Iran: Freedom and Democracy
Debate between David Rutley and Holly Lynch(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (David Rutley)
I am grateful to hon. Members of the Backbench Business Committee and my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), whom I have known many years, for securing this debate. It is my honour to respond on behalf of the Government. I am grateful for the contributions of hon. Members and will respond to the points that have been raised. The shared concerns that have been echoed across the Dispatch Boxes and from all those who have participated speak volumes about the issues that have been raised.
Unwavering support for democracy and freedom worldwide is central to Britain’s diplomatic engagement. That is why Iran’s continued violation of its people’s rights, in conjunction with its widening pattern of malign activity around the world, remains a high priority for the Government. We will not tolerate Iran’s illegal threats against UK-based journalists, its escalating nuclear programme, its desperate coalition with Russia or its reckless use of proxies in the region.
As hon. Members will be aware, the shocking death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 sparked a popular grassroots call for change. The aptly named “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest challenged decades of gender-based discrimination and violence. Women and girls proudly defied discriminatory and degrading mandatory hijab law, at great risk to their safety and security. The Iranian authorities responded to the protests with intimidation and violence, by killing at least 500 people and detaining 19,000. They showed complete disregard for the rights of their own people. There have been fewer protests since then, but we should not take that as evidence of a diminishing appetite for change among the Iranian people. Suppressing dissent may momentarily silence the people, but it will never kill their desire for a more just future.
The UK has been consistent and clear in its condemnation of Iran’s undemocratic and disproportionate response to the protest movement. Iran has been designated an FCDO human rights priority country. Since October 2022, we have sanctioned 94 individuals and entities for human rights violations, including decision makers responsible for drafting and implementing Iran’s mandatory hijab legislation, and political and security officials involved in the crackdown.
At the heart of the popular uprising were the rights of women and girls, which is a key element of our foreign policy. The UK Government stand in solidarity with them as they continue to show immense bravery in the face of brutal repression. The enforcement of mandatory hijab laws has become a symbol of gender inequality in Iranian society. But across the board, women and girls do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. They face unequal rights—as highlighted so well by my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Anna Firth), who is no longer in her place—in marriage, divorce, child custody, and are even prevented from attending sporting events. Tens of thousands of girls continue to be married under the age of 15, and the age of criminal responsibility is just eight years and nine months. Female labour force participation remains one of the lowest globally at 17%, and 41% of women between the ages of 15 to 29 are unemployed. Women’s representation in the Iranian Parliament sits at 5.6%.
The UK is taking several bilateral and multilateral measures to support women and girls in Iran. We consistently raise women and girls’ human rights issues directly with the Iranian Government, condemning abuses and pushing for change. Last year, the Foreign Secretary hosted a roundtable with Iranian women’s rights activists and joined them in calling for an end to impunity and violence. We continue to commend the brave work of Iranian human rights defenders such as Narges Mohammadi, whose resolute commitment to change does not waver in the face of threats.
We are also working with international partners to mount pressure. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran human rights resolution condemning the targeted repression of women and girls. We call for the release of women human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising their fundamental freedoms. We also co-sponsored the fact finding mission with a mandate to report on the situation for women and girls in Iran, and we look forward to hearing its findings at the upcoming Human Rights Council session.
At the very centre of freedom and human rights is the right to life. The UK opposes the death penalty as a matter of principle in all circumstances across the world. Iran’s surging use of executions is a matter of grave concern for the United Kingdom. Last year, Iran executed more than 700 people, including protesters, as has been highlighted by my hon. Friends the Members for Harrow East and for Southend West. Far too often the death penalty is imposed absent of any fair trial or due process, and ethnic minorities such as Kurds and Baluchis make up a disproportionate number of executions, as rightly highlighted by the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day). The Government are using all levers at our disposal, including working with the international community, to push back against this egregious crime. At the Human Rights Council last year, we signed a joint statement alongside partners calling for Iran to establish an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty altogether. At the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, we urged Iran to commute the sentences for child offenders on death row. We will continue to monitor Iran’s imposition of the death penalty on protesters, and we have made clear to Iran, both in public and in private, our opposition to its application of the death penalty.
I turn now to freedom of religion or belief, an important issue that is close to the heart of the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), and indeed my own, and the hearts of others involved in this debate. It is very clear that religious minorities face continued abuses of their most basic rights. Religious minorities, including Baha’i, Christian and Sunni Muslim communities, suffer discrimination in law and practice, including in access to education, employment, political office and—the most basic of all —places of worship.
