Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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 international counterparts on alleged human rights violations of Muslims in Xinjiang province.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uyghur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities. Visits to Xinjiang by diplomats from the British Embassy in Beijing have corroborated much of this open source reporting.
Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so . I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
At the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ran from February to March 2019, Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Xinjiang during his opening address (on 25 February). The UK also raised concerns about Xinjiang during our item 4 statement on 12 March, and we co-sponsored a side event on “Protecting the fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang” on 13 March.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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 counterparts in the African Union and the Government of South Sudan on the UN Human Rights Council report on the human rights situation in South Sudan.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We are appalled by the findings of the UN Commission on Human Rights’ report on South Sudan, published in February, which for the second year running concludes that many of the abuses and violations reported could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Our efforts to support change in South Sudan primarily focus on maximising the chances of success of the peace agreement signed in September 2018, as without progress on this there is little hope for improvement. As part of this we have frequently urged African Union members, particularly from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, to ensure that the parties to the agreement meet their commitments to deliver sustainable peace, and to ensure accountability for those who work against it. In addition, through our diplomatic engagement, we urge the Government of South Sudan to implement its peace commitments and to address the human rights situation. This has included recent engagement in Juba and Geneva where we have raised the findings of the report as part of discussions regarding the renewal of the mandate for the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the strengthening of human rights in South Sudan.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The human rights situation in South Sudan continues to be of serious concern. Our efforts focus on supporting the peace agreement signed in September 2018, as without progress on this there is little hope for improvement in human rights. We are working with our partners to ensure accountability for those who work against peace in the form of sanctions and to ensure the parties to the agreement deliver their commitments.
At the Human Rights Council we are leading efforts to renew the mandate for the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which provides a vital reporting mechanism for maintaining pressure on the Government of South Sudan. In the longer term, initiatives such as DFID's Girls Education programme and funding to an International Medical Corps programme that works to support survivors of gender-based violence, are important development tools that will improve human rights in South Sudan.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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 counterpart in Russia on the reported abduction of Oleg Kozlovsky.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Immediately following the reports in October of Kozlovsky’s abduction and torture, the UK Government worked with the EU to issue a joint statement to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. In this statement, we called on the Russian authorities to conduct an investigation, and to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack
I note that the Russian authorities subsequently began a criminal investigation in December. The international community awaits the results of this investigation.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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 counterpart in Iran on legal and political restrictions on human rights campaigners.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Legal and political restrictions on human rights campaigners are deeply worrying. I last raised this issue with my counterpart during my visit to Tehran in November 2018, and we continue to raise human rights with the Government of Iran at all levels.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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 effect of climate change on the risk that UK and US defence facilities at Diego Garcia will be rendered inoperable by flooding; and whether he has discussed that issue with his counterpart in the US Government.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Department for International Development commissioned an assessment of climate change and its likely impact on the Overseas Territories, including the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), in 2015. An inception report was completed in October 2015 and is available online. Sea level rise and coastal erosion are considered to be the most significant potential climate change risks to BIOT. Climate change is a global concern. We will continue to closely monitor its effects on our Overseas Territories and take action where necessary. We have not recently discussed the effects of climate change on BIOT with US officials.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2016 to Question 47490, whether during those discussions concerns were raised by Japanese investors and representatives of Japanese businesses about the UK's decision to leave the EU; and whether any conditions were placed on continued Japanese investment in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharma
During my discussions, Japanese investors and business raised issues broadly in line with those set out in the Japanese government's paper of 2 September. As we prepare to negotiate our exit from the European Union, it would be wrong to set out our unilateral position in advance of these negotiations, or provide a running commentary on our discussions with individual companies. We will continue to work closely with Japanese investors and business to ensure we support an open and thriving economic partnership in the future.Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with representatives of Japanese businesses operating in the UK on the memorandum presented by the Japanese government to the Prime Minister at the recent G20 Summit.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Ministers and senior Government officials have held regular discussions with Japanese investors operating in the UK since the referendum in June. This continued after the Japanese Government published their memorandum on 2 September. I met representatives of Japanese business on 8 September at Asia House and I spoke to individual investors in Tokyo and Osaka during my visit to Japan from 26 to 29 September. Japanese investment in the UK has been a huge success story and as we plan our exit from the European Union we will continue to listen to the voices of Japanese business.