Asked by: Lord Garel-Jones (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief on his recent trip to Indonesia raised the situation of the non-religious in that country, as that country does not recognise the right to be a humanist, atheist or agnostic.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Yes. During my visit to Jakarta I talked about the rights of people of faith and those of no faith during a meeting of representatives of different religious communities, as well as raising the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief in my meeting with the Minister of Religious Affairs.
Asked by: Lord Garel-Jones (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they will give to Gulalai Ismail, the Pakistani humanist and human rights activist who was arrested in Islamabad on 12 October before being released on bail with her passport confiscated.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression in Pakistan, including the detention of human rights activists, in Pakistan. We are also concerned about constraints on the operating space for civil society and NGOs in Pakistan. The freedom to hold and express views without censorship, intimidation or unnecessary restriction is a cornerstone of democracy. The arrest and release under bail of Gulalai Ismail is a further worrying development against the backdrop of restrictions on fundamental rights in Pakistan.
We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan, including on the freedom of expression. I discussed human rights in Pakistan with the Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, in September 2018.
The British High Commission in Islamabad will continue to support civil society and NGOs in lobbying the Government of Pakistan to honour in practice its international commitments, including on freedom of expression.
Asked by: Lord Garel-Jones (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the functioning of the principle of subsidiarity as a result of the procedures brought into effect by the Treaty of Lisbon; and what action they plan to take as part of the United Kingdom's renegotiation with its European Union partners to ensure that the subsidiarity principle is strengthened to the benefit of national governments and parliaments.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Balance of Competences Review examined how the principle of subsidiarity applied in areas of EU action. It found that the mechanisms for protecting subsidiarity and proportionality could be improved in a number of ways, in particular by improving the role of national parliaments as the guardians of subsidiarity and affording them closer involvement in the EU’s functioning. The Government is seeking a stronger role for national Parliaments as part of its renegotiation.