Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will have discussions with his counterparts in (a) the G20 and (b) the G7 on tackling persecution of Christians overseas.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Over recent months, the UK has raised Freedom of Religion or Belief concerns, including the worldwide persecution of Christians, bilaterally and through multilateral institutions such as the UN, EU and OSCE. At the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting in April, we discussed our concerns on the resurgent forms of racism, and discrimination that includes the targeting of Christian minorities. We reaffirmed our dedication to uphold the rights of all to hold and manifest their religion or belief, both privately and in public. We will consider whether to raise our concerns in subsequent G7 and G20 Foreign Ministers' meetings.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the Government did not support the UN Commission of Inquiry's report into potential violations of international law and the protection of healthcare in Palestine.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The UK abstained on the UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for a Commission of Inquiry on the basis that the substance of a resolution must be impartial and balanced. We could not support an international investigation that refused to explicitly call for an investigation into the action of non-state actors such as Hamas. It is clear that Hamas hold significant responsibility for encouraging violent protest in Gaza, which is totally unacceptable. However, our vote does not mean that we will hold back from voicing or raising concern about Israel’s actions when warranted. The UN and its member states have every right to address these grave matters in a measured, balanced and proportionate way. In future, the UK will continue to support scrutiny of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the Human Rights Council, so long as this scrutiny is justified and proportionate. We have repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israel Defense Forces police non-violent protests and the border areas, including the use of live ammunition. We call on Israel to adhere to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to stop the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen and call for a nationwide ceasefire.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Egyptian counterpart on the detention of Egyptian human rights activist Azza Soliman; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We have followed Azza Soliman's case closely, as well as the related Foreign Funding case. We understand that Ms Soliman was released on bail, pending further investigation, in December 2016. On 6 December 2017, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon highlighted Ms Soliman's case in his speech at an Amnesty International Human Rights Day event. UK officials raised the Foreign Funding case with the Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Human Rights on 18 April 2018. On 18 September 2018, we made a statement at the UN Human Rights Council in which we expressed concern about the "arrests of activists, bloggers and journalists". Our Embassy in Cairo continues to be in regular contact with Ms Soliman.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang Province and the Chinese government’s deepening crackdown; including credible reports that over 1 million Uighur Muslims have been held in re-education camps, and reports of widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities.
Ministers and senior officials have been raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities for some time, and will continue to do so. I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018.
During China’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 6 November 2018, the UK made a statement which described our concern about the treatment of ethnic minorities in China, including Uighurs. We issued a specific recommendation, calling on China to not only implement the recommendations by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on Xinjiang, but also to allow the UN to monitor the implementation.
Following the Universal Periodic Review, the Minister for the Commonwealth and UN issued a statement where he said: “I am very concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, including the re-education camps and the widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities, particularly the Uighurs. The UK and many of our international partners have made clear during China’s UPR that this is a priority issue. We recommended that China should implement CERD recommendations in Xinjiang and allow the UN to monitor implementation.”
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has raised the issue of Jamal Khashoggi with the Saudi Arabian ambassador.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I have raised the case of Jamal Khashoggi with the Saudi Ambassador. We are clear that we condemn the killing in the strongest possible terms and that anyone found responsible must be held fully accountable.
Asked by: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterparts on the Antarctic Commission on the establishment of a marine protected area in the Weddell Sea.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area proposal is currently being finalised by those European Union Member States who are also Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and international consultations are underway at official and technical levels. The final proposal will be submitted to CCAMLR in September, when the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs will seek support from his counterparts in other CCAMLR States, in support of other anticipated high level lobbying by the EU and other Member States.