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Written Question
Tibet: Buddhism
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make it his policy to support religious self-governance for Tibetan Buddhists.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The freedom to practice, change or share one's faith or belief without discrimination is a human right that all people, including Tibetan Buddhists, should enjoy. The UK Government will continue to do all that we can to encourage freedoms of religious and cultural expression in Tibet and across China. For example, we view the appointment of the next Dalai Lama as a matter for the relevant religious authorities to decide in line with those freedoms of religion and belief.

The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities - the Foreign Secretary did so in February with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, for example, in January at China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.


Written Question
Tibet: Buddhism
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to address the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so during his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December 2023. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations. On 23 January at China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK again called on China to cease human rights violations in Tibet. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.


Written Question
China: Falun Gong
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in China on the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. The Foreign Secretary set out his concerns about human rights violations in China during his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December 2023.


Written Question
China: Buddhism
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We consistently raise human rights issues at senior levels with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so in his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December. We continue to raise Tibet in multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council, in which last year we urged China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Tibet. Through these statements we have specifically highlighted UN reports that boarding schools are being used to assimilate Tibetan children into Han culture. In addition, we continue to coordinate with international partners to increase international attention on the human rights situation in Tibet, such as for the G7 Foreign Ministers' statement in November.


Written Question
North Korea: Human Rights
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they discussed the United Nations Commission of Inquiry report into human rights violations in North Korea with President Yuan of the Republic of Korea during his state visit, specifically its finding that crimes against humanity have been committed; and whether they and the government of Korea intend jointly to raise the findings of the inquiry once Korea becomes a member of the UN Security Council.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK supported the Republic of Korea's (ROK) election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a 2-year term from 2024-6. They intend to lead discussions on peacekeeping, women's rights, cybersecurity, and also plan to increase focus on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). We intend to support the ROK's objectives in the UNSC and to deepen engagement on shared areas of interest including the human rights situation in the DPRK. The UK has repeatedly made clear that China and Russia blocking the Security Council's efforts to hold the DPRK to account sends a dangerous signal to states seeking to undermine international peace and security.


Written Question
Wang Yi
Friday 1st December 2023

Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the treatment of Wang Yi in China.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Wang Yi was Pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church, an unregistered Protestant house church in Chengdu. He was detained in December 2018 on the charge of 'inciting subversion of state power and illegal business operations.' On 30 December 2019 Chengdu Intermediate People's Court announced it had sentenced Wang to nine years in prison following a closed trial.

We continue to monitor the persecution of Christians for practicing their religion in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination is a human right that all people should enjoy. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.

More broadly, we coordinate with international partners to increase international attention on China's human rights violations. Most recently, we did in September 2023 in the G7 Foreign Ministers Communiqué.


Written Question
North Korea: Refugees
Thursday 23rd November 2023

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to highlight the refoulement of North Korean refugees from North Korea to China.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We acknowledge recent reports that China has started forcibly repatriating North Korean escapees to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). We emphasise directly to the Chinese authorities that they should not be detaining and forcefully repatriating North Korean refugees. The UK is also raising awareness of this issue at the UN. At both the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in North Korea on 24 October, and the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.


Written Question
China: Christianity
Thursday 16th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of persecution of Christians in China; and what steps he is taking to help support persecuted Christians in China.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Christians.

The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.

We regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities. The former Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister in August 2023.


Written Question
North Korea: Refugees
Monday 13th November 2023

Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of reports on the forced return of North Korean defectors from China.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are aware of reports that China has forcibly repatriated North Korean escapees to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UK remains committed to raising this issue with international partners and at the UN. At the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in North Korea on 24 October, the UK urged the international community to ensure that the rights of North Korean escapees are protected. At the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.


Written Question
China: North Korea
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what new information they have concerning the fate of North Korean refugees facing forced repatriation to North Korea from China.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are aware of reports of North Korean refugees being forcefully repatriated to North Korea. Due to the closed nature of the regime in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, it is difficult to verify the accuracy of the many reports of serious and wide-ranging human rights violations in the country. We emphasise directly to the Chinese authorities that they should not be forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees where they face danger of imprisonment and further human rights abuses. The UK actively promotes the implementation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. At the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.