Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential threat posed to ethnic Arabs in Iran by the Iranian Government.
Answered by Mark Field
We continue to be concerned by reports of substantial violations of the rights of ethnic minorities and their defenders in Iran, including but not limited to Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis, Kurds, Turkmen, and Azerbaijani Turks.
We regularly raise the treatment of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran with the Iranian Government, and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
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 secure the release of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal since his imprisonment in India in 2017.
Answered by Mark Field
We frequently make representations on Mr Johal’s behalf. Most recently, I raised Mr Johal’s case with the Indian Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale on 12 March. I continue to engage with Mr Johal’s family: alongside the Foreign Secretary, I met with the family and their MP, Martin Docherty-Hughes on 24 April. Our consular staff in India visit Mr Johal regularly.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
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 promote LGBT+ rights and safety in the Commonwealth.
Answered by Mark Field
Ministers continue to urge Commonwealth countries to uphold the universality of human rights, to decriminalise same-sex relations and to pass laws to protect their LGBT+ people from violence and discrimination. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year, the Prime Minister set out the UK's readiness to support any member state wanting to reform legislation which makes possible discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation. The Prime Minister was clear that, while we must respect one another's cultures and traditions, we must do so in a manner consistent with our common value of equality, a value which is clearly stated in the Commonwealth Charter.
The Government has allocated £5.6 million to enable the Equality and Justice Alliance – a consortium of civil society organisations – to support those countries who wish to reform legislation which discriminates on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation. Several member states have expressed interest in this offer of technical assistance for legislative change. Due to the highly sensitive and sometimes dangerous nature of this work, it would not be appropriate to name specific countries.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
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 raise the issue of LGBT+ rights with other Commonwealth nations.
Answered by Mark Field
Ministers continue to urge Commonwealth countries to uphold the universality of human rights, to decriminalise same-sex relations and to pass laws to protect their LGBT+ people from violence and discrimination. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year, the Prime Minister set out the UK's readiness to support any member state wanting to reform legislation which makes possible discrimination on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation. The Prime Minister was clear that, while we must respect one another's cultures and traditions, we must do so in a manner consistent with our common value of equality, a value which is clearly stated in the Commonwealth Charter.
The Government has allocated £5.6 million to enable the Equality and Justice Alliance – a consortium of civil society organisations – to support those countries who wish to reform legislation which discriminates on the grounds of gender identity or sexual orientation. Several member states have expressed interest in this offer of technical assistance for legislative change. Due to the highly sensitive and sometimes dangerous nature of this work, it would not be appropriate to name specific countries.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to protect British citizens who identify as LGBT+ who are working and travelling in Brunei.
Answered by Mark Field
Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice has been updated to alert British citizens of the introduction of the new local laws in Brunei and we continue to lobby against the use of such punishments. The High Commission stands ready to provide consular assistance to British citizens if required.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to update their travel advice to LGBT+ identifying British citizens working and visiting Brunei.
Answered by Mark Field
Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice has been updated to alert British citizens of the introduction of the new local laws in Brunei and we continue to lobby against the use of such punishments. The High Commission stands ready to provide consular assistance to British citizens if required.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has taken any steps to raise concerns with the Government of Brunei on the Sultan prescribing death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex.
Answered by Mark Field
I raised UK concerns about hudud punishments during my visit to Brunei Darussalam in August 2018. More recently I raised our concerns on Friday 29 March in a letter to the Deputy Foreign Minister. Additionally the British High Commission in Bandar Seri Begawan regularly discusses our concerns with the Government of Brunei.
We will continue to encourage and work with the Bruneian Government, as with many other countries, to remove corporal and capital punishment from their statutes. We will also urge them to take steps to decriminalise and pass laws to protect LGBT people from all forms of discrimination.
The UK believes in the right to live with dignity, free from violence or discrimination irrespective of a person’s sexual orientation. The International community must uphold the universality of human rights; the criminalisation of same-sex relations is wrong.
The UK is committed to combating discrimination and violence against LGBT people throughout the Commonwealth and ensured that last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Communique included the most progressive language yet on LGBT rights, complimented by an historic speech from the Prime Minister, and backed up with major programme spending on gender equality and LGBT rights.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice has been updated to alert British citizens of the introduction of the new local laws in Brunei and we continue to lobby against the use of such punishments.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risk to UK citizens working as journalists in the US.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Travel Advice sets out our assessment of the considerations British Nationals should be mindful of when travelling to the US. The Advice does not include specific cautions with regard to British journalists.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) direct and (b) indirect effect on the ability of British citizens of Somali heritage to obtain a US visa of the US Executive Order 13769.
Answered by Alan Duncan
At the time of the US Executive Order, the Government sought an assurance from the US Government that the order would not affect British passport holders. We are pleased this assurance was achieved. US immigration policy more broadly is a matter for the US Government, just as immigration policy here is set by our Government. Our travel advice sets out our understanding of entry requirements currently in place.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
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 assess the commitment of the Government of the United States of America to (a) the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and (b) the United Nations.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK is a strong supporter of both NATO and the United Nations, and of the rules-based international system more generally. The US is actively engaged in both bodies and we work closely with them, including in encouraging reforms, encouraging burden sharing and in dealing with key threats to peace and security, such as passing UNSCRs 2451 and 2452 to support the peace process in Yemen.