Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religion or belief in Burkina Faso.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Religion-based and intercommunal violence is part of a broader trend of security deterioration in Burkina Faso. We are deeply concerned about this insecurity, which is having a tragic impact on communities of all faiths. The UK condemns all attacks, including those targeting particular religions or ethnic communities. Nobody should live in fear because of their identity or beliefs.
At recent G5 Sahel meetings, the Minister for Africa and the Foreign Secretary set out the need to address impunity for human rights abuses and violations and improve efforts to enhance stability in the Sahel region. We are committed to using our memberships of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance and other international organisations and networks to promote and protect Freedom of Religion or Belief for all.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of (1) Eritre, and (2) Ethiopia, about attacks in the town of Axum in which hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned at the mounting evidence of human rights abuses and violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Since the conflict started, the UK has consistently called for an end to fighting, and for all parties to the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians - we have done this both in public statements and in engagements with the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Foreign Secretary raised with Prime Minister Abiy during his visit to the region earlier this year. The Minister for Africa spoke to the Eritrean Ambassador to the in March, and the British Ambassador in Asmara continues to raise concerns - most recently on 15 April with the Eritrean Foreign Minister. The Minister for Africa made specific reference to the reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on the human rights violations of civilians in Axum, Ethiopia in his tweet of 26 February.
Eritrea's role in the conflict is particularly concerning; there are numerous reports of atrocities involving Eritrean forces, and the presence of Eritrean forces is fuelling insecurity. These forces must leave Ethiopia immediately, in line with the commitment made by Prime Minister Abiy on 26 March. We also note PM Abiy's statement on 23 March that the perpetrators of human rights atrocities should face justice - whoever they are. We need to see action now to stop further atrocities and to allow for the independent investigation of those that have occurred. In a joint statement on Ethiopia with 41 other countries at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of 26 February we condemned in the strongest terms the reported killings of civilians. The G7 Statement of 2 April made clear that independent, transparent and impartial investigation is essential and that those responsible for human rights atrocities must be held to account.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Mozambique about reports that children are being beheaded in the Cabo Delgado province.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the deteriorating security situation in northern Mozambique and the recent attacks by groups with links to Islamic extremism. As the Minister for Africa set out publicly on 17 March, we are particularly appalled by reports of beheadings of children in the Cabo Delgado province.
I also spoke to Foreign Minister Macamo on 11 March to underline the importance of respect for human rights by all sides to the conflict. I also reaffirmed that we would continue to work with Mozambique on their counterterrorism efforts. When the Minister for Africa spoke to Foreign Minister Macamo on 4 February he also raised the need for Mozambique to follow through on investigations of human rights abuses by all sides involved in the conflict.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the government of Canada in 2018 to make travelling to China for organ transplants illegal for Canadian citizens.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are currently looking into the measures reportedly introduced or being considered in several other countries, including Canada, relating to travel to China for organ transplants.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to evaluate the credibility of evidence of the forced organ harvesting of practitioners of Falun Gong in China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports that allege that a process of involuntary organ removal may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted. The UK Government fully supports the Declaration of Istanbul (May 2008), which encourages all countries to draw up legal and professional frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities.
As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Europe and the Americas, Sir Alan Duncan, stated in a Westminster Hall debate in October 2016: “Although I do not doubt the need to maintain close scrutiny of organ transplant practices in China, we believe that the evidence base is not sufficiently strong to substantiate claims about the systematic harvesting of organs from minority groups. Indeed, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot conclude that this practice of “organ harvesting” is definitely happening in China.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) collates global data on organ donations and works with China. The WHO view is that China is implementing an ethical, voluntary organ transplant system in accordance with international standards, although the WHO does have concerns about overall transparency.
We continue to review any new evidence that is presented to us.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria regarding reports of widespread violence in the conflict between Fulani herders and Christian farmers.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly raise the issue with both the Federal Government and Governments of affected states to express our concerns about clashes between pastoralists and farmers of all faiths. We encourage the government to address the underlying causes and develop a solution that meets the needs of all affected communities.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office intends to establish a fund for programmes supporting freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) continues to be a priority for the UK Government. Projects that directly support FoRB overseas are funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. In 2017/18 the Magna Carta Fund will spend £758,717 on six FoRB projects. We will open for bids to support FoRB work in the 2018/19 financial year, early in the next calendar year.
Asked by: Lord Suri (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government what level of grant-in-aid funding was provided to each service within the BBC World Service in each of the financial years 1987–88 to 2014–15; and, for each service, how much of that funding was allocated to (1) operating grants-in-aid, and (2) capital grants.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The overall information on grant-in-aid funding to the BBC World Service is available to Parliament through the Supplementary Estimates, however the information for each service is not available. The Supplementary Estimates should be available online for a large part of the period in question but the Parliamentary library should hold the information for the whole period in question.