Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to disabled children in Ukraine who are unable to leave that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government has committed £220 million of humanitarian funding to those affected by Russia's invasion in Ukraine. The priority for UK funding is to support the most vulnerable people, including women, children, the elderly and disabled in Ukraine and in the region around Ukraine.
Our pledge includes over £140 million to UN and Red Cross Agencies, including £15 million to UNICEF and £25 million in matched funding to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal (DEC). Our flexible funding to the UN allows them to support the most in need in Ukraine, including disabled children. More than 26 thousand children with disabilities have been reached by UNICEF cash assistance. In line with humanitarian principles, we will continue to work with our partners to prioritise support to the most in need, which will include disabled children in Ukraine.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 implications for her policies of the detention of (a) Father Óscar Benavides and Bishop Rolando Alvarez and (b) other Catholic lay leaders, seminarians and priests in Nicaragua.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We have voiced the UK's deep concern about the ongoing deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua both with the Nicaraguan government and in multilateral fora. Reports of harassment of members of the Catholic church in Nicaragua are concerning. Freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, and must be protected. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief tweeted on the issue on 10 August and is discussing it with members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. Our Permanent Observer at the Organisation of American States also referred to the issue in a statement at a special meeting on the situation in Nicaragua on 12 August. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted our concern about the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez during his visit to the Holy See on 26 August and he is due to give a statement on behalf of the UK about the human rights situation in Nicaragua at the UN Human Rights Council's Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on 13 September. We will continue to raise our concerns about the situation in Nicaragua, including the detention of members of the Catholic church, and urge the Nicaraguan Government to respect the human rights of all Nicaraguan people.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 Nicaraguan counterpart on human rights.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We have voiced the UK's deep concern about the ongoing deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua both with the Nicaraguan government and in multilateral fora. Reports of harassment of members of the Catholic church in Nicaragua are concerning. Freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, and must be protected. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief tweeted on the issue on 10 August and is discussing it with members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. Our Permanent Observer at the Organisation of American States also referred to the issue in a statement at a special meeting on the situation in Nicaragua on 12 August. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted our concern about the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez during his visit to the Holy See on 26 August and he is due to give a statement on behalf of the UK about the human rights situation in Nicaragua at the UN Human Rights Council's Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on 13 September. We will continue to raise our concerns about the situation in Nicaragua, including the detention of members of the Catholic church, and urge the Nicaraguan Government to respect the human rights of all Nicaraguan people.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the state of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Nicaragua.
Answered by Jesse Norman
We have voiced the UK's deep concern about the ongoing deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua both with the Nicaraguan government and in multilateral fora. Reports of harassment of members of the Catholic church in Nicaragua are concerning.
Freedom of religion or belief is a universal human right, and must be protected. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief tweeted about reports of harassment of members of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua on 10 August and is discussing it with members of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted our concern about the detention of Bishop Rolando Álvarez during his visit to the Holy See on 26 August.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Minister for Asia and the Middle East raised the matter of the blockade of Gaza with the Israeli Government on her visit to Israel on 22 June 2022.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I recently visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) where I saw first-hand the challenges of the prolonged conflict and the impact of the occupation. I reiterated UK support for a two-state solution and the need to improve conditions for ordinary Palestinians in my meetings with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll, and with the Palestinian leadership, including Prime Minister Shtayyeh and Foreign Minister Malki. The UK continues to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza's reconstruction and economic recovery.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to disabled Ukrainians who are unable to leave Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
There are at least 2.7 million people in Ukraine with disabilities that are at high risk of harm and abandonment. Many are trapped, unable to evacuate to safer areas and experiencing severe food and medication shortages. The UK is committed to providing humanitarian aid on the basis of need alone, without discrimination on any grounds. In Ukraine, the UK seeks to drive forward a fully inclusive international humanitarian response that addresses the life-saving and urgent needs of women, children, people with disabilities and excluded groups affected by the crisis, and ensuring compliance with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines on disability and gender-based violence.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Mexican counterpart on the situation for Protestant Christian families in El Encanto village, Las Margaritas Municipality, Chiapas, who have been denied access to water, electricity and sewerage services for refusing to renounce their religion.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are aware of the reports of protestant families in El Encanto village being denied access to services due to their religious beliefs. We raised the issue of freedom of religion or belief and the situation in Chiapas with the Mexican authorities. The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We continue to engage regularly with Mexican authorities at all levels to discuss and support a broad human rights agenda in Mexico. I discussed human rights with the Mexican minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on 2 March.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 treatment of Uyghur Christians in Xianjaing, China.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China, including the persecution on the grounds of their religion or belief. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy.
We regularly raise our concerns about human rights with the Chinese authorities. The Prime Minister did so in a telephone call with President Xi on 29 October, as did the Foreign Secretary in her introductory call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 22 October.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to Christians in Afghanistan.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Minister for Human Rights Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 24 August to underscore the UK's commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan people, including Christians and others at risk of persecution, and holding the Taliban to account. The UK is formally launching a separate resettlement programme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, providing a safe and legal route for up to 20,000 Afghans in the region over the coming years, with 5,000 in the first year. This scheme will include Afghans who face a particular risk from the Taliban, for example because of their role in standing up for democracy and human rights or because of their gender, sexuality or religion.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department operates a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO does not operate a RAG rating system to categorise Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. All FOI requests are treated exactly the same, regardless of who the request is from and their occupation.