Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to re-accredit the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain with “B” status; and what are the implications of that for their funding for the National Institute for Human Rights of Bahrain under the Gulf Strategy Fund.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK plays no role in recommendations made by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. The Gulf Strategy Fund (GSF) does not provide direct funding to the Bahrain National Institute for Human Rights (NIHR). All GSF projects are delivered through implementing partners who provide training or technical assistance to local beneficiaries.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Ministers and officials attended the dinner held for King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle on 11 November.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The dinner held for King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa at Windsor Castle was a private event hosted by His Majesty The King. Guests included the Secretary of State for Defence, the Lord Chancellor, Chief of Defence Staff and the British Ambassador to Bahrain.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 9 August (HL537), when the annual summary of projects funded by the Gulf Strategy Fund in 2023–24 will be published.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FY2023/24 annual summary will be published following the conclusion of the review. Future annual summaries will be prepared and published in line with the findings and recommendations of the review.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to authorities in Bahrain regarding allegations of mistreatment, suspension of telephone calls, and solitary confinement of (1) Mohamed Ramadan, (2) Zuhair Ebrahim Jasim Abdullah, (3) Mohamed Radhi Hasan, and (4) Husain Ebrahim Marzooq, who are on death row in Jau Prison.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We continue to discuss the use of the death penalty with the Bahrain authorities and have not made representations recently on the cases mentioned. We are aware that investigations are ongoing into allegations of mistreatment.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of gifts and hospitality given to UK diplomats, embassy staff and ministers, by (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) Bahrain, (3) the United Arab Emirates, (4) Qatar, and (5) Kuwait in the last two years.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO publishes quarterly data on gifts and hospitality received by ministers and senior officials on GOV.UK. Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for responses to written parliamentary questions but the FCDO publishes quarterly data information which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fcdo-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings
and
Information relating to gifts and hospitality received by embassy staff is held locally, but is not centrally collated, as this would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
The FCDO expects all members of staff to always maintain the highest standards of propriety, in line with the Civil Service Code and the Diplomatic Service Code.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan regarding the sentencing to death of Shagufta Kiran for blasphemy.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Pakistan is a FCDO human rights priority country. We work to protect and promote human rights in Pakistan through our diplomatic engagement and programme funding. This includes regularly raising our opposition to the death penalty and concerns about the misuse of blasphemy laws, both in principle and in relation to specific cases. Minister Falconer, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 4 September.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made a decision on continuing the Gulf Strategy Fund; if not, when the decision will be made; and what criteria were or will be considered during the policy review.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Gulf Strategy Fund has an allocation of £6m for the Financial Year 2024/25. Funding for future years will be decided once we know the outcome of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the Gulf Strategy Fund to increase transparency of how the funds are used, including by publishing details of the implementers and beneficiaries of the fund.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO is committed to Transparency. We are currently reviewing the transparency of the Gulf Strategy Fund, to build on the Thematic Summaries already published annually on GOV.UK. Publication of the summary for 2023/24 will follow this review.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, concerning the case of Dominic Miles, a British national imprisoned in Bahrain since 2022, in light of an alleged failure of due process and the Government's statement in August 2023 that the ombudsman suspects torture; what assessment they have made of his case; what representations have been made on his behalf and to which Bahraini authorities over the past two years; and when the last such representation was made.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment extremely seriously. When such concerns are raised, with the individual's consent, we will raise these with the relevant authorities. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found on the attached PDF.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the University of Huddersfield last sought guidance from anybody affiliated with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding human rights due diligence on its courses related to Bahrain.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The FCDO has no direct involvement in the partnership between the University of Huddersfield and the Government of Bahrain, which is facilitated solely between the two parties.