Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Indian counterpart on the use of anti-conversion laws in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The British High Commission in New Delhi consistently monitors human rights including the use of anti-conversion laws across India. The UK Government has a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India and we discuss all elements of our relationship, including human rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), and raise issues where we have them. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, raised human rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief with the Indian Government during his visit to India in May. He also met representatives of diverse faith groups.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 counterparts in China on (a) the persecution of Christians and (b) other religious persecution.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners.
We work within international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. For example, in October 2022 we raised China's severe restrictions on religious practice in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council (HCR) alongside 49 other countries. At last month's UN HRC we made a statement urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.
More generally, we regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Vice President in May 2023.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to provide ongoing support to Turkey and Syria in response to the earthquake in February 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is a committed humanitarian donor globally and responded swiftly to the devastating earthquakes to provide life-saving assistance to the people of Turkey and Syria. Now that we are out of the emergency response phase, the UK will continue to stand in solidarity with Turkey and to look at what more we can do to support the longer term recovery effort. For the people of Syria, we continue to focus on providing life-saving and life-sustaining assistance, as well as early recovery activities. This is alongside our existing support to the Syria Crisis, which has totalled over £3.8 billion since 2012.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 effectiveness of sanctions imposed in response to the situation in Myanmar.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has led international efforts to put pressure on the military regime and reduce its access to revenue, arms and equipment through targeted sanctions, without harming the wider population. We continue to work closely with our partners in the US, Canada and the EU to ensure a strong, coordinated and targeted response to the military regime's actions. On 27 March the UK announced its fifteenth round of sanctions, designating those who profit from the supply of aviation fuel and restricted goods and technology to the Myanmar Armed Forces.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with officials of EU Commission officials on implementation of the Windsor Framework since it was announced.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Following the announcement of the Windsor Framework in February, the Foreign Secretary and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič convened a formal meeting of the UK-EU Joint Committee on 24 March to formally adopt the new arrangements set out in the Framework. Officials remain in ongoing contact with the Commission to discuss the implementation of the Framework, and will continue to make use of the formal meeting structures under the Framework (including the Specialised Committee and the Joint Consultative Working Group) to advance this work.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the budget is for the visit of the US President to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We do not yet have the costs borne by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for the 2023 Guest of Government Visit by the President of the United States to Northern Ireland. These will be published on the gov.uk website once available.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support Christians in Laos.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK is committed to promoting and defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), as demonstrated by our hosting the 'International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in July 2022. The biennial UK-Laos Political Dialogue includes protection of human rights, which were raised by the former Minister for Asia Pacific (Minister Milling MP) during the Dialogue held in April 2022. We also work through the UN to promote and protect these rights. Our Ambassador regularly calls on the Laos authorities to uphold rights and also promotes human rights, including religious freedom, in public fora.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) support persecuted Christians in Iran, and (b) combat gender specific persecution of women in that country.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK supports the fundamental rights of women, and religious minority groups, including Christians, in Iran by ensuring the Iranian regime is held to account. We do this in part through our sanctions designations: HMG has announced seven rounds of Iran human rights sanctions since October 2022. We also work with our international partners in multilateral fora, for example by removing Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. We also raise human rights directly with the Iranian authorities at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran, to ensure the regime is in no doubt about the political price it is paying for its actions.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help tackle persecution of Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is committed to supporting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), tackling persecution and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Promoting human rights in the DRC is a priority for the UK. We demonstrated the depth of our commitment to promote FoRB globally by hosting an 'International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in July 2022. We continue to work through the UN General Assembly Third Committee, UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council to promote and protect these rights in the DRC.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of to Question 141646, how many visits to the UK have been recorded by a (a) Head of State (b) Head of Government and (c) Foreign Minister of the Irish Republic in each of the last three years.
Answered by Leo Docherty
We do not keep a record of all visits to the UK by representatives of other Governments. However, the FCDO maintains records of State and Guest of Government visits by a Head of State, Head of Government or Foreign Minister travelling to the UK at our invitation. Details of these visits, up to and including October 2022, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/costs-relating-to-state-and-guest-of-government-visits.