Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of the sentences for social media activity imposed on (a) Salma al-Shehab, (b) Fatima al-Shawarbi, (c) Nourah al-Qahtani and (d) Manahel al-Otaibi in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have raised the continued detention of individuals for expressing their political views, including women and women's rights defenders, with the Saudi authorities. The British Embassy in Riyadh continues to monitor a number of cases and will continue to attempt to attend trials where possible. FCDO regularly raises freedom of expression cases with the Saudi authorities, including as recently as 31 January by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission. Saudi Arabia remains a FCDO human rights priority country, in part due to continued restrictions on freedom of expression.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the death sentences of Yousif Al-Manasif and Ali Al-Mubaiouq for crimes they allegedly committed as minors; and what recent representations he has made to his Saudi counterpart on those death sentences.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and circumstances. During Saudi Arabia's Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 22 January, the UK Government recommended that Saudi Arabia abolish the juvenile death penalty and conduct thorough investigations into individuals who may have been minors at the time of their alleged crimes. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has also raised recent cases with the Saudi authorities as a priority, including in January with the President of the Human Rights Commission.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi counterpart on the death sentences of Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad for crimes they allegedly committed when minors.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and circumstances. During Saudi Arabia's Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 22 January, the UK Government recommended that Saudi Arabia abolish the juvenile death penalty and conduct thorough investigations into individuals who may have been minors at the time of their alleged crimes. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has also raised recent cases with the Saudi authorities as a priority, including in January with the President of the Human Rights Commission.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the potential recognition of a Palestinian state.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
As we have made clear, recognition of a Palestinian state can’t come at the beginning of the process, but it doesn’t have to come at the end. We reiterate our commitment to making progress towards a two-state solution, in which a safe and secure Israel lives alongside a sovereign, viable Palestinian state. We must start with fixing the immediate crisis in Gaza. We are intensely engaging with international, including European and regional, partners to this end.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Saudi Arabia on (a) the prosecution of Manahel al-Otaibi in the Specialised Criminal Court and (b) reports (i) relating to her treatment while in detention and (ii) that she has not been allowed contact with her family since November 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have raised the continued detention of individuals for expressing their political views, including women and women's rights defenders, with the Saudi government. The FCDO is closely monitoring the case of Manahel al-Otaibi. Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO human rights priority country, in part due to continued restrictions on freedom of expression. The British Embassy in Riyadh will continue to attempt to attend trials where possible.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to his Saudi counterpart to support the implementation of his Department's recommendations at Saudi Arabia’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, regularly discusses human rights with the Saudi authorities, including the Saudi Vice Foreign Minister and the Saudi Ambassador in London. The UK submitted three recommendations at Saudi Arabia's recent Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Lord Ahmad has made representations to the Saudi Authorities regarding all UK recommendations both prior to and following the UPR, including with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, Dr Hala Al-Tuwaijri, on 31 January. We will continue to engage with the Saudi authorities, particularly the Human Rights Commission, about the implementation of our recommendations.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications of his policies of the (a) number of executions, (b) reported increase in the number of women executed, (c) execution of people who were juveniles at the time of their alleged crimes and (d) offences which resulted in the imposition of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and circumstances. The UK raises the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia through a variety of interlocutors. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, continues to regularly raise the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, particularly where there are allegations regarding people who may have been juveniles at the time of their alleged crimes. Additionally, in January, the UK also recommended the total abolishment of the juvenile death penalty in Saudi Arabia at the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made representations to his Saudi counterpart on the use of (a) judicial and (b) non-judicial travel bans on (i) prisoners of conscience released from prison and (ii) family members of peaceful activists in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We raise human rights with the Saudi authorities at all levels, including ministerial channels. The UK highlighted concern about the use of travel bans in the most recent Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. We continue to monitor individual cases, including those pertaining to freedom of expression, and will continue to raise concerns with the Saudi authorities.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13286 on Defence, if he will publish a list of the non-NATO countries with which the UK has (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral (i) agreements and (ii) arrangements to consult in the event of attack.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Various bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements commit the UK to consulting with non-NATO countries in relation to international security matters. The precise language that triggers any consultation under these arrangements varies. The Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971) with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore; the UK-Sweden Security Agreement (2022); and the UK-Ukraine Security Agreement (2024) all include reference to consultation in the event of attack.
Separate agreements with Australia (2013), Japan (2023), and the Republic of Korea (2023) refer to consultation on 'threats to international peace and security' (Australia) and 'important regional and global security issues' (Japan and Republic of Korea) respectively.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which non-NATO countries the UK has a commitment to defend against external aggression under (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral agreements.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK has a legal commitment to defend NATO countries against external aggression. There are a number of non-NATO countries with which the UK has bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements to consult in the event of attack. In addition, the UN Charter Chapter 7 sets out the inherent right of collective self-defence.