracy. Our project with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association undertakes assessments against a set of recommended benchmarks for democratic legislatures. In addition, FCDO programmes, such as the Magna Carta Fund, John Bunyan Fund and the ROLE UK Programme, currently include projects being delivered in Commonwealth countries to bolster democracy.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on torture prevention initiatives or torture protection work in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22; and how much her Department has budgeted to spend in 2022-23.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Centrally, the FCDO spent £76,000 (2020-21) and £80,000 (2021-22) on torture prevention via the Magna Carta Fund. Overseas posts are responsible for their own programming and we are not able to confirm the amount spent on this area.
This does not include the funding for our ROLE UK programme, which has received £4.6 million from 2019 onwards and £260,000 additional International Programming in 2021/22. This supports work to prevent torture by strengthening judicial reform through improving pre-trial detention, case management, sentencing guidelines and protection of vulnerable witnesses.
Human Rights and Rule of Law funding for 2022-23 has yet to be agreed.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in technological innovations and supply chains to mitigate risks to (1) human rights in general and (2) freedom of religion or belief in particular across its funding and development programmes, including the Magna Carta Fund, Newton Science Fund and the Navy X innovation hub.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the killing of a Christian priest and the wounding of another in an attack in Peshawar on 30 January; and what recent discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about the protection of religious minorities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The shocking murder of a Christian priest, and wounding of another, last weekend in Peshawar was a disturbing indication of the violence faced by minorities in Pakistan. I (Lord Ahmad) and the British High Commissioner in Islamabad have publicly condemned the attack, and British officials in Islamabad have also privately expressed their condolences to Pakistan's Christian community.
The UK regularly raises our concerns about freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During my visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, I [Lord Ahmad] met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed our concerns. I met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, including the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, I discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, on 28 November 2021. In July the UK will host an international Ministerial Conference to advance FoRB. Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to promote tolerance and religious freedom. The FCDO also funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 her Pakistani counterpart on ensuring the protection of the rights and freedoms of women and girls in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The shocking murder of a Christian priest, and wounding of another, last weekend in Peshawar was a disturbing indication of the violence faced by minorities in Pakistan. The Minister of State for South Asia, and the British High Commissioner in Islamabad have publicly condemned the attack, and British officials in Islamabad have also privately expressed their condolences to Pakistan's Christian community.
The UK regularly raises our concerns about freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord Ahmad met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed our concerns. He met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, including the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, on 28 November 2021. In July the UK will host an international Ministerial Conference to advance FoRB. Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to promote tolerance and religious freedom. The FCDO also funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 9 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to establish a John Bunyan freedom of religion and belief stream within his Department's Magna Carta Fund; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022.
On Recommendation 9, The John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion or Belief was launched in August 2019, funding 15 research projects FY 2019-20. These projects have all concluded, and work is in hand to implement some of the key recommendations. Subsequently we have used the Fund to deepen understanding of the intersecting vulnerabilities experienced by religious minorities living in poverty in the shadows of Covid-19, providing training to local data gatherers in two affected countries and producing reports on the scale of the problem.