Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Chinese counterparts concerning the detention of Falun Gong practitioner, Ding Yuande; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to support his release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 April to Question 43452.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken with her international counterparts to ensure the protection of Rohingya women and girls in Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council, we convened six Council meetings in 2024, including the first open meeting in five years focused on the Rohingya, and we have convened three Council meetings so far in 2025. We also co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution in April this year, and a UN Third Committee Resolution in November, on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, condemning ongoing violations particularly against ethnic minorities, including Rohingya. We continue to call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian access to Rakhine State, most recently at the UN Third Committee on 19 November.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Indo-Pacific) made representations on the non-recognition of the BNO passport by (a) China and (b) Hong Kong during her recent visit to Hong Kong.
Answered by Catherine West
I visited Hong Kong in November for a two-day programme of engagements. I met with stakeholders across the Hong Kong Government, the business community and public to discuss areas of co-operation and challenge on areas of contention.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of religious freedom in Mozambique; and if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in that country on religious freedom.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Article 54 of the Constitution of Mozambique provides for the right to practice religion freely and prohibits discrimination based on religion. This is generally upheld in practice but there have been some reports of Mozambican authorities not upholding the constitution. In May 2023, President Nyusi of Mozambique and I discussed UK support for the Government of Mozambique's response to IS-affiliated attacks carried out on civilians in Northern Mozambique. The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) around the world. We work multilaterally and bilaterally to promote FoRB, and it remains an important priority for our work in Africa.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure Nnamdi Kanu is not subject to capital punishment.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Court proceedings are ongoing in Nigeria regarding Mr Kanu's continued detention, and we are following these closely. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to provide Mr Kanu with consular support. The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle in every country, including Nigeria. In individual consular cases we raise our oppositions to the death penalty at whichever stages we judge will be the most effective.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the legality of the continued incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Court proceedings are ongoing in Nigeria regarding Mr Kanu's continued detention, and we are following these closely. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to provide Mr Kanu with consular support. The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle in every country, including Nigeria. In individual consular cases we raise our oppositions to the death penalty at whichever stages we judge will be the most effective.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to send observers to the trial of Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, following his most recent court appearance on 1 February 2022.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government has followed the case of Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria closely, and has raised the importance of Mr Bala being treated in full accordance with his human rights on multiple occasions with the Nigerian authorities.
We were not able to send observers to Mr Bala's recent trial, which has now passed, because of the extant insecurity and genuine risk of violence in Kano State, where Mr Bala's trial took place. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Kano State, due to insecurity. We are concerned about the severity and length of sentence Mr Bala received at trial, and the British High Commissioner has spoken with the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff to express those concerns. We will continue to monitor the case and consider the merit and viability of attending any future trial or appeal should one take place.