Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the death sentence of Mohammed Ramadan in Bahrain.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our Embassy in Bahrain continute to closely monitor Mohammed Ramadan's case. We also continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments. We have raised concerns both in public and in private, by having frank discussions including at the most senior levels. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) was very clear during her recent visit that we want to see Gulf states embed international norms and see through essential reforms.Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
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 Sudanese counterpart on the trial of members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We continue to raise our concerns about the trial of members of the human rights NGO TRACKs directly with the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue, most recently during the visit of the Sudanese Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs on 10 October. I also made our wider human rights concerns clear to the Sudanese delegation during the same visit.
In coordination with our international partners we have ensured that there is a diplomatic presence at each stage of the trial of the members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development. Officials from our Embassy last attended on 30 August, and US officials attended the most recent hearing on 22 November.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the fairness of the trial relating to members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development in Sudan.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We continue to raise our concerns about the trial of members of the human rights NGO TRACKs directly with the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue, most recently during the visit of the Sudanese Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs on 10 October. I also made our wider human rights concerns clear to the Sudanese delegation during the same visit.
In coordination with our international partners we have ensured that there is a diplomatic presence at each stage of the trial of the members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development. Officials from our Embassy last attended on 30 August, and US officials attended the most recent hearing on 22 November.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
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 Sudanese counterpart on the six-month detention of Khalafalla Al-Afif Mukhtar, Midhat Afif Al-Deen Hamdan and Mustafa Adam on charges relating to their work and affiliation with the Centre for Training and Human Development.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We continue to raise our concerns about the trial of members of the human rights NGO TRACKs directly with the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue, most recently during the visit of the Sudanese Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs on 10 October. I also made our wider human rights concerns clear to the Sudanese delegation during the same visit.
In coordination with our international partners we have ensured that there is a diplomatic presence at each stage of the trial of the members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development. Officials from our Embassy last attended on 30 August, and US officials attended the most recent hearing on 22 November.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he has received reports on forced closure of Baha'i shops and businesses in Iran and associated economic repression by the Iranian authorities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK regularly raises human rights concerns with the Iranian government including the continued persecution of religious minorities and treatment of the