Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the recent imprisonment of of Mubarak Bala in Nigeria, if she will (a) invite and (b) support the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative to undertake an inquiry into the extent to which Commonwealth member states respect the right of their citizens to freedom of religion and belief.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private. For instance, since Mr Bala's sentence, the British High Commissioner has engaged with the Kano State Government and the President's Chief of Staff, to make clear the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.
As an independent international non-governmental organisation, it is for the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative to determine what work they undertake in line with their own strategic priorities.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to take steps to encourage freedom of religion and belief in Commonwealth countries in the context of the imprisonment of Mubarak Bala in Nigeria; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. This is a longstanding human rights policy priority for the UK Government, and we look forward to hosting a global summit to promote FoRB later this year.
The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. The UK Government believes that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society. We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely, and will continue to stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will raise with her Nigerian counterpart the recent sentencing of Mubarak Bala, President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, to 24 years in prison for the expression of his opinions on Facebook.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. This is a longstanding human rights policy priority for the UK Government, and we look forward to hosting a global summit to promote FoRB later this year.
The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. The UK Government believes that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society. We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely, and will continue to stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that the encouragement of freedom of religion and belief in member countries is discussed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda in June 2022.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Commonwealth Charter, to which all Commonwealth members are committed, emphasises 'the need to promote tolerance, respect, understanding, moderation and religious freedom'. The UK looks forward to a re-affirmation of the Charter's values at the Kigali Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to engage with the Government of Nigeria on the recent sentencing of Mubarak Bala, President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, to 24 years in prison for expressing his humanist beliefs on Facebook.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government has followed Mr Bala's case closely, and has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities, including following his recent sentencing. We believe that the right of individuals to express opinions is essential to a free and open society.
We are concerned by the severity and length of sentence received by Mr Bala at trial. The British High Commissioner has expressed these concerns to the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff. We will continue to follow developments in Mr Bala's case closely and stress the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights, the rule of law, and the Nigerian constitutional right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether arrangements have been made for delegates to the global summit to promote freedom of religion or belief to hear directly from minority groups experiencing violence and oppression in countries across the globe.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK-hosted International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in July 2022 will drive forward international efforts on this agenda and demonstrate the UK's leading role in supporting freedom and openness. This conference will allow us to use our global influence to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all internationally. Preparations for the conference are ongoing, including planning for participants to hear directly from those suffering restrictions to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) devolved Administrations and (c) representatives of young people on the potential merits of the UK re-joining the European Solidarity Corps programme.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government carefully considered which EU programmes to participate in during negotiations with the EU in 2020. Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK and the EU agreed the terms for our participation in Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, and Copernicus.
The Government did not seek ongoing participation in the European Solidarity Corps. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK remains eligible for European Solidarity Corps activities funded by the 2014-2020 budget. Opportunities for young people is a priority for the Government and DCMS continues to focus on delivery of the National Youth Guarantee. In addition, DfE will continue to offer the UK's international education mobility programme, the Turing Scheme, providing opportunities for students in the UK to study and work across the globe.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help countries bordering Ukraine in tackling the threat to refugees from human traffickers.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Modern slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that the government is committed to tackling. The FCDO has deployed humanitarian specialists to Poland, Moldova and Romania to ensure that the support we are providing to refugees is tailored to the local context, including the threats they face. Our humanitarian support will be implemented by trusted humanitarian partners with expertise in protection and safeguarding. FCDO staff are reiterating the importance of protection and safeguarding considerations in this response, including the risk of human trafficking, when liaising with HQ and regional staff of multilateral and NGO agencies. More broadly we will continue to coordinate law enforcement efforts by working closely with EU partners to target trafficking routes across Europe, provide protection to the most vulnerable and take tough action against those who seek to exploit people for financial gain.