Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations have been made to the Government of Kuwait on respect for religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Human rights, including the protection of freedom of religion or belief, is a UK foreign policy priority. As part of our bilateral relationship with Kuwait, we discuss human rights at both ministerial and official level and where we have concerns we raise them with the appropriate authority. We have not made any recent representations to the Government of Kuwait on respect for religious freedom.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department has provided to UK nationals as a result of the recent flooding in the coastal regions of Italy.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was not approached to offer assistance to British Nationals who may have been caught up in the coastal floods. We are aware of two British Nationals who were rescued in Sardinia following the flooding there but they did not approach us for any assistance. FCO travel advice was updated on 29 October with information about the severe weather conditions and a link to local guidance being issued by the local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken taken to promote (a) religious freedoms and (b) the ability to evangelise in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We believe that societies which aim to guarantee freedom of religion or belief are more stable, prosperous and more resilient against violent extremism.
We raise the full range of our human rights concerns with the Chinese authorities. We recently raised our concerns over restriction of freedom of religion or belief with the Chinese Government in our 27 June 2018 statement at the UN Human Rights Council and during China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2018.
We also highlighted our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report contains details of work the FCO has carried out during the past year to promote human rights, including freedom of religion or belief in China and globally.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the effect on non-Muslims of the rapid incorporation of Islam into that country's education system.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Religious education is compulsory in Turkey's education curriculum and generally amounts to around two hours a week. Christian and Jewish children can apply for exemption from these classes. We have discussed freedom of religion issues with the Turkish authorities and are in dialogue with minority religious communities in Turkey.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of the Philippines on that country's promotion of respect for human rights and religious freedoms.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is committed to the promotion of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief. Whilst we have not had specific discussions with the Philippine Government on religious freedoms, we have regular discussions on human rights, including our concerns about the conduct of the "war on drugs" and the situation of human rights defenders. My officials most recently met with their Philippine counterparts at the UK/Philippines High Level talks that took place on 19th November, where these issues were raised. I also raised our human rights concerns with Philippine government figures during my visit to Manila in August.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the levels of forced repatriation of Christian asylum seekers to Pakistan.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK has a proud history of providing protection for those in need, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. We encourage all states to honour in full their international human rights obligations.
The British Government regularly raises its concerns about the freedom of religion or belief and the treatment of minority religious communities with our international partners, including the Government of Pakistan.
We have raised our concerns with the Government of Thailand over the detention of foreign nationals, including nationals of Pakistan. The Minister of State for the Commonwealth and UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our concerns in a telephone call with the Thai Ambassador on 2 November. We believe that the recent actions of the Thai authorities are not aimed at any specific group or groups but apply to anyone whom the Thai authorities deem an illegal visa over-stayer. We have urged Thailand to sign the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with international (a) counterparts and (b) partners on tackling the reduction in the global wildlife population.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered species. I was delighted to co-host the London international Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) Conference on 11-12 October with the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and International Development. We welcomed representatives from over 70 countries including three Presidents (Uganda, Gabon, Botswana), two First Ladies (Kenya, Sierra Leone), two Deputy Prime Ministers (Cambodia, DRC) and US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Discussions built coalitions between countries and the NGO and business communities to treat the illegal wildlife trade as a serious and organised crime; and to close markets for illegally traded wildlife. We will continue to work with our international colleagues to drive forward action to tackle this abhorrent crime. Most recently, I raised IWT with Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan during a visit to Vietnam and encouraged progress on commitments around demand reduction and law enforcement.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of reconciliation schemes for victimised religious minorities throughout the world which absolve persecuting individuals and institutions from blame or criminal prosecution.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made any recent assessment along the specific lines in the question.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Afghan counterpart on human rights and religious freedom in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK works closely with the National Unity Government, civil society and the international community to promote the development of human rights in Afghanistan. This continues to be a priority for the UK. We regularly raise 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. The UK condemns in the strongest possible terms the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. I publicly condemned the 1 July attack on a group of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad as “a despicable attack on Afghanistan’s historic Sikh and Hindu community”.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken with international partners to help stem violence against Israel by Hamas.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We strongly condemn all acts of terrorism and call upon Hamas and other terrorist groups to permanently end their incitement and rocket fire against Israel. The UK proscribes Hamas’ military wing and continues to abide by a no-contact policy with Hamas in its entirety. We expect Hamas to adhere to the Quartet Principles, including a commitment to non-violence.