Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Pakistani counterpart on slavery in Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 26 November in response to question 91957. We continue to raise these issues with our Pakistani counterparts at ministerial and official levels.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister of State for International Development discussed the humanitarian situation in Pakistan during her visit to the country in early December. In a press release following her trip, she said: "Pakistan is also a country suffering the devastating consequences of climate change, with extreme flooding putting lives at risk, stifling economic growth, and damaging key infrastructure. British expertise will help Pakistan strengthen its adaptation to climate change, its resilience to extreme weather events, and the speed of its response and recovery when crises occur."
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has made representations to the Government of Bahrain on the detention and health of Hassan Mushaima and Abduljalil al-Singace.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 15 July in response to Question HL8922, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Bahrain and, where appropriate, the independent oversight bodies on a range of human rights and governance matters - those with broader societal impact and individual cases. This has included the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace and Hasan Mushaima. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of allegations that prisoners in Bahrain have been subject to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 15 July in response to Question HL8922, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Bahrain and, where appropriate, the independent oversight bodies on a range of human rights and governance matters - those with broader societal impact and individual cases. This has included the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace and Hasan Mushaima. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on whether the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia plans to declare independence from Algeria on 14 December 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were aware of the intention of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia to make a declaration of independence on 14 December, which they have since done. I refer the Hon. Member to the responses I provided in February regarding the situation in Kabylia and confirm that we continue to monitor developments closely.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of the persecution of Christians in Kashmir.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting and defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) as a core element of our foreign policy, and India is one of the UK's priority countries for promoting FoRB. Where we have specific concerns, we raise them with the Government of India.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the UN Human Rights Council’s recent urgent call for an inquiry into violations in El Fasher, Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statements on Sudan made by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, and by the Minister of State for International Development and Africa in the House of Lords debate on 27 November. We will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on our efforts to ensure that there is proper accountability for all atrocities committed in this conflict.