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Written Question
Mozambique: Religious Freedom
Wednesday 6th March 2024

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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

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.


Written Question
Nnamdi Kanu
Wednesday 29th November 2023

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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

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.


Written Question
Nnamdi Kanu
Wednesday 29th November 2023

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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

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.


Written Question
Mubarak Bala
Monday 25th April 2022

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.


Written Question
Mubarak Bala
Monday 25th April 2022

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 assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the continued detention of Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, after his court appearance on 1 February 2022.

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 spoken with the Kano State Government and the Nigerian President's Chief of Staff to express those concerns. 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 FoRB.


Written Question
Maira Shahbaz
Tuesday 15th March 2022

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 assessment she has made of the (a) case of Maira Shahbaz and (b) potential for safe resettlement for her in the UK.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK condemns forced marriage and the forced conversion of women and girls. We regularly raise the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord Ahmad met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed the issue. He met interfaith leaders in order to better understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. The UK government has supported the Government of Pakistan in setting up eight child courts to provide child-sensitive justice to children who come in contact with the law, including victims of child abuse, trafficking and child marriage.


Written Question
Pakistan: Females
Tuesday 15th March 2022

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, if she will make representations to her counterpart in Pakistan on ending abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of women and girls in that country.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK condemns forced marriage and the forced conversion of women and girls. We regularly raise the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord Ahmad met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed the issue. He met interfaith leaders in order to better understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. The UK government has supported the Government of Pakistan in setting up eight child courts to provide child-sensitive justice to children who come in contact with the law, including victims of child abuse, trafficking and child marriage.


Written Question
Pakistan: Females
Tuesday 15th March 2022

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 steps her Department is taking to help end abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of women and girls in Pakistan.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK condemns forced marriage and the forced conversion of women and girls. We regularly raise the issue of Freedom of Religion or Belief and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During his visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, Lord Ahmad met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed the issue. He met interfaith leaders in order to better understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, he discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. The UK government has supported the Government of Pakistan in setting up eight child courts to provide child-sensitive justice to children who come in contact with the law, including victims of child abuse, trafficking and child marriage.


Written Question
Afghanistan: Refugees
Wednesday 12th January 2022

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 steps she has taken to collaborate with countries neighbouring Afghanistan to (a) keep those countries' borders open and (b) resettle refugees who flee from Afghanistan by land.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

FCDO officials have engaged with governments in the region, notably Pakistan and in Central Asia, to allow Afghan nationals to cross their borders from Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds. We have supported over 3,400 people to leave Afghanistan, or to move from third countries to the UK, since the end of Op PITTING. To date, the UK Government has disbursed £10 million to support preparedness in the region and to help mitigate widespread humanitarian disaster, including to £3 million to Iran, £4 million to Pakistan and £2 million to Tajikistan.


Written Question
Afghanistan: Refugees
Tuesday 26th October 2021

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, if he will make it his policy to offer a place of sanctuary to people fleeing the violence in Afghanistan by expanding the Afghan Interpreters Scheme to include people engaged in UK-linked initiatives and human rights activists that mean they are at risk of targeting by the Taliban.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The Home Office administered Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide protection for people at risk and identified as in need. It will prioritise those people who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan who face a particular risk from the Taliban, including because of their stand for democracy and human rights. The Government has committed to welcome around 5,000 people in the first year and up to 20,000 over the coming years.