Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the suicide bombing resulting in the death of 19 Sikhs in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in July, what discussions they intend to have with Afghan authorities to safeguard the security and right to freedom of belief of the country’s remaining Sikh population.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The British Government condemned the 1 July attack on a group of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific publicly described it as “a despicable attack on Afghanistan’s historic Sikh and Hindu community”. As part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission, the UK supports the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in its efforts to improve security for all communities in Afghanistan. NATO’s Resolute Support Mission is also assisting the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces with security planning for the upcoming elections. The UK regularly raises human rights issues with the Government of Afghanistan, including the need to protect the rights of all ethnic and religious groups in line with the constitution.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the suicide bombing resulting in the death of 19 Sikhs in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in July, whether they intend to offer asylum in the UK to the families of those who were killed.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for people to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum. Those who need international protection should claim in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Our resettlement schemes offer a safe and legal route to the UK for the most vulnerable refugees. Membership of a minority religion or group is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria used to assess eligibility for resettlement but members of minority religions or groups may qualify under the established criteria.
Our assessment of the situation for Sikhs in Afghanistan is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on the Gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-country-policy-and-information-notes.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India concerning the arrest of UK citizen Jagtar Singh Johal; and what response, if any, they have received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The British High Commission has raised this case with the Indian authorities. Following high level lobbying, consular staff visited Mr Johal on 16th November. The Rt Hon Field, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific met with Mr Johal's MP and brother on 27 November. We will continue to raise this case with the authorities to ensure we have regular and full consular access.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 7 December (HL Deb, col 1310), what assessment they have made of whether the statement that they "never allow issues about our economic relationship to get in the way of upholding international law and international humanitarian law" is consistent with the remarks in June 2014 by the then Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, Michael Fallon, that "we should not allow" concerns about human rights "to get in the way of a very important trade relationship".
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the first country to produce a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights we have advocated the view that the promotion of business and respect for human rights go hand in hand. We see these as mutually reinforcing. The degree of influence we have with a country, including on human rights issues, depends on many factors; as a general rule we have more influence with countries with whom we have a strong trade and investment relationship.Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement in 2014 by the Indian Home Minister describing the 1984 killings of Sikhs in India as genocide, whether they are pushing, or plan to push, for an international inquiry.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The tragic losses of lives during the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 remain a source of deep pain to Sikhs everywhere around the world. We recognise the deep scars that this has left and the understandably strong feelings that exist to this day. We are aware of reports of the Indian Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, referring to the anti-Sikh riots as genocide. Any inquiry is a matter for the Indian government.
Asked by: Lord Singh of Wimbledon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 7 April 2014 (HL WA244), and the oral answer by the Earl of Courtown on 16 June (HL Deb, col 1077), why they consider the mass killing of Sikhs in India to be a matter for the government of India alone, and not an issue for the international community.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Lords)
The events of June 1984 at Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar led to a tragic loss of life and remain a source of deep pain to Sikhs everywhere around the world. We recognise the deep scars that this event left and the incredibly strong feelings that exist to this day. Relations between the Sikhs in India and the Indian government is an internal matter between those two parties.