Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the timetable is for the publication of the Government’s freedom of religion or belief strategy.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is developing a work-plan and has a "toolkit" which supports our work to promote and defend freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The toolkit is published and can be seen at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561516/Freedom_of_Religion_or_Belief_Toolkit_-_2016.pdf. The work-plan addresses activity at multilateral human rights fora and in our bilateral diplomatic engagement with other states, as well as project work. Because of the sensitivities of some of the material contained, it would not be appropriate to publish the work.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in what way his Department is using the responses from HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners to its correspondence on their work to advance freedom of religion or belief in order to inform his Department's work in that area.
Answered by Mark Field
The responses we recieved from Her Majesty's Ambassadors and High Commissioners to our letters of 27 October 2017 and 28 November 2017 set out the main current and planned activities of their respective Embassies and High Commissions in the defence and promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Officials will follow the progress of these activities and will evaluate outcomes in due course.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and which HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners responded to the letters that his Department sent asking them to report on their work to advance freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Mark Field
So far ten heads of mission have formally responded to the letters Lord Ahmad and I sent. We have received substantive replies from Embassies or High Commissions in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to use information from Stabilisation Unit meetings on enhancing understanding of freedom of religion or belief to inform (a) Government programmes and (b) the work of UK overseas posts to improve the way in which patterns of religious persecution are tackled.
Answered by Mark Field
The Stabilisation Unit works with Government Departments to facilitate cross-government conflict assessments which seek to understand the key characteristics of conflicts. Freedom of religion or belief is considered as part of this framework where relevant. These assessments inform wider Government programming, policy making ,and posts are able to draw on them to inform their programme work.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
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 feed information gathered from roundtable meetings with civil society on freedom of religion or belief into its policy and programmes.
Answered by Mark Field
The FCO minister of state with responsibilities for human rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has hosted two roundtables to date. The first, on 23 October, looked at Burma in the light of the Rohingya crisis. The second, on 12 December, examined the role of women in tackling religiously motivated violent extremism. These roundtables have been excellent opportunities to hear the perspectives and insights of faith leaders.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
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 Israeli counterparts on the detention of Palestinian children.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The issue of children in Israeli military detention remains a human rights priority for the UK. Our Embassy officials in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue with the Israeli authorities on 16 January, and senior British Government officials raised this issue with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 8 January. I raised our concerns on this issue with the Israeli Government during my visit to Israel in August 2017
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the deportation of human rights activists from Israel.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our Deputy Ambassador to Tel Aviv met with Israel’s Europe Director on 13 March to discuss the new immigration law, and we continue to push for clarification from Israel on the impact on British nationals. We have also updated our travel advice for Israel, recommending that concerned UK nationals contact the Israeli Embassy for further information.
The British Government has been consistent in our opposition to the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, but we believe the best way to combat this movement is through discussion rather than legislation.