Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Nigeria following the series of massacres over the Christmas period in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi communities in Plateau State.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Rising insecurity in Nigeria has affected all faith and non-faith communities, including Christians. The UK Government regularly raises the impact of insecurity on communities, and the need to bring perpetrators to justice, with the Nigerian Government. The British High Commissioner has raised the recent attacks in Plateau with the Nigerian National Security Adviser. The High Commissioner and his team continue to work closely with the respective authorities to raise and address these issues through multiple forums.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made, since September 2023, to (1) UNESCO and (2) the government of Azerbaijan, regarding the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue, and although we have not formally made representations to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) since September 2023, we support their work in this regard. The British Embassy in Baku has raised the topic of religious and cultural destruction with the Azerbaijani government consistently and at senior level.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have contributed financially since September 2023 to humanitarian support for the estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians who have fled Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to those affected by September's conflict. We liaise with the UN, ICRC and others to assess humanitarian need in the region.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh to encourage the protection of freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (ForB) for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law. The UK regularly raises human rights concerns, including on FoRB, as part of our ongoing dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh. We support FoRB and freedom of expression through our political advocacy and development programme funding. This included funding to Aid Connect for the Freedom of Religion and Belief Leadership Networks project (August 2019 - December 2023) that supported Bangladesh's parliamentary commitment to FoRB. Our support ensured the rights of minorities were respected, and that these groups were protected from discrimination.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representation they have made, since September 2023, to (1) UNESCO, and (2) the government of Azerbaijan regarding the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is clear that the preservation of religious and cultural sites in the region is an important issue and we take seriously reports of the destruction of churches or other sites of religious significance. We are aware of allegations from both Armenia and Azerbaijan that cultural and religious sites have been deliberately damaged over the course of the conflict. The British Embassy in Baku has raised this with the Azerbaijani government.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided, since September 2023, to humanitarian support for the estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians who have fled their homeland of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide life-saving medication, healthcare and other essential support to those affected by September's conflict. We are liaising with the UN, ICRC and others to further assess humanitarian need in the region.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking with international partners to address the incidence of abduction, forced conversion, and forced marriage of young girls and women from religious minorities in Pakistan.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly marginalised groups including women, minorities and children, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards. Protecting the rights of women and girls is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. UK programme funds are helping to address gender-based violence by raising awareness of early and forced marriages, tackling online hate speech, and making digital spaces safer for women. The British High Commission in Islamabad will continue to support civil society and NGOs in lobbying the Government of Pakistan to honour its international commitments.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the state of freedom of religion or belief in Sudan after the church bombing in Omdurman on 4 November, which left 6 children dead and 23 people wounded.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place in Sudan since the military coup in October 2021, including the escalation in abuses since conflict broke out in April. The continued widespread violence and significant civilian death toll must end. We are not aware of any significant increase in the discrimination or persecution of religious minorities in the country since April. We engage regularly with, and support the work of, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who continue to monitor this.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (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 Thailand regarding its policy of refouling of refugees from Karenni state, Myanmar, as reported by Human Rights Watch.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has called on Thailand to respect its obligations under the non-Refoulement principle under customary international law. The UK actively promotes the implementation of Thailand's Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance 2022, which prevents government agencies and public officials from deporting a refugee to a country where they would be in danger of torture or other ill-treatment. UK Ministers and diplomats - in coordination with likeminded partners - have previously intervened privately at senior levels with the Royal Thai Government regarding cases of alleged forced return of persons believed to be in danger of being subjected to torture or other ill treatment.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will impose further targeted sanctions against (1) individuals in the Myanmar military, and (2) military-owned enterprises.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and 29 entities under the Myanmar Sanctions Regime. The UK is considering a range of further sanctions targets and other measures to hold the military regime to account. It is vital that any sanctions imposed have the desired effect of denying the regime credibility and reducing their access to finance, arms and equipment without harming the wider Myanmar population. It would not be appropriate to speculate about specific future sanctions designations.