Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Amnesty International report published on 13 May “On my campus, I am afraid": China's Targeting of Overseas Students Stifles Rights; and what action they are taking with allies to protect Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad who are subject to intimidation and surveillance from Chinese agents.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government’s International Education Strategy and its recent update make clear that the internationalisation of the higher education (HE) sector cannot come at any cost. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risk.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the HE sector and regularly assess the risks facing staff and students.
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards engagement with China and Chinese entities.
Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK, or on campuses abroad, will not be tolerated. This is an insidious threat to democracy and fundamental human rights.
The department passed the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 to further protect the UK’s campuses from interference and other threats to lawful freedom of speech. The Act strengthens existing freedom of speech duties placed upon HE providers in England and creates new routes of redress if these duties are breached.
The department has made the Commencement Regulations to ensure the main provisions of the Act are in place for 1 August 2024.
Where providers are operating campuses abroad, they must take, and should already be taking, reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law on those campuses.
HE providers are independent autonomous organisations and therefore responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place when accepting donations. The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Rwanda about the denial of entry into that country of a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, who is a British citizen, at Kigali airport on 13 May.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO recognises the importance of organisations like Human Rights Watch and the work that they do. Our High Commissioner in Rwanda has spoken with the individual concerned and, along with other international partners, discussed the incident with the Rwandan government. The Monitoring Committee, agreed as part of the UK-Rwanda Treaty, will have the power to set its own priority areas for monitoring and have unfettered access for the purposes of completing assessments and reports.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the government of Rwanda’s apparent refusal to allow staff of Human Rights Watch into the country for (1) UK-Rwanda relations, and (2) the UK-Rwanda asylum partnership.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO recognises the importance of organisations like Human Rights Watch and the work that they do. Our High Commissioner in Rwanda has spoken with the individual concerned and, along with other international partners, discussed the incident with the Rwandan government. The Monitoring Committee, agreed as part of the UK-Rwanda Treaty, will have the power to set its own priority areas for monitoring and have unfettered access for the purposes of completing assessments and reports.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the UK address to the UN Security Council on 19 April, what is their assessment of progress being made in reaching people at risk of starvation in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19th April, the UK called an open briefing on the situation in Sudan at the UN Security Council, where we reiterated our calls for the warring parties to facilitate unimpeded cross-border and crossline humanitarian access. However, the continued lack of humanitarian access across Sudan makes it extremely difficult for humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary levels of assistance. Nearly five million people in Sudan are currently at risk of famine. We are working with the UN, other donors and humanitarian agencies to improve and increase the delivery of aid into and across Sudan. We will continue to urge the warring parties to achieve a ceasefire, protect civilians and increase much-needed humanitarian assistance and access.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in using the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club for the benefit of the people of Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question HL2826 given on 13 March 2024, which can be found on the Q&A web pages (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-02-28/hl2826). The Government is working hard to reach an arrangement that delivers this money for humanitarian causes in Ukraine as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what collaborations on medical research are currently taking place between government-funded universities in the UK, and medical and research institutions based in China; and whether any of these collaborations relate to organ transplantation.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The International Science Partnerships Fund and Newton Fund have active medical research programmes involving collaborations between UK Higher Education Institutions and Chinese counterparts. These predominantly focus on antimicrobial resistance and pandemic preparedness and none of them relate to organ transplantation.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of dual allegiance among British citizens who are current or former Hong Kong government officials who hold dual citizenship under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990; and the implications of this for (1) transnational crime, and (2) intimidation of Hong Kong democrats and their families who have fled Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We do not comment on the detail of security or intelligence matters, however we continually assess potential threats to the UK public, including transnational crime and threats to individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety. Any attempt by any foreign power, or any individuals acting on their behalf, to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated.
Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective the full range of tools available to protect them.
The National Security Act 2023 brings together vital new measures to protect our national security and ensure our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have everything they need to respond to the full range of modern-day state threats including those that may emanate from Hong Kong and China.
More broadly, Home Office officials work closely with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and DLUHC, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for both those who hold BN(O) status and other Hongkongers.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to examine the efficacy of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in dealing with hostile elements in the United Kingdom who owe political allegiance to the People’s Republic of China and pose a risk to those who have fled Hong Kong; and whether they will consider strengthening the legislation to address these concerns.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Where we identify activity that threatens individual's rights, freedoms, and safety we are front footed in deploying all the tools available to us including, where appropriate immigration action, to mitigate this.
As you would expect we keep our legislative framework under constant review and update it where appropriate based on the latest information and intelligence.
The National Security Act 2023 brings together vital new measures to protect our national security and ensure our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have everything they need to respond to the full range of modern-day state threats, including those that may emanate from Hong Kong and China.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Pakistan concerning the desecration of mosques and graves by police in Pakistan; and what response they have received, if any.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of credible reports of police overseeing and taking part in the desecration of Ahmadi mosques and graves in Pakistan. The UK Government condemns all instances of hate and discrimination directed towards minority religious communities, including Ahmadi Muslims. I [Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia] raised my concerns about the persecution of religious minorities and the protection of minority faith communities with Pakistan's Human Rights and Law Minister, Azam Tarar, on 15 April. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the need for the UK and Pakistan to work together to pursue freedom of religion and belief in his introductory letter to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in March. On 7 March, the UK formally registered UK concerns about the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with the Pakistan High Commission, condemning all incidents of hate speech, the desecration of Ahmadi mosques and violence against Ahmadi individuals. We will continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to use proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club to help fund the creation of an international tribunal for crimes against international humanitarian law in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The proceeds are not held by the UK Government. They are currently frozen in a UK bank account. In a statement announcing the sale, Roman Abramovich stated the proceeds would be donated to a new charitable foundation. A licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will be needed to move the funds to the foundation, once established. We will only issue a licence which ensures the proceeds are used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. Separately, we continue to engage in the Core Group established to explore options for a special tribunal on the crime of aggression.