Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps in response to reports that financial institutions headquartered in the UK are preventing early withdrawal access of pension savings held by British Nationals (Overseas) who are seeking to leave Hong Kong and resettle in the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The right of people to leave Hong Kong is guaranteed under the Basic Law and should be upheld. It is unacceptable for Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF) Schemes Authority to declare that they will not accept the BN(O) visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the MPF.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
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 accuracy of reports that the British National (Overseas) visa is not being recognised by the Hong Kong Government as valid proof of permanent departure from Hong Kong and that people holding that visa and seeking to leave Hong Kong for the UK are being denied early withdrawal of their pension savings as a result.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The right of people to leave Hong Kong is guaranteed under the Basic Law and should be upheld. It is unacceptable for Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Funds (MPF) Schemes Authority to declare that they will not accept the BN(O) visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the MPF.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent progress he has made on the next round of sanctions designations under the Magnitsky sanctions regime.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We recently announced designations on International Human Rights Day under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime against ten individuals and one entity for serious human rights violations in Venezuela, Pakistan, The Gambia and Chechnya.
We will continue to consider targets, guided by the human rights objectives of the sanctions regime and the evidence.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
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 the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; and what progress the Sri Lankan Government has made in improving human rights in that country.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Since the election of President Sirisena in January 2015, the Sri Lankan government has made progress in addressing the legacy of its civil war, including the restoration of important democratic checks and balances, improvements in respect for freedoms of expression and movement, the return of some military-held land to civilians, passing of legislation to establish an Office for Missing Persons (OMP) and the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances. The Sri Lankan government has also co-sponsored two UN Human Rights Council resolutions on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, in October 2015 and March 2017.
However, much remains to be done and the UK encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to now take the steps necessary to deliver in full the commitments it has made to its people and to the international community.