Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings he has held with his Indian counterpart regarding the case of Jagtar Singh Johal in the last 12 months.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Foreign Secretary discussed Mr Johal's case with the Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Delhi on 29 October. The previous Foreign Secretary raised Mr Johal's case with Dr Jaishankar during her visits to India on 31 March 2022, and 22 October 2021. The Former Prime Minister Johnson also raised the case with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to Delhi on 22 April. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regular raises this case, and did so most recently with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK on 25 October.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has met with the Baháʼí group of Kirklees to discuss allegations of persecution against this minority religious group.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities, including through expropriation of land, destruction of homes, and unfair detentions. Persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022. We have excellent links with the Baha'i community in London and will continue to work with them to advocate for the rights of the Baha'i community in Iran.
We raise Iran's dire human rights record, including its treatment of the Baha'i, at all appropriate opportunities, both in London and directly via His Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran. We continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account through multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee, where we reiterated our condemnation of Iran's persecution of the Baha'i on Wednesday 26 October.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart in the last 12 months on the Baháʼís and allegations of the destruction of private property and seizure of private land.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities, including through expropriation of land, destruction of homes, and unfair detentions. Persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022. We have excellent links with the Baha'i community in London and will continue to work with them to advocate for the rights of the Baha'i community in Iran.
We raise Iran's dire human rights record, including its treatment of the Baha'i, at all appropriate opportunities, both in London and directly via His Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran. We continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account through multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee, where we reiterated our condemnation of Iran's persecution of the Baha'i on Wednesday 26 October.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reasons his Department spends part of the foreign aid budget within the UK; and whether this has required reductions in spending on international schemes.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
All UK aid is spent in line with the international rules on what constitutes Official Development Assistance (ODA) as set by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee. Assistance to refugees is considered as humanitarian in nature and is provided with the aim of ensuring the dignity and human rights of beneficiary populations.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Kashmir; and what steps he is taking to ensure all international agreements are upheld by India and Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We recognise that there are issues with human rights in both India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Any allegation of human rights violations or abuse must be investigated thoroughly and transparently. We have raised these matters with both the Governments of India and Pakistan.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings he has had on violence against women and girls in Pakistan in the last 12 months.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly the most vulnerable, including women, minorities and children, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards. In the last 12 months, the UK Government has regularly raised the issue of violence against women and girls. Lord Ahmad, as the Minister for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, last raised our concerns about the human rights situation on 23 June, in his first meeting with Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 17 June, the British High Commissioner in Islamabad met with Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. They discussed issues including forced conversion and child marriage blasphemy laws. Also in June, the British High Commissioner raised forced conversions and forced marriages with Governor of Punjab, Baligh ur Rehman. Domestic violence against women and girls in Pakistan is a focus area in the British High Commission Gender Strategy. We will continue to raise it at the highest levels and we are closely tracking progress on the Domestic Violence bill in Pakistan.