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 Ugandan counterpart on freedom of expression and religion in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Ugandan Constitution enshrines the 'freedom to practise any religion'. We have no evidence of persecution based on religious belief in Uganda and have not raised this issue with the Ugandan Government recently.
The UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and, alongside freedom of the media, maintains that it is an essential quality of any functioning democracy. We continue to raise any concerns around civic and political issues directly with the Ugandan Government.
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 the Gabon Government on the promotion of political stability in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The British Government continues to monitor the political situation in Gabon. Our non-resident Ambassador and officials hold regular consultations with the Gabon Government. The most recent discussion was on 7 January with the Office of the Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the attempted coup.
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 counterparts on the proposed accession of North Macedonia to NATO.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK was delighted to sign North Macedonia's NATO Accession Protocol on 6 February. This is an important step towards strengthening Euro-Atlantic security and we look forward to welcoming North Macedonia as a full member of the North Atlantic alliance soon. I regularly discuss (now) North Macedonia, including NATO membership, with my counterparts, most recently at the Munich Security Conference last weekend, where I was also able personally to congratulate North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zaev.
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 has he had with his Malaysian counterpart on the ban on Israeli athletes competing in Paralympics qualifying events in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
We do not agree with Malaysian government's position on the banning of Israeli athletes from competing at the World Para Swimming Championships. It is fundamentally wrong. We consider it right that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has decided to strip Malaysia of the right to host the tournament. The Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination.
I raised our deep concerns with the Malaysian Minister for Education, Dr Maszlee bin Malik on the 22 January, as did our High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur with Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on the same day. We are following up on the matter with the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will continue to monitor developments in order to speak out against discrimination of any kind and to ensure the ideals of the Olympic movement are upheld.
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 partners on the recent incidents of terrorism in Colombia.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK swiftly condemned last month's car bomb attack in Bogotá and offered condolences to the families of the victims, including through a UK-drafted statement by the Security Council. In the week following the attack, the UK used its position as pen-holder at the UN on the Colombian peace process to draft another Security Council statement reiterating our condemnation of terrorist violence and reiterating the Security Council's full support for implementation of the FARC Peace Agreement. Karen Pierce, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, met Colombian Foreign Minister Holmes Trujillo to pledge our continued support for the FARC Peace Agreement and to discuss the way forward regarding the National Liberation Army (ELN) in the wake of the 17 January attack.
I have met Mr Holmes Trujillo twice over the past two weeks: first in New York on 26 January at the UN Security Council, then in Ottawa on 4 February for a Lima Group meeting. On both occasions, I took the opportunity to offer our unwavering support to the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia.
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 has he had with the Iraqi Government on the effect of its new education curriculum on practising religious minorities in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is committed to supporting the Government of Iraq as it completes formalisation of the Cabinet and we look forward to the announcement of a Minister for High Education. I recently visited Iraq and met with representatives from the Iraqi Government including the Prime Minister; Adil Abdul Mehdi and President Barham Salih where I reinforced the importance of reintegration of minority communities to ensure stabilisation.
Our Ambassador in Iraq, Jon Wilks, met with a representative from the Iraqi Government recently where discussion centred on Iraq's plans and priorities for Education, and future arrangements where the British and Iraqi Higher Education Institutions might work together. The British Council EC Schools Capacity Building Project in Primary and Secondary Education has developed a Human Rights curriculum, with the Ministry of Education, which they are hoping to pilot in Baghdad, Erbil, Basra, Anbar and other provinces.
I am aware that recently the Kurdistan Regional Government began discussions on teaching the history of all religions and we welcome these discussions.
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 the Government of Morrocco on respect for fundamental freedoms including religious expression and association in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Moroccan Constitution contains provisions that guarantee freedom of thought, expression, and assembly. We discuss human rights with the Moroccan authorities and raise concerns where appropriate. We have not made specific representations to the Moroccan Government relating to religious expression and association.
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 assessment he has made of the legitimacy of the recent elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We remain concerned about reported discrepancies between results for Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial elections held on 30 December 2018, and parallel tallies conducted by respected independent observers. We joined others in calling upon CENI (the DRC's electoral commission) to publish its data, which is a crucial step towards providing the stability that the DRC and the region needs. We have also voiced our concern through diplomatic channels, including at the UN Security Council and the EU.
The Congolese people clearly voted for change on 30 December. Following the inauguration of Felix Tshisekedi as President on 24 January 2019, we are engaging with his team to understand their plans for improving the DRC's stability and prosperity.
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 the Government in Zimbabwe on respect for fundamental freedoms including freedom of expression in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Zimbabwean Government’s recent internet shutdown, and restriction on social media, was a disturbing curtailing of freedom of expression. I summoned the Zimbabwean Ambassador on 17 January to express our concern at the ongoing situation, urge the government to investigate any cases of alleged human rights violations and to restore access to the internet. I was pleased that the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled the shutdown unconstitutional on 22 January.
On 30 January I spoke to Foreign Minister Moyo, repeating our calls for an end to human rights violations and a full investigation.
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 Thai counterpart on the effect of reform to the law on asylum seekers on refugees in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
We understand that asylum issues are not specifically covered under Thai legislation, but that the authorities are considering new laws around this issue. We will seek to discuss this in more detail when the opportunity arises. The UK has repeatedly urged Thailand to sign the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees and has raised asylum cases and immigration crackdowns with the Thai authorities.
On 2 November 2018, the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke to the Thai Ambassador in London to raise our concerns over the detention of foreign nationals in Thailand. Our Embassy in Bangkok also raised the issues with the Ministry of the Interior. The UNHCR are working closely with the Royal Thai Government over asylum, resettlement issues, and improving conditions for genuine claimants, for example by giving them documentation that allows them to access services and protects them from persecution.