Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to monitor freedom of religion or belief in Cuba following revisions to that country's constitution.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Cuba's new constitution addresses freedom of religion or belief in Articles 15 and 57, and provides for protection against discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in Article 42. The new constitution was adopted on 10 April, following a referendum on 24 February and a public consultation exercise during which religious groups were consulted. We are concerned about reports from Christian Solidarity Worldwide that some religious groups were pressured to vote in favour of adoption of the constitution, although we believe that this pressure was common throughout Cuban society and not only confined to religious groups. The UK will continue to monitor human rights in Cuba, including freedom of religion or belief, in line with guarantees in the new constitution, and to discuss human rights regularly with the Cuban Government, bilaterally, through our continuing membership of the EU and multilateral human rights fora.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
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 accuracy of reports of harassment of Cuban church leaders in the lead-up to the constitutional referendum in Cuba in February 2019.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Cuba's new constitution addresses freedom of religion or belief in Articles 15 and 57, and provides for protection against discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in Article 42. The new constitution was adopted on 10 April, following a referendum on 24 February and a public consultation exercise during which religious groups were consulted. We are concerned about reports from Christian Solidarity Worldwide that some religious groups were pressured to vote in favour of adoption of the constitution, although we believe that this pressure was common throughout Cuban society and not only confined to religious groups. The UK will continue to monitor human rights in Cuba, including freedom of religion or belief, in line with guarantees in the new constitution, and to discuss human rights regularly with the Cuban Government, bilaterally, through our continuing membership of the EU and multilateral human rights fora.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Cuban counterpart on the potential effect of that country's new constitution on freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Cuba's new constitution addresses freedom of religion or belief in Articles 15 and 57, and provides for protection against discrimination on the grounds of religious belief in Article 42. The new constitution was adopted on 10 April, following a referendum on 24 February and a public consultation exercise during which religious groups were consulted. We are concerned about reports from Christian Solidarity Worldwide that some religious groups were pressured to vote in favour of adoption of the constitution, although we believe that this pressure was common throughout Cuban society and not only confined to religious groups. The UK will continue to monitor human rights in Cuba, including freedom of religion or belief, in line with guarantees in the new constitution, and to discuss human rights regularly with the Cuban Government, bilaterally, through our continuing membership of the EU and multilateral human rights fora.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the reported targeting of (a) Uighur Muslims, (b) Christians, (c) people who practise Falun Gong and (d) Tibetans for live organ harvesting in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We are aware of reports that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted.
However, as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Europe and the Americas, said in a Westminster Hall debate in October 2016: “Although I do not doubt the need to maintain close scrutiny of organ transplant practices in China, we believe that the evidence base is not sufficiently strong to substantiate claims about the systematic harvesting of organs from minority groups. Indeed, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot conclude that this practice of “organ harvesting” is definitely happening in China.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) collates global data on organ donations and works with China. The WHO view is that China is implementing an ethical, voluntary organ transplant system in accordance with international standards, although the WHO does have concerns about overall transparency.
We will continue to review any new evidence that is presented to us.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of persecution of people who practise Falun Gong in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, as well as Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and others, in China on the grounds of their religion or belief. Everyone should be free to practice their religion according to their beliefs, in accordance with the international frameworks to which both the UK and China are party. We believe that societies which aim to guarantee freedom of religion or belief are more stable, prosperous and more resilient against violent extremism.
We raised our concerns about freedom of religion or belief during China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2018. We also highlighted our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s most recent Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on forced live organ harvesting in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We are aware of reports that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted.
However, as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Europe and the Americas, said in a Westminster Hall debate in October 2016: “Although I do not doubt the need to maintain close scrutiny of organ transplant practices in China, we believe that the evidence base is not sufficiently strong to substantiate claims about the systematic harvesting of organs from minority groups. Indeed, based on all the evidence available to us, we cannot conclude that this practice of “organ harvesting” is definitely happening in China.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) collates global data on organ donations and works with China. The WHO view is that China is implementing an ethical, voluntary organ transplant system in accordance with international standards, although the WHO does have concerns about overall transparency.
We will continue to review any new evidence that is presented to us.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Tanzanian counterpart on human rights abuses toward LGBT people in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I continue to be concerned by any reports of targeting or threats against the LGBTI community in Tanzania. As I said in my tweet on 2 November, language that invites violence against any community in society should be rejected. The British High Commission, alongside international partners, carried out a demarche on the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging the authorities to respect human rights and protect all citizens from discrimination. I welcomed the statement by the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 November restating the protection of rights enshrined in their Constitution and distancing themselves from comments made by their officials. We continue to urge the Tanzanian authorities to respect the rights of sexual minorities and protect all Tanzanian citizens from discrimination. I personally raised discrimination and human rights abuses towards LGBTI people in Tanzania when I met Foreign Minister Mahiga in Brussels on 21 January. I wrote to him in similar terms in November last year and the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Secretary of State for International Development, has also raised teh issue with President Magufuli.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of LGBT rights in Tanzania since the recall of the European Union’s head of delegation to Tanzania in November 2018.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I continue to be concerned by any reports of targeting or threats against the LGBTI community in Tanzania. As I said in my tweet on 2 November, language that invites violence against any community in society should be rejected. The British High Commission, alongside international partners, carried out a demarche on the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging the authorities to respect human rights and protect all citizens from discrimination. I welcomed the statement by the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4 November restating the protection of rights enshrined in their Constitution and distancing themselves from comments made by their officials. We continue to urge the Tanzanian authorities to respect the rights of sexual minorities and protect all Tanzanian citizens from discrimination. I personally raised discrimination and human rights abuses towards LGBTI people in Tanzania when I met Foreign Minister Mahiga in Brussels on 21 January. I wrote to him in similar terms in November last year and the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Secretary of State for International Development, also wrote to President Magufuli about the same issue at that time.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The British Government is closely engaged on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The Foreign Secretary has discussed the situation with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman several times in recent weeks, most recently with the Crown Prince on 19 December. We welcome the Coalition's announcement on 20 December that Hodeidah port will reopen for both humanitarian and commercial supplies, including fuel and food. On 20 December, the Prime Minister discussed this announcement with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. In 2017/18, the British Government is committing £205 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to enable Christians to stay in Iraq.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Ultimately, the only way of safeguarding minority communities and enabling Christians to stay in Iraq freely is by defeating Daesh and establishing a lasting peace. The Government is committed to this: we have a comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and continue to support the Government of Iraq in its efforts to build a more inclusive society.
We are also working with our international partners and the Government of Iraq to ensure that Daesh is held to account for its appalling crimes, including against Christians. At the United Nations General Assembly on 19 September, The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), alongside Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari and the Belgian Foreign Minister, launched a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. The campaign has three mutually reinforcing objectives: supporting national and international efforts to ensure Daesh and its followers are brought to justice; empowering survivors of Daesh crimes; and ensuring that where Daesh tries to stoke division, hatred and violence, the pursuit of justice unites all our communities – local, national and international.
Through the UK's Conflict, Security and Stability Fund we are also supporting community cohesion, encouraging reconciliation and promoting acceptance and tolerance between communities at a grass roots level. We continue to encourage political and religious leaders in Iraq to speak out publicly and condemn sectarian violence. And we will continue to explore what further support we might be able to provide to vulnerable groups and internally displaced persons.