Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he raised the (a) assassination of Jamal Khashoggi and (b) the cases of detained Saudi activists (i) Abdulkarim Al-Khoder, (ii) Fowzan Al-Harbi, (iii) Dr. Mohammad Al-Qahtani, (iv) Mohamed Al-Otaibi, (v) Raif Badawi, (vi) Samar Badawi and (vii) Nassima al-Sadah, when he met Saudi officials during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 June 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary raised a number of human rights issues during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 June 2021, including judicial reform and the cases of the women's rights defenders. During my visit to Riyadh in May 2021, I [Minister Cleverly] also raised issues including women's rights, the death penalty and freedom of religion or belief. In March 2021, Lord Ahmad discussed human rights with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, including individual cases.
The British Embassy Riyadh also raises cases on a regular basis.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what human rights issues and cases of concern he raised when he met Saudi officials during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 June 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary raised a number of human rights issues during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 June 2021, including judicial reform and the cases of the women's rights defenders. During my visit to Riyadh in May 2021, I [Minister Cleverly] also raised issues including women's rights, the death penalty and freedom of religion or belief. In March 2021, Lord Ahmad discussed human rights with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, including individual cases.
The British Embassy Riyadh also raises cases on a regular basis.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Lithuanian counterpart on what steps (a) the UK Government and (b) NATO can take to assist in securing Lithuanian airspace in the aftermath of the recent hijacking of Flight FR4978 and kidnapping of Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government has been in close contact with partners in responding to the forced diversion of FR4978 and the arrest of Roman Protasevich by the Belarusian authorities. The UK has worked in the G7, NATO, and the United Nations Security Council and as Co-Chair of the Media Freedom Coalition to condemn the Belarusian regime's appalling and dangerous actions. The Government welcomes the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council's decision to launch a fact finding mission into the incident.
NATO issued a statement on 26 May strongly condemning the incident and the Foreign Secretary raised it at the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on 1 June, highlighting the assault on civil aviation law and calling on Allies and Partners to stand together and send a clear message of unity against such actions.
The UK and Lithuania collaborate extremely closely, both bilaterally and through multilateral bodies such as NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), to address threats to regional security. The Foreign Secretary will be speaking with Foreign Minister Landsbergis to assure him of the UK's steadfast support for Lithuania's actions in response to this unprecedented act, and that the UK stands ready to work with Lithuania to hold the Belarusian authorities to account.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent comments by the President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid, urging the UK Government to take action on the flow of money to autocratic regimes via the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government has long recognised the corrosive risks of dirty money, including from Russia, being laundered in the UK. In December 2020, the Government published the UK's third National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, which presents a comprehensive understanding of the risk of money laundering, and the financing of terrorism through the UK. This assessment informs the UK's response to these threats, including through our foreign and development policy.
Tackling illicit finance is central to the FCDO's mission to support Open Societies, and to act as a force for good in the world. The Foreign Secretary recently launched the UK's first sanctions under our new global anti-corruption sanctions regime, which imposes asset freezes and travel bans that stop those involved in serious corruption from entering, and channelling money through the UK. We were already the first country in the G20 to establish a public register of the beneficial owners of firms so that secretive shell companies could not be used to hide the real owners of assets and companies. In 2018, the Financial Action Task Force found that the UK had one of the strongest systems for combatting money laundering, and terrorist financing globally. On top of this, our new Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime will immediately act as a further deterrent, ensuring that Britain is not a safe haven for illicit funds.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the arrest of Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We are aware of reports of the arrest of Mr Gergerlioğlu, MP for the People's Democratic Party (HDP). We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, MPs, party officials and elected mayors, as well as human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. Our Embassy meets regularly with the HDP leadership, as it does with other opposition parties, to discuss their concerns, including the arrests of HDP MPs. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights of all peoples, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish an updated strategy of UK support for human rights defenders.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK strongly supports Human Rights Defenders worldwide to enable them to carry out their work safely and without fear. We are considering carefully the request from Amnesty International and other NGOs for a UK Government strategy on Human Rights Defenders. In 2019, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon launched the document 'UK support for Human Rights Defenders' which was drawn up with significant and important input from relevant stakeholders, including Amnesty International, and which sets out how the UK Government engages with Human Rights Defenders to advance the human rights agenda globally.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to add Chen Quanguo to the UK sanctions list.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Government remains gravely concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary announced robust, targeted measures to help ensure that British organisations, whether public or private sector, are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang. We also continue to play a leading role in holding China to account for its human rights violations in the region, working closely with international partners, including at the UN.
The FCDO are carefully considering further designations under the Global Human Rights sanctions regime, introduced in July 2020. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review. It is not appropriate to speculate on who may be designated in the future, as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to support UK citizens (a) Natalia Kaliada and (b) Nikolai Khalezin, who have reportedly been threatened by media outlets in Belarus.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government condemns the intimidation and persecution of political opposition figures and activists by Lukashenko's regime. Although we have not been directly approached by the persons concerned, we are aware of certain articles in a Belarusian state owned newspaper. These articles have made false claims about our Embassy in Minsk and made threats towards British nationals in the UK, who have spoken out against Lukashenko's regime. We have raised our concerns about this newspaper directly with the Belarusian authorities and to the Belarusian Ambassador in London. Any person in the UK who believes they are at risk are able to contact their local police in the UK.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to review travel advice to Spain in response to recent increases in the number of covid-19 cases reported in that country.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Spain is currently exempt from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice against all non-essential international travel. The FCO travel advice for Spain is updated factually as required, and as of 14 July 2020 remains to follow the advice of local authorities and to stay up to date, including by checking a map on locations of localised outbreaks published by the Spanish Ministry of Health. This is based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. We are monitoring the international situation very closely and keeping all our travel advice under constant review to ensure it reflects the latest situation on the ground and our assessment of risk to British people.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department is making to the Government of Pakistan regarding freedom of religion and belief for minority communities in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and the protection of minority communities, including religious minorities, with the Pakistani Government at a senior level.
Most recently, the Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised our concerns about FoRB with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 5 June. The British High Commissioner to Pakistan raised our concerns about FoRB with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights on 8 June. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan at senior levels to guarantee the fundamental rights of its citizens, regardless of their belief.
The Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Rehman Chishti MP, has previously met the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK to look at FoRB issues.