In the international sphere, we have called on Iran to allow every individual the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief in accordance with its obligation under the international covenant on civil and political rights. In October, we called on Iran to release imprisoned elderly and medically vulnerable Baha’is and reasserted our commitment to working with partners to promote the rights of Baha’i communities in Iran. I will follow up on the responses from the FCDO that the hon. Member for Strangford was talking about. We can discuss that after this debate if he would like to do so.
We continue to leverage our relationships with human rights organisations and religious communities in the UK to highlight and condemn abuses. The UK’s dedicated and incredibly hard-working special envoy for freedom of religion or belief, my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) works on the world stage to push back against abuses of basic freedoms at all opportunities, including in Iran. We had an excellent debate on this subject in Westminster Hall last week.
A free press is a central tenet of every healthy democracy, and Iran falls short in this area, too. As has been highlighted, two women journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death and the subsequent protests were given lengthy prison sentences simply for doing their job, while the Iranian authorities continue to use surveillance to censor and coerce the population. As a member of the Media Freedom Coalition, the UK has called on Iran to respect its commitments under international law. That also means co-operating with all UN bodies and mandate holders, including the UN special rapporteur, who is responsible for reporting on human rights abuses in Iran.
During the debate, we heard of concerns about BBC Persian correspondents. We remain committed to ensuring that journalists at home and abroad can do their jobs without fear of retribution. The Government’s law enforcement and security services continue to work with international partners to identify, deter and respond to threats to UK journalists, including those working for BBC Persian. Last week we sanctioned members of the IRGC for an assassination plot against UK-based Persian language journalists at Iran International.
Our priority is the safety and security of the UK and the people who live here. Since January 2022 the UK has identified at least 15 threats—highlighted by the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch) and, indeed, the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David)—to the lives of UK-based individuals, including journalists. That is clearly unacceptable. The UK Government, law enforcement agencies and our international partners are working together to ensure that Persian language media can operate without editorial interference and threats from Iran.
Holly Lynch
I am glad that the Minister has reflected on that point. Let me say again that to proscribe the IRGC would not be symbolic; it would be done to reflect the very serious threat that it poses to, in particular, the journalists who are here in the UK, and to equip our security services and police forces with additional powers to really go after those individuals. It seems that we are sending the Charity Commission to investigate institutions or bases that are believed to have links with the IRGC. I view the Charity Commission with the utmost respect, but we lack those other powers that we would enable us to send in those forces that would recognise the threat that the IRGC poses and drive it out of this country.
David Rutley
I know that the hon. Member feels passionately about this issue, and I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East feel strongly about it as well. That is exactly the point that I was going to come to.
Several Members have raised the issue of the IRGC, which we have already sanctioned in its entirety. The hon. Member for Halifax will be familiar with what I am about to say, but I will put it on the record. We have real concerns about the intent and activities of the IRGC. The separate list of terrorist organisation proscriptions is kept under review, but we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is under consideration. We are actively disrupting Iranian malign activity by means of a range of tools. This is about using effective measures to curb Iran’s destabilising activity, which has been highlighted by the hon. Member for Halifax and others throughout the debate. The UK maintains sanctions on more than 400 Iranian individuals, entities and aligned groups for roles in weapons proliferation, regional conflicts, human rights violations and terrorism, and more than 47 IRGC officials have been sanctioned since October 2022.
Comments have been made about Iran’s interference in other countries, notably, today, in Albania, which is typical of its nefarious tactics. We support partners in the face of pressure from Iran, and, following the visit of the hon. Member for Caerphilly and that of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, we will be interested to find out whether there is any other intelligence that we need to learn from; if so, we will gather it in. The hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley), who is no longer in the Chamber, raised a sad case involving the secretariat of an all-party parliamentary group. We would be very interested to see the dossier that the APPG has given to Mr Speaker if that is appropriate, and we will do anything we can to follow that up.
Points have also been made about Iran’s nuclear programme, which has never been more advanced than it is today and which threatens international peace and security. Iran’s behaviour since those negotiations has made progress much more difficult, and we are working with our international partners to co-ordinate our response. We are clear about the fact that Iran poses an unacceptable threat to Israel, for instance through its long-term support for Hamas. In December, designations were made under our new Iran sanctions regime, targeting the head of the IRGC Quds Force, IRGC individuals, and an entity linked to Iran’s relationship with proxy groups such as Hamas.
Other points were made about what we are doing in the light of the action in which Iran has been engaging through actors such as the Houthis. The targeted strikes, which have been supported by Members on both sides of the House, have been, as we have said today, limited, necessary and proportionate. Military action is, of course, always a last resort. We continue our diplomatic efforts, talking to countries in the region such as Oman and Turkey—the hon. Member for Caerphilly was interested in these points—but we provided warning after warning, including at the UN Security Council and directly to the Iran Foreign Minister, yet the Houthis have continued the attacks. If necessary, the UK will not hesitate to respond again in self-defence; we cannot stand by and allow these attacks to go unchallenged.
In conclusion, it is clear that Iranian authorities are imposing policies at odds with the values of freedom and democracy. As has been said across the Chamber, their upcoming elections are clearly not going to be free and fair, and will not address the concerns set out in this debate. For as long as that remains the case, we will continue to work across government, and with the international community, to hold Iran to account for its unacceptable behaviour. The repression of women and girls, the uninhibited use of the death penalty and violent crackdowns on dissenting voices within Iran cannot go unchallenged, but that is also true of Iran’s behaviour in the region and beyond. We will continue to work with international partners to make it clear to Iran that we will not stand for destabilising activity that threatens our values and our security, and indeed the security of the region. Like the Iranian people, we want to see an Iran that respects the rights and freedoms of its citizens, and respects international law and norms. That is why we are urging its leaders to listen to the Iranian people, who are calling for a better future.
Iran
Debate between David Rutley and Holly Lynch(1 year, 5 months ago)
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David Rutley
That is a good question, and on a subject that I feel strongly about too—I note that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) is in his place and he feels strongly about these issues too. We raise those issues about Christians and about other minorities in Iran, as we absolutely need to do.
Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)
We know that we have Iranian nationals here in the UK who have clear links to the regime. We also know that Iranian and, in particular, Iranian-heritage journalists based here in the UK have been subjected to incredibly serious harassment and threats. A recent report from MI5 said that up to 10 assassination attempts have been made on British residents this year. What is the Minister doing to work with his colleagues across Government to ensure that those speaking out against the regime who are based here in the UK are safe, and that those who are propping up the regime and living in the UK know that that is utterly unacceptable?
David Rutley
As I have said previously, in response to a very serious issue that has been raised, the Foreign Secretary asked the chargé d’affaires to come to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where it was made clear to them, in no uncertain terms, that we do not allow or condone any of these intimidatory activities. We are constantly monitoring that situation and we will call that activity out.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Rutley and Holly Lynch(4 years, 11 months ago)
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Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (David Rutley)
It is good to see the hon. Lady back in her place for the first DEFRA questions since returning from maternity leave and the safe arrival of baby James. Congratulations.
Protecting our moorland from wildfires is essential. The risk of severe damage from wildfire on wet, well functioning blanket bog is relatively low. Natural England is working with landowners and land managers through its uplands programme to develop long-term management plans. We are also currently undertaking a wildfire review to ensure that our future land management policies minimise the risks of wildfire.
Holly Lynch
I am grateful to the Minister for that response and for his kind words.
In West Yorkshire alone, there have been three significant wildfires in the past 18 months. The Minister will be aware that, if we manage our moorland and peat bogs responsibly, they will lock in water, which protects us from flooding; they will lock in carbon; and, kept wet, they will also protect us from wildfires. What more can we do to manage those moorlands and peat bogs responsibly?
David Rutley
The hon. Lady is absolutely right that healthy wet peatlands help carbon storage and minimise and reduce fire risk. That is why peatland restoration is an urgent priority. DEFRA is currently funding four large-scale peatland restoration projects across England, involving a £10 million fund, including in the north of England uplands, the Welsh borders, Dartmoor and Exmoor and, of course, the south Pennines: vital work that we need to take forward.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Rutley and Holly Lynch(5 years, 10 months ago)
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David Rutley
My right hon. Friend is of course right, and our thoughts are with the families who have been affected by the floods, particularly the family of Peter Harnwell, who sadly died despite the best efforts of the emergency services when his vehicle was submerged. Thanks to the Government’s efforts, the vast majority of households at high flood risk now have access to home insurance through Flood Re, which has active plans in place to engage with all communities after flood events once the immediate emergency has subsided.
Holly Lynch (Halifax) (Lab)
I join the Minister in sending our sincere condolences to the family of the gentleman who sadly died in Walsall following the extreme flash flooding earlier this month. I also pay tribute to the emergency services and others who worked so hard to protect our communities during that period of extreme weather.
Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (James Frith), in the 2017 autumn Budget, the Government allocated £40 million to boost regeneration in communities at high risk of flooding but, six months on, not a penny has been allocated. Will the Minister tell the House what is causing that delay?
David Rutley
The allocation of flood defence funding is important, as the hon. Lady will appreciate, and it is being properly scrutinised. Conversations are being had and, as I said to the hon. Member for Bury North (James Frith), a decision will be made this summer.