Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to advocate for children in Saudi Arabia who are at risk of execution as a result of partaking in democratic resistance; and what steps he took to support Mustafa Al-Darwish before he was executed.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The United Kingdom strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The Saudi authorities are aware of the UK Government's strong position on such cases. We reiterated our opposition to the death penalty in Saudi Arabia in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September 2020. On 24 May 2021, during my visit to Saudi Arabia, I discussed the death penalty, including those charged with conducting crimes as minors, with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, Dr Awwad Alawwad. The British Embassy Riyadh raised our concerns regarding Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish with the Saudi authorities ahead of, and following, his execution.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What progress he has made on making an assessment of the potential merits of granting diplomatic protection to Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We have received Mr Ashoori’s application for diplomatic protection. The Foreign Secretary is considering the matter carefully. We remain committed to securing Mr Ashoori’s immediate and permanent release. We have been supporting Mr Ashoori’s family since we became aware of his detention. The Foreign Secretary has remained in contact with the family to reinforce the UK's efforts to bring him home. He last met them on 17 June.
We will continue to press for consular access and appropriate medical care until he is released.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
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 implications for his policies of reports that (a) the Chinese government is testing emotion recognition technology on detained Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region and (b) technology firms Hikvision and Dahua are developing facial recognition technologies to identify and track Uyghurs; and whether he plans to take steps to prevent (a) Government departments and (b) firms and consumers in the UK from purchasing goods from firms that are reportedly providing technology to the Chinese government for the surveillance of Uyghurs.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is committed to promoting the ethical development and deployment of technology in the UK and overseas. We are aware of a number of Chinese technology companies linked to violations taking place in Xinjiang, and are monitoring the situation closely.
On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary announced a series of measures to help ensure UK businesses and the public sector are not complicit in human rights violations or abuses in Xinjiang. These measures, which are being implemented by the UK Government, include a review of export controls; the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act; increasing support for UK government bodies to exclude suppliers complicit in violations or abuses; and strengthening the Overseas Business Risk guidance to highlight that businesses engaged in the fields of surveillance, biometrics, or tracking technology are at heightened risk of complicity in human rights violations in Xinjiang.
The UK Government has also published guidance to help cutting-edge UK firms negotiate the ethical, legal and commercial questions they may encounter when working with Chinese businesses, supporting safe and appropriate UK-China collaboration in digital and tech. The guidance provides firms with clear, up-to-date information and specialist support which reflect the UK's values and take account of national security concerns.