Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Nigeria to return Leah Sharibu safely from Boko Haram.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to Vice President Osinbajo on 26 February and extended an offer of additional UK assistance following the abductions from Dapchi. We continue to call for the release of the remaining Chibok girls, and all those abducted by Boko Haram. Attacks on schools and abductions of children are abhorrent and must stop. It is important that all abductees released or recovered receive appropriate support, including for their families. The UK remains resolute in its support for Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.
The UK provides a substantial and growing package of intelligence, military and development support to help Nigeria fight terrorism. This includes training and advice for Nigerian armed forces deploying against Boko Haram and £5 million to support the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a regional taskforce against Boko Haram.
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 reports of collusion between Boko Haram and armed Fulani Herders in Nigeria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Boko Haram is known to cooperate with criminal gangs and use illicit networks to facilitate the movement of weapons and people. However, there is no evidence to show collusion between insurgent groups and Fulani Herders.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK visas have been issued to persons living in Myanmar in each visa category since January 2016; and how many they estimate were to (1) Christians, and (2) Muslims.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
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 current levels of violence between religious groups in Nigeria, and of an estimate by the 2017 Global Terrorism Index which states that 60,000 people have been killed in clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani Herders and predominantly Christian farmers; and what representations have been made to the government of Nigeria about the levels of religious violence in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. They have a serious impact on lives and communities of all faiths and are a major barrier to Nigeria's economic development. We discuss the issue with Federal and State Governments and encourage them to work with the affected populations on all sides of the conflict to develop a solution. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to focus on assisting the affected communities, bringing perpetrators to justice and examining longer term peaceful solutions to the conflict.
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 statistics published by Aid to the Church in Need showing that there were 316 attacks on Christians in the first five months of 2017 compared to 365 incidents in the whole of 2016; what representations they have made to the government of India regarding the rise in violence towards religious minorities; and what assessment they have made of the situation of religious minorities in India.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government condemns all instances of discrimination and violence against individuals or groups because of their religion, regardless of the country or faith concerned.
We regularly engage with Indian counterparts on a range of human rights issues, including minority rights. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation across India. We are aware of reported incidents against religious minorities in India and continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions, or meetings, they have had with (1) Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, and (2) the leadership of the Coptic Church in the UK, regarding the bombings of the Coptic churches in Alexandria and Tanta in April.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We strongly condemn the recent attacks on the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, claimed by Daesh. Her Majesty's ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, met Pope Tawadros II on 22 April and offered his condolences. I regularly meet Bishop Angaelos, Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, and passed on my sincere condolences following the abhorrent recent attacks. The British Government is committed to working with international partners, including Egypt, to strengthen the protection of freedom of religion or belief.
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 the government of Egypt regarding the bombings of the Coptic churches in Alexandria and Tanta in April.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We strongly condemn the recent attacks in Egypt against the Coptic Christian community, claimed by Daesh. The Government of Egypt has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and to the need to promote religious tolerance. We welcome President Sisi's calls for peaceful coexistence and the Government of Egypt's expression of support for the rights of Christians and for religious tolerance.
The UK Government continues to work closely with the Egyptian authorities on security and counter-terrorism.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy will be allocated in 2017–18 to projects on freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Projects that directly support freedom of religion or belief remain an important element of the Magna Carta Fund programme. In 2017/18 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will spend £758,717 across six freedom of religion or belief projects. This equates to 7.2 percent of next year's Magna Carta Fund allocation and represents an increase on the funding awarded in 2016/17. This demonstrates Her Majesty's Government's continued commitment to supporting freedom of religion or belief worldwide.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for a Christian hate crimes unit, additional to the Jewish and Muslim hate crimes units in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government set out its commitment to reduce the harm caused by all hate crime, including that which is religiously motivated, in ‘Action against hate: the UK government’s plan for tackling hate crime’ which was published in July 2016.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) does not have specific units for antisemitic or anti–Muslim hate crime. Rather, we support Working Groups to bring members of those communities, where religiously motivated hate crime is at the highest levels, together with Government and other agencies to discuss what more we can do to tackle anti - Semitism and anti-Muslim hate crime. DCLG also supports the cross-Government Hate Crime Programme, which coordinates the response to all forms of hate crime across Whitehall and the Criminal Justice Agencies.
DCLG supports the police website ‘True Vision’ and, in January 2017, the Communities Secretary announced £25,000 extra funding for True Vision to work with Christian Groups, including Churchwatch. The project will assess the nature and extent of anti-Christian hate crime, reassure affected Christians and raise awareness of reporting mechanisms for hate crime. The findings of the research will help inform our future activity to challenge hate crime, which is unacceptable in any community.
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 reports of a new armed militia group, 3R, operating in Cameroon and the Central African Republic border region; and of the capacity of that group, the weapons they possess, the impact on the distribution of aid in that region, and whether they control any territory in that border region.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the emergence of a new armed militia group called "Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation," or "3R" which operates in the north of the Central African Republic (CAR). This group, and other militias operating in the transhumance corridors in the Ouham prefecture in northern CAR, are responsible for some of the most violent incidents reported in the country in the last 12 months.
We are also aware of recent claims that 3R is responsible for sexual violence, burning villages and displacing vulnerable people, with some reports listing the number of those displaced at 17,000. However, we do not hold information on the capacity of 3R or the weapons they possess.
We support President Touadera's efforts to implement disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and reintegration and call on all armed groups in the CAR to engage in the government's dialogue.