Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Iran concerning the disproportionate arrests and harsh interrogations of Jews, Christians, and Baha’is in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary told Foreign Minister Araghchi directly that the Iranian Government must immediately end the violence carried out against peaceful protestors in Iran, and uphold fundamental rights and freedoms.
We subsequently led the call, alongside international partners, for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 23 January to address the ongoing abuses in Iran, and we were pleased that the Council voted to extend the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to collect evidence of the authorities' human rights violations, including in relation to religion or belief.
At the Council, UK Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders, highlighted the bravery of protesters, especially women and members of religious and ethnic minority groups, who faced severe repression in their daily lives. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief.
For further background, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 August 2025 to Question 67802.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of Viet Nam following the extradition of Y Quynh Bdap from Thailand; and whether she has sought urgent clarification of his whereabouts, his health and wellbeing, and guarantees that he will be granted access to lawyers, family members, and independent observers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 83589.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of concerns for the safety of Vietnamese human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap; and what discussions she has had with her Vietnamese counterparts on his wellbeing.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 83589.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of the United Arab Emirates support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the responses provided in the Urgent Question debate on 5 November and the statement on Sudan made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, when these issues were discussed at length.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has raised reports of support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan by the government of the United Arab Emirates with her Emirati counterpart.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the responses provided in the Urgent Question debate on 5 November and the statement on Sudan made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, when these issues were discussed at length.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure no British-made weaponry is being used in the war in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the responses provided in the Urgent Question debate on 5 November and the statement on Sudan made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, when these issues were discussed at length.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Iranian counterpart concerning the recent detention of Afghan Christian, Teymur Hosseini; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to ensure his release.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to the answer I gave on 29 October to Question 83265, we are concerned by the reported case of Teymur Hosseini, and we continue to monitor the situation for Christians in Iran.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Vietnamese counterpart on the recent imprisonment of Kim Som Rinh, Thach Nga and Thach Xuan Dong; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to help ensure their release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary raised human rights including freedom of religion and belief with Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung on 30 October, building on my own discussions with the Vice Foreign Minister on 13 October. Our new UK-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reaffirms our shared commitment to continue sincere, frank and constructive dialogue on human rights issues, including through the UN Human Rights Council and Universal Periodic Reviews. The UK will continue to raise specific cases of concern including through the work of the UK envoy on Freedom of Religion and Belief, David Smith MP.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether future UK-funded capacity-building programmes will be structured to (a) advance Palestinian statehood and (b) support the government of Palestine in building institutions capable of delivering public services across Palestine, including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on the Middle East on 18 November, where support for Palestinian institutions was discussed. We will update the House in due course on any further developments.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Consul-General in East Jerusalem plans to present her credentials as Ambassador to the President of the State of Palestine; and whether she has had discussions with the Palestinian Authority on that process.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Consulate General in Jerusalem has had a special role working to promote and protect UK interests in Jerusalem for almost 150 years. The future status of the British Consulate General, and the Consul General, in Jerusalem will be determined in due course.