Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister will be responsible for overseeing the UK’s role in the Build Back Better World initiative.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign and Development Minister will have lead responsibility for overseeing the UK's role in the B3W initiative launched by G7 leaders.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
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 the implications for his policies of the genocide determination by the US Administration in respect of the treatment by China of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It is the long-standing policy of the UK Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court. The US has a different process that is not linked to a court decision. The UK's approach, shared by many countries around the world, does not prevent us from taking action to address serious human rights violations, as we have done in the case of Xinjiang.
On 22 March, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK had imposed, under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime, asset freezes and travel bans against four Chinese government officials, as well as the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. These measures were taken alongside the US, Canada and the EU, sending a clear message to the Chinese Government that the international community will not turn a blind eye to such serious and systematic violations of basic human rights.
The UK has also led international efforts to holding China to account at the United Nations. On 22 June, a global UK diplomatic effort helped deliver the support of over 40 countries for a statement on Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council calling on China to grant unfettered access to the region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We also led the first joint statements on this issue at the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020 and the UN General Assembly Third Committee in October 2019. The growing caucus of international concern reflects UK diplomatic leadership.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his sanctioning of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps XPCC, what penalties apply to UK-based companies that continue to contract with the XPCC.
Answered by Nigel Adams
On 22 March, we imposed sanctions under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime against the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, along with four senior Chinese officials responsible for the serious human rights violations that take place in Xinjiang.
Full details of the prohibitions put in place by financial sanctions can be found in the General Guidance for Financial Sanctions published by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/961516/General_Guidance_-_UK_Financial_Sanctions.pdf. Breaching financial sanctions is a criminal offence and may result in a prosecution or a monetary penalty. The maximum value of a monetary penalty ranges from 50% of the value of total breach, or £1 million - whichever is the greater value.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the viability of the route to court determination regarding alleged genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the People's Republic of China against Uyghurs and other predominantly Turkic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, if he will review his policy on genocide determination.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, and continues to monitor closely the significant volume of credible evidence suggesting that serious, systemic human rights violations are occurring in the region. On 22 March, we took the significant step of imposing asset freezes and travel bans against four senior Chinese officials as well as a security body responsible for the egregious human rights violations. By acting with 30 other countries we increased the reach and impact of these measures and sent the clearest possible signal of the international community's serious concern and collective willingness to act. It remains the long-standing policy of the UK Government that any judgment as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role his Department has in the Beijing COP26 Core Group; what the aim is of that Core Group; who attends the meetings of that group and in what capacity; which other external individuals attend those meetings; how often such meetings take place; who the lead Minister is of those group meetings; and whether the group Minutes are published online.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The 'Beijing COP26 Core Group' is an internal meeting of officials from different teams across the British Embassy in Beijing. This includes experts leading on climate, environment, energy, transport, nature, green finance, international trade, communications, and multilateral policy, in support of the UK's COP26 objectives. The group usually meets fortnightly, supplemented by other ad hoc meetings. Minutes are not taken or published, reflecting normal practice for many internal meetings between civil servants. There are no external or Ministerial attendees.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the conclusions of the UNITAD investigations led by Karim Khan QC, if the Government will use the term genocide in connection with atrocities perpetrated by ISIL against Yazidis and other minorities in Northern Iraq and Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government's long standing policy is that any determination of genocide should only be made by competent courts, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies.
In order to support the prosecution of Daesh crimes in Iraq, the UK has contributed nearly £2 million to the UN Investigative Team for the Accountability of Daesh (UNITAD) and is encouraging close co-operation between UNITAD and the Government of Iraq to achieve justice for Daesh's victims.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the legal opinion by Alison Macdonald QC, Jackie McArthur, Naomi Hart and Lorraine Aboagye on International criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, published on 26 January 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government has taken careful note of the recently published legal opinion by Alison Macdonald QC et al. Our deep concern about the serious and widespread human rights violations in Xinjiang is a matter of record. The UK has led international efforts to hold China to account, and on 12 January the Foreign Secretary announced a package of measures to help ensure that British organisations, whether public or private sector, are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 20 January 2021, Official Report, column 959, that that the attribution of genocide is a judicial matter, whether it is his policy that the recognition of genocide is a matter for the courts.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Genocide is an international crime with a strict legal meaning. It is the policy of the UK Government that any judgment on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for competent courts, rather than for governments or other non-judicial bodies. Competent courts include international courts and domestic criminal courts meeting international standards of due process. The determination as to whether a situation constitutes genocide is factually and legally complex and should only be made by a competent court following a careful and detailed examination.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the joint statement by the UN World Tourism Organisation and the International Maritime Organisation on the safe resumption of cruise ship operations following the COVID-19 pandemic published on 5th November 2020, what his timescale is for updating his Department's ocean cruise travel advice published on 9 July 2020.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO advises against ocean cruising based on medical risk assessments by public health officials. We keep this advice under continuous review.
The FCDO remains fully committed to working closely with public health experts, the Department for Transport and key industry leaders to agree on the steps required to restart cruises safely.
Asked by: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative - Wealden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the evidence base for that country's imposition of Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials for the abuse of Uighur minorities in Xinjiang; and what recent assessment he has made of whether evidence against those officials meets the threshold required for imposition of UK sanctions.
Answered by Nigel Adams
On 6 July, the UK Government established the Global Human Rights ('Magnitsky') sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament. It is not appropriate to speculate who may be designated under this sanctions regime in the future, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We are aware of the US designations under their regime, and we keep all evidence and potential listings under close review. The UK has taken a leading international role in holding China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang, both at the UN and by raising our concerns directly with Chinese authorities. Most recently, on 6 October, the UK and 38 other countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York expressing deep concern at the situation in Xinjiang, including the mass detention of Uyghurs in detention camps.