Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people put to death for contravening laws on homosexuality globally in 2018.
Answered by Mark Field
The FCO does not collect statistics for the number of executions carried out worldwide. According to Amnesty International's published figures, which do not include figures for China, at least 690 executions in 20 countries took place in 2018. These do not specify the number of executions carried out for contravening laws on homosexuality.
The UK is committed to the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We directly challenge governments that criminalise homosexuality, at the highest possible level, and we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. We regularly set out our position on the death penalty and defend the rights of LGBT individuals at the Human Rights Council, the UN General Assembly Third Committee, and through the Universal Periodic Review process.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 risks to human rights defenders in Colombia.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The situation facing human rights defenders in Colombia is concerning: over the past year they have faced increasing levels of threats, intimidation and killings. We regularly express our concern over this issue to the Colombian government. On 9 May the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon met with Colombian High Counsellor for Stabilisation, Emilio Archila, and directly raised the issue. Our Embassy in Bogotá funds human rights programmes that help human rights defenders, and we work closely with civil society groups to bring individual cases to the Colombian government’s attention.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people convicted in Sharia Courts in Brunei since the introduction of those courts.
Answered by Mark Field
The British Government does not record statistics of cases bought before Sharia Courts in Brunei. Sharia Courts have been present in Brunei for decades. Sharia Family law has been used in Brunei alongside the Common Law and predates the Sharia Penal Code. The first phase of the Sharia Penal Code Order was introduced in 2013. Phase III was implemented on 3 April. There have been no convictions in Sharia Courts since 3 April under Phase III of the Sharia Penal Code.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff East)
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 East)
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.