Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the treatment of LGBT+ people in Afghanistan by (a) the Taliban Government, (b) religious authorities and (c) Afghan society since August 2021.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO continues to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan closely, including the situation of the LGBT+ community. On 7 October 2022, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution to extend the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate to monitor human rights in Afghanistan. As the UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett has since reported, LGBT+ people face discrimination, threats and violence in Afghanistan. FCDO officials continue to call on the Taliban to protect all minority communities.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to secure safe passage out of Afghanistan for the nine former BBC staff and freelance journalists who have been subjected to a growing campaign of threats and violence.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
It remains a top priority to help those British nationals and those Afghans eligible to come to the UK, to leave Afghanistan, including journalists. Since the end of the military evacuation, the Government has facilitated the departure of both Afghan and British nationals from Afghanistan. Although travel within Afghanistan remains dangerous, and many border crossings have been closed during this period, we have also helped both British nationals and eligible Afghans when they have crossed into third countries, from where our diplomatic missions have been able to support their onward travel to the UK. We will continue to work to take advantage of all opportunities to help those eligible to come to the UK to leave Afghanistan.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect retail workers from abuse, threats and violence during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government conducted a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to understand the extent of the issue and how we can work with retailers and police to improve the response to these crimes. The Government’s formal response was published 7 July 2020 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-and-abuse-toward-shop-staff-call-for-evidence
To address the actions raised in the call for evidence the Home Office has worked closely with retailers and trade organisations through the National Retail Crime Steering Group. We have developed resources to assist retailers to report crimes when they occur, resources for shop staff who are victims of violence and abuse, and the #Shopkind communications campaign. The downloadable resources are free to use and are available here: https://brc.org.uk/nrcsg-against-shop-worker-abuse-and-violence/
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision by Ofcom to uphold the Complaint by Mr Peter Humphrey about China 24 and News Hour, published in the Ofcom Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin on 6 July, what steps they are taking to protect UK journalists from serious breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code by broadcasters owned by the government of China.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We note Ofcom’s decision to uphold Mr Humphrey’s complaint. Ofcom is an independent regulator, and decisions on broadcasting regulation are a matter for Ofcom. It is important that any licenced broadcaster abides by Ofcom's Broadcasting Code and upholds the UK’s values.
The Government has taken a number of steps to support the safety of journalists and other media professionals. The Government launched a National Committee For The Safety of Journalists, bringing together representatives from government, journalism, policing, prosecution services and the civil society to make sure journalists are free from threats and violence. The Committee met this month, and will work on a National Action Plan to set out a framework through which the safety of journalists can be ensured.
To mark World Press Freedom Day 2020, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement with his German, French and Dutch colleagues, calling on governments to defend media freedom. The UK also signed a statement issued by the Media Freedom Coalition on WPFD and supported a Dutch social media campaign publicly highlighting cases of journalists around the world who have been killed or imprisoned. As part of our diplomatic engagement, our network of Embassies and High Commissions continue to raise concerns about media freedom bilaterally and with international partners.
Asked by: Robert Flello (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government on the harassment of the Patriotic March leader David Florez in Colombia on 7 July 2014.
Answered by Lord Swire
We are concerned about reports of threats and violence against members of opposition political movements. Our Embassy in Bogota has raised several cases with the Colombian government and continues to monitor the situation closely.
The British Embassy in Bogota continues to publicly support the work of human rights defenders. I met David Florez on 10 July. I raised the issue of their security with the Deputy Defence Ministers during my visit to Colombia in June.