Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to help tackle discrimination and persecution faced by Christians in the Gambia; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of discrimination and persecution face by Christians on religious freedom in the country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We do not judge there to be an infringement on the ability for Christians to live and practice in The Gambia at this time. In 2023, the British High Commission in Banjul supported a project funded by the Church of England which promoted religious tolerance by strengthening the linkages between the Gambian Parliamentary Caucus on Freedom of Religion or Belief and key civic organisations including the Christian community.
More broadly, the UK remains deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses of FoRB in many parts of the world. Where FoRB is under attack, other human rights are often threatened too. The UK continues to recognise the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside recognising the persecution of other groups.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to give effect to the recent United Nations Human Rights Council resolution affirming the rights of intersex people; and what is their planned timetable for addressing the rights violations experienced by people born with variations in their sex characteristics, including genital-normalising operations carried out on intersex children.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK recognises the fundamental importance of protecting the human rights of all people, including those with variations in sex characteristics (VSC), and we await the OHCHR report on the human rights of intersex people.
It is important to understand the experiences of people living with VSC in the UK and to use this insight to shape policy. In this vein, the Government is currently monitoring and considering evidence and research specific to people living with VSC.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 2390 on Gubad Ibadoghlu, if he will make it his policy to call for the unconditional release of Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Since Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu's arrest in July 2023, the UK has consistently advocated for appropriate medical access and the right to a fair legal process. The UK has consistently called on the Azerbaijani Government to protect the freedoms and human rights of all of its citizens, and we will continue to work to ensure Dr Ibadoghlu's rights are upheld. I raised this issue directly with the Azerbaijan Ambassador on 30 April.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to help tackle the causes of self-immolation and suicide by Tibetan monks.
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, including in relation to Tibet. I raised human rights during my visit to China in April, and the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting in February with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise concerns about China's actions in Tibet in multilateral fora, for example, in January at China's Universal Periodic Review, and in March as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the safety of Christian (a) clergy and (b) communities (i) in Kachin, Myanmar and (ii) around the world.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities, including the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith.
We are aware of the continued vulnerability of religious minorities in Myanmar, including in Kachin state. We are committed to supporting ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and we continue to raise our concerns over discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in international fora, including through our co-sponsorship of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar in April.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the safety of Christian (a) clergy and (b) communities (i) in Kachin, Myanmar and (ii) around the world.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities, including the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith.
We are aware of the continued vulnerability of religious minorities in Myanmar, including in Kachin state. We are committed to supporting ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and we continue to raise our concerns over discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in international fora, including through our co-sponsorship of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar in April.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.
Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.
The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.
Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation services are provided by his Department when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.
Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.
The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.
Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, for the purposes of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, the definition of a "public body" may apply to a single individual person.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Bill applies to public authorities as defined in section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
This means that the Bill will only apply to public authorities and not to individuals in their private capacities. When an individual is acting on behalf of a public authority, they will not be held personally liable for a breach of the ban. Only public authorities can breach the ban.
Cases where this definition may apply to a single individual will be limited to where that individual is themselves a public authority. An example of such a case would be a Secretary of State. In this example, the Secretary of State would only be in scope of the Bill when acting as Secretary of State – and not when acting in their personal capacity.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, for the purposes of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, there is a lower limit to (1) the amount or proportion of public funding received by a public body, and (2) the size of such a body using any other metric.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill applies to public authorities, as defined in section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. There is no universal test to determine whether an authority is bound by section 6 of the Human Rights Act and therefore in scope of the Bill. However, indicative factors that have been identified by judges as relevant include: the authority receiving a significant amount of public funding; the authority carrying out acts in exercise of statutory powers; and the authority exercising a task which is in the public interest. Although there is no lower limit to the size of a public authority, nor the amount of public funding that a public authority can receive, judges have already clarified that receiving public funding does not, on its own, mean a body is a public authority under section 6, nor exercising public functions. Ultimately, the courts would decide on individual cases depending on the particular circumstances.