Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the allocated budget under the Gulf Strategy Fund for (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) Bahrain, and (3) the United Arab Emirates, for 2023–2024.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The present country allocation from the Gulf Strategy Fund for Saudi Arabia is £2,345,000, Bahrain £1,475,000 and the United Arab Emirates £1,173,000.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and Human Rights Watch on 6 December that 13 people have been unfairly imprisoned in Bahrain, and what are the implications for the funding under the Gulf Strategy Fund given to Bahraini bodies which are accused of committing torture and whitewashing human rights abuses.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights in Bahrain closely, is aware of reporting about the court proceedings referenced and continues to encourage allegations of torture or mistreatment to be reported to the appropriate national oversight body. We have previously been assured in other cases (where individuals linked to one charge are tried together) that an individual's right to separate legal representation of their choice is guaranteed by law. We remain committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain, including through the Gulf Strategy Fund, itself subject to robust oversight measures and rigorous risk assessments to ensure projects are effective, consistent with our values and in line with our human rights obligations.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the former Ambassador to Bahrain, Roderick Drummond, has not been instructed to hand back the award given to him by the government of Bahrain, given the terms of the UK Rules on Acceptance of Foreign Awards; and what assessment they have made of the potential consequences for the performance of UK ambassadors which may arise from allowing the retention of such honours by former ambassadors.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Rules on Acceptance of Foreign Awards state that permission will not be given to requests to confer a foreign order, decoration or medal on Heads of HMG diplomatic missions. Where an award is conferred without permission, a Head of Mission, will not be given permission to formally accept, or wear, the award but is allowed to retain it. There is no requirement to return the award. Diplomatic Missions in London are reminded annually of the requirement to seek agreement to confer a foreign honour on a British national.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government by what process the removal of Bahrain from the list of human rights priority countries in the 2022 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report, published on 13 July, was approved.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The process for the removal of Bahrain from the list of FCDO Human Rights Priority Countries was via a Ministerial Submission. The decision to remove Bahrain from the Human Rights Priority Country list reflects consistent and systemic progress in a range of human rights areas over a number of years, some of which have been directly supported by the UK. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain and to encouraging the government to meet its human rights commitments.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what authorisation process was followed in granting permission to the former ambassador to Bahrain, Roderick Drummond, to accept a medal granted and given by the King of Bahrain.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 14 March (161427), what assessment they have made of the complaint filed by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy on the arrests of four protestors at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March; and what updates they have received, if any, from (1) the government of Bahrain, or (2) the Bahraini oversight bodies, regarding the complaint or the case.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the following answer given on 14 March 2023 to Question 161427.
The FCDO is aware of the arrest on 5 March and the release the same day of four people protesting near the Bahrain Grand Prix. We continue to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad raised a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on Sunday 12 February. We encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning the human rights implications of the new requirements for (1) Sheikh Abdul Jalil Al-Miqdad, and (2) Abdulwahab Husain, who are currently imprisoned in Bahrain, to wear handcuffs when attending medical appointments despite their physical infirmity; and whether they have made representations to the government to secure their release.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. UK Ministers and senior officials regularly raise sensitive issues. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on 12 February. We encourage those with issues to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini independent oversight body.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention document Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its ninety-fifth session, 14–18 November 2022, published on 15 March, regarding the case of Naji Fateel, who is currently imprisoned in Bahrain; and what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain to secure his release.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in Bahrain and regularly raises individual cases with the Government of Bahrain at senior levels. We encourage those with issues to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini independent oversight body. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on 12 February.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning of reports that Naji Fateel, who is currently imprisoned in Bahrain, has been subjected to medical negligence at Jau Prison.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK draws on a wide range of sources when assessing human rights issues in Bahrain and regularly raises individual cases with the Government of Bahrain at senior levels. We encourage those with issues to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini independent oversight body. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on 12 February.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will list the names of all training courses for Egyptian Police they have supported over the past five years; and in respect of each course (1) who provided the training, (2) which body within the Egyptian Police force received the training, and (3) what was the source of funding.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided training to the Egyptian police focussed on reducing the risk to British Nationals from terrorism and has also funded training via the UN in how to investigate and prosecute smuggling and human trafficking. We do not comment on counter terrorism training delivered by HMG or UK police forces, however all our programmes have robust measures in place to ensure compliance with the UK's domestic and international human rights obligations.
PQ127927 lists training provided by the College of Policing. FCDO also provided CSSF funding for one training course via the UN:
Tackling Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling (2018). UNODC delivered training to Egyptian police officers in Egypt.