Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the launch of the new Congolese rebel group known as Alliance Fleuve Congo and the consequences for relations between the East African Community and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is concerned about the establishment of Alliance Fleuve Congo, which combines various armed rebel groups active in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The proliferation of armed groups threatens the lives of civilians in an area of the DRC that has suffered years of conflict. Along with our partners, the UK urges all parties to pursue dialogue including through the Nairobi and Luanda peace processes. Our embassies in the region are delivering this clear message.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with counterparts in other governments about taking action to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to lead international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations. In March 2021, we imposed sanctions on four individuals and one entity for their involvement in the egregious violations taking place in Xinjiang, acting with 29 other countries. Sanctions are just one tool at our disposal. At the UN, we were the first country to lead a joint statement on human rights violations in Xinjiang in 2019 and last year we led another joint statement, which had a record number of signatories. We have taken action to tackle forced labour in supply chains, for example, guidance to UK businesses and enhanced export controls. Bilaterally, we continue to raise China's human rights violations with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels - the Foreign Secretary raised the situation in Xinjiang during his first call with China's Foreign Minister in December last year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding the treatment of Uighurs and other Turkic people in Xinjiang.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to lead international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations. In March 2021, we imposed sanctions on four individuals and one entity for their involvement in the egregious violations taking place in Xinjiang, acting with 29 other countries. Sanctions are just one tool at our disposal. At the UN, we were the first country to lead a joint statement on human rights violations in Xinjiang in 2019 and last year we led another joint statement, which had a record number of signatories. We have taken action to tackle forced labour in supply chains, for example, guidance to UK businesses and enhanced export controls. Bilaterally, we continue to raise China's human rights violations with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels - the Foreign Secretary raised the situation in Xinjiang during his first call with China's Foreign Minister in December last year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to those UK citizens names as co-conspirators in the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister for the Indo-Pacific said on 23 January, it is unacceptable that British nationals, including the former Consul-General, have been named by the prosecution in Jimmy Lai's national security trial in Hong Kong. We have made clear our concerns to the Chinese authorities. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has met with several of the named individuals, who bravely speak out on human rights concerns in Hong Kong and China, despite threats to themselves. We will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK. The UK has no active extradition agreement with Hong Kong or China.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the protection of religious and cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, and what representations they are making to the government of Azerbaijan in this regard.
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 consistently and at senior level.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo about strengthening and enforcing national laws regarding mining and evictions in line with international human rights standards.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Illicit mining in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains a concern. We regularly raise the challenges within the mining sector both with the DRC government and through multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council. The UK also supports initiatives including the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) which aims to improve transparency and governance across the mining sector.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to draw on academic expertise to help deliver financially sustainable rail infrastructure in developing countries.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO funds academic research into transport in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Rail examples include 1) the High-Volume Transport programme supporting modelling on the viability of hydrogen engines for rail lines in Africa and research into more resilient infrastructure and systems, including rail; and 2) the ieConnect programme evaluating mobility impacts of rail construction in Dakar, Senegal. Both programmes' research includes safety and accessibility of trains for women, girls and people with disabilities.
The Green Cities and Infrastructure Centre of Expertise will use this evidence to advise partner governments on infrastructure policies and investments in large scale urban infrastructure projects.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Kenya regarding the evictions of the Ogiek people and other indigenous peoples in the Mau forest in that country.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. The Minister for Africa and Development has not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 November (HL485), how much the UK donated in aid to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, (5) 2021, and (6) 2022.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, providing over £373 million in humanitarian support for the crisis since 2017. In the years requested, the UK has provided the following funding:
2017-2018 - £51.8 million
2018-2019 - £63.9 million
2019-2020 - £112.5 million
2020-2021 - £65.5 million
2021-2022 - £36.6 million
2022-2023 - £20.2 million.
Given unprecedented global humanitarian need, the UK has adjusted annual allocations for specific crises, including the Rohingya. The UK will return to the 0.7 per cent ODA/GNI target as soon as the fiscal situation allows.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to request a meeting of the UN Security Council to address the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to monitor the risk of further violence in Rakhine State, and to underline the need for humanitarian access and protection of civilians, including the Rohingya and other vulnerable groups. We continue to raise our concerns at the targeting of Rohingya and other minorities in multilateral fora and with international partners. On 15 November, the UK filed a joint declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in The Gambia's case which alleges Myanmar has perpetrated genocide against the Rohingya, in order to set out our interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Genocide Convention before the Court.