Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to identify the presence of alleged Rwandan war criminals in the UK, and (2) to prosecute those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
If a UK resident has been responsible for core international crimes anywhere in the world, they may be investigated and prosecuted in the UK.
The Metropolitan Police has national responsibility for carrying out UK police inquiries for the investigation of all allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and torture. The Home Office do not hold information as to when any police investigations are likely to conclude.
All allegations of war crimes referred to the War Crimes Team are considered, assessed and dealt with in line with the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity referral guidelines, which are jointly agreed with the Crown Prosecution Service CPS - https://www.cps.gov.uk/publication/war-crimescrimes-against-humanity-referral-guidelines
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of what constitutes persecution of groups of people.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Government defines persecution as an act that is sufficient serious in nature and repetition as to constitute a severe violation of basic human rights. Such acts could be perpetrated against individuals or groups of people.
The definition is contained in the Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006, which reflect the Refugee Convention and EU law.
We support those who have suffered persecution by providing a place of safety for refugees through our resettlement schemes and the in-country asylum process.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for asylum from Pakistan on grounds of religious persecution they received in the years ending (1) June 2015, (2) June 2016, (3) June 2017, and (4) June 2018; and of those, how many applications were granted in each year.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
All asylum claims lodged in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information. We ensure that claimants are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim under a Convention reason as set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The data required to answer the question is not recorded in a way that can be reported on accurately. The Home Office does not electronically record the Convention reason on which an individual claims asylum and so we cannot identify how many asylum claimants, from a specific country, have been granted asylum due to a claim made on the grounds of religious persecution.
However, the Home Office publishes figures on the outcome of all asylum claims, which can be broken down by nationality, in the Immigration Statistics release. The breakdown is as follows:
Year ending | Jun-15 | Jun-16 | Jun-17 | Jun-18 |
Applications from Pakistani nationals | 2313 | 3000 | 2598 | 2313 |
Grants of Pakistani nationals; Including Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary leave, Exceptional Leave and other grants of Leave outside the Rules. | 610 | 300 | 295 | 294 |
Grants of Asylum of Pakistani nationals | 568 | 288 | 277 | 269 |
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from the family of Asia Bibi that they be granted asylum in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
As the Prime Minister set out on 14 November, the release of Asia Bibi will be very welcome news to her family and to all those who have campaigned in Pakistan and around the world for her release. We welcome the assurances the Government of Pakistan has given on keeping her and her family safe and it is important that all countries seek to uphold the rule of law and afford security and protection for the rights of all citizens irrespective of faith or belief.
It is a longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases. In accordance with our duty of confidentiality, we cannot confirm whether an asylum claim has been received or the outcome of such a request.
Departing from this policy may put individuals and their family members in danger.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of why the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has referred so few Christians, Yazidis and other Syrian religious minorities for resettlement in the UK; whether any members of those minorities were resettled in the UK in the first quarter of 2018; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In resettlement, the UK works according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality which means that we do not take into consideration the ethno-religious origins of people requiring assistance as we resettle solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR through their established submission categories.
We believe that one way to protect the privacy of those being resettled and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We therefore do not believe it is appropriate to publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for asylum were made in 2015 and 2016 by those to whom they had previously granted visas to travel to the UK from Iraq and Syria.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Figures on asylum claims from Iraq and Syria are published as part of the Government’s Transparency agenda. In the period concerned there were the following claims from Iraq and Syria:
Period | Iraq | Syria |
2015 Q1 | 291 | 557 |
2015 Q2 | 295 | 403 |
2015 Q3 | 751 | 856 |
2015 Q4 | 1,311 | 978 |
2016 Q1 | 1,048 | 494 |
2016 Q1 | 838 | 478 |
2016 Q1 | 820 | 348 |
Totals | 5,354 | 4,114 |
Identification of the number of these claims who had previously submitted a visa cannot be supplied for reasons of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many visas in 2015 and 2016 were (1) issued, and (2) refused, to those applying to travel to the UK from Iraq and Syria.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in 'Immigration Statistics, April - June 2016', available from the Gov.uk website. The information on applications for Iraq and Syria is set out below.
Entry clearance visa applications and resolution by selected country of nationality | |||||||||
Quarter | Country of nationality | Applications | Resolved | Granted | % | Refused | % | Withdrawn | Lapsed |
2015 Q1 | Iraq | 3,183 | 3,248 | 1,353 | 42% | 1,814 | 56% | 80 | 1 |
2015 Q2 | Iraq | 3,417 | 3,320 | 1,273 | 38% | 1,939 | 58% | 108 | 0 |
2015 Q3 | Iraq | 3,534 | 3,486 | 1,284 | 37% | 2,174 | 62% | 28 | 0 |
2015 Q4 | Iraq | 2,564 | 2,846 | 1,061 | 37% | 1,753 | 62% | 32 | 0 |
2016 Q1 | Iraq | 2,239 | 2,279 | 976 | 43% | 1,206 | 53% | 97 | 0 |
2016 Q2 | Iraq | 2,804 | 2,593 | 1,104 | 43% | 1,471 | 57% | 18 | 0 |
2016 Q3 | Iraq | 2,692 | 2,732 | 1,369 | 50% | 1,343 | 49% | 20 | 0 |
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Quarter | Country of nationality | Applications | Resolved | Granted | % | Refused | % | Withdrawn | Lapsed |
2015 Q1 | Syria | 1,929 | 1,768 | 729 | 41% | 1,022 | 58% | 17 | 0 |
2015 Q2 | Syria | 2,332 | 2,246 | 892 | 40% | 1,334 | 59% | 17 | 3 |
2015 Q3 | Syria | 2,812 | 2,910 | 1,331 | 46% | 1,565 | 54% | 12 | 2 |
2015 Q4 | Syria | 4,131 | 4,136 | 2,966 | 72% | 1,145 | 28% | 24 | 1 |
2016 Q1 | Syria | 2,268 | 2,403 | 1,385 | 58% | 996 | 41% | 20 | 2 |
2016 Q2 | Syria | 3,595 | 3,391 | 2,391 | 71% | 988 | 29% | 12 | 0 |
2016 Q3 | Syria | 3,567 | 3,834 | 2,790 | 73% | 1,031 | 27% | 13 | 0 |
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Notes: The table shows the number of entry clearance applications resolved, and of those, the proportion refused. Includes main applicants and dependants, and visitor and transit visas. | |||||||||
Source: Immigration Statistics, July - September 2016, Home Office, table vi_02_q |
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Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review their visa policy towards those travelling to the UK from Iraq and Syria.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
All applications for visas, entry clearance and leave to enter at the UK border are considered on their merits, in accordance with the criteria set out in the published Immigration Rules , regardless of the applicant’s nationality or where they live. A variety of factors may be taken into account when considering the application, but that would depend upon the applicant’s personal circumstances and what they had applied to do in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review why the Archbishop of Mosul, the Archbishop of St Matthews and the Archbishop of Homs and Hama were refused visas to travel to the UK from Iraq and Syria to attend the consecration of the Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in London.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of current counter terrorism legislation; and whether it prevents funding of Syrian non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations who are best placed to respond to the humanitarian emergency in Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK counter-terrorism legislation is kept under constant review to ensure the police and the security and intelligence agencies have the powers they need to tackle all new and existing threats, whether home grown or international. Our continued focus rightly seeks to dissuade individuals from travelling to places of conflict and to work with communities to prevent the radicalisation of individuals. We also seek to ensure that where individuals have undertaken illegal activities, whether at home or abroad, they are not beyond the reach of the law and can be prosecuted.
UK counter-terrorism legislation is subject to robust independent oversight. The Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, currently David Anderson QC, reviews the legislation and reports his findings to Parliament annually. The Government gives careful consideration to these reports and any recommendations he may make. For example, following a recommendation in his last annual report released in July 2014, officials have opened a dialogue with international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) about their operations overseas and the parameters within which they work. This constructive dialogue is continuing.
Ensuring an effective response to humanitarian crises is a key objective for this Government. In line with the key humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, we work with trusted humanitarian partners with experience of operating in fragile and conflict affected states, to ensure that aid is delivered to people on a needs basis. In 2015/16 the Department for International Development is working with 18 humanitarian partners in Syria and 18 partners in neighbouring countries. These include UN agencies, Red Cross/Crescent organisations, INGOs and international financial institutions, who in turn work with local NGOs and civil society organisations. The Government also work with a range of partners utilising the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, including Syrian organisations, INGOs, the private sector, academic institutions, international organisations and other donors. We apply a rigorous process of due diligence, where partners must demonstrate accountable and transparent governance structures and financial procedures, as well as compliance with relevant legislation.