Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of Afghan journalists currently at risk of persecution in (1) Afghanistan, (2) Pakistan, and (3) Iran, for their professional activities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a champion of media freedom and a proud member of the Media Freedom Coalition. Defending media freedom at home and abroad is a priority for the UK. In Afghanistan, we understand that around 40 per cent of media outlets have ceased to operate and that 60 per cent of journalists have lost their jobs since August 2021. We continue to address the issue of media freedom in our discussions with the Taliban. We regularly raise media freedom at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, most recently in January 2023. We condemn the Iranian authorities' crackdown on journalists and continue to raise the Iranian peoples' right to access independent media. The UK regularly engages countries on the need to respect human rights, including on freedom of expression and media freedom.
Asked by: Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prioritise the safe evacuation from Afghanistan of journalists (1) currently, and (2) formerly, employed by the BBC who are at risk as a result of their professional associations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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.