Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to the government of China about reports that babies have been born in China with edited genes.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
There are conflicting media reports on claims of genetic modification in China. We shall continue to monitor the situation. We have had no discussion with the Chinese Government regarding the ethical issues and risks associated with the gene-edited babies born in China. The procedure alleged to have been carried out by Prof He Jiankui in China would be illegal in the UK. It would be an offence under the 1990 Human Fertilisation & Embryology Act (1990 Act), punishable, on conviction, by a prison term of up to 10 years, a fine or both.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the security situation in Bangladesh following recent security forces' responses to the road safety protests in Dhaka.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I was deeply concerned by the violence we saw in Dhaka in response to road safety protests by students following the tragic deaths of two school age students on 29 July. In a statement on 7 August, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Alison Blake, together with other EU Heads of Mission, called on government to investigate incidents of unlawful or disproportionate violence or action against protestors and journalists and to hold perpetrators to account. Subsequently, Joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development Minister Alistair Burt expressed our concern regarding the response to the road safety protests with the Government of Bangladesh, during his visit to Bangladesh from 28-31 August. Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Bangladeshi authorities about the arrest of Shahidul Alam following comments he made about the road safety protests in Dhaka.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I was deeply concerned by the violence we saw in Dhaka in response to road safety protests by students following the tragic deaths of two school age students on 29 July, and the subsequent arrest of Mr. Shahidul Alam. In a statement on 7 August, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Alison Blake, together with other EU Heads of Mission, called on government to investigate incidents of unlawful or disproportionate violence or action against protestors and journalists and to hold perpetrators to account. Subsequently, Joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development Minister Alistair Burt expressed our concern regarding the response to the road safety protests, and raised Mr Alam's case, with the Government of Bangladesh, during his visit to Bangladesh from 28-31 August. Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review.