Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Barros-Curtis Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper]

We expect UK organisations, charities, businesses and individuals to abide by international law. We also expect them to recognise that the settlements on the west bank are illegal; in particular, the E1 settlement is blatantly breaking the law. We expect UK organisations to abide by the law. There are already restrictions to prevent goods from illegal settlements benefiting from tariff preferences, and we take immensely seriously engagement with those illegal settlements by UK businesses.

[Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment her Department has made of the human rights situation in Iran.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

We have long been clear that the human rights situation in Iran is totally abhorrent. As I speak, the regime continues its repression, whether through executions, including of political prisoners and protesters, or through its ongoing internet blackout. January’s crackdown was an appalling reminder of this regime’s brutality. That is why we have sanctioned senior Iranian decision makers and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for their rights violations, and led the call for an urgent fact-finding mission at the Human Rights Council.

[Mr Barros-Curtis]

As was referenced, in January, the Islamic Republic unleashed hell on its own citizens, with a brutal crackdown on civilian protests that reportedly saw more than 30,000 people killed and thousands arrested. The subsequent UN Human Rights Council report found that many of Iran’s actions may amount to crimes against humanity. As these abuses continue with impunity, what steps are my hon. Friend and the Foreign Office taking to hold Iran to account and ensure that any negotiated settlement includes clear, enforceable commitments to end such atrocities?

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his commitment to these issues. I described our work on an Iran human rights resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, and on 12 January the Foreign Secretary spoke to her Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Araghchi, setting out the UK’s total abhorrence of the killings, violence and repression, and urging the Iranian authorities to change course urgently. We continue to support negotiations between the US and Iran for a lasting resolution to this conflict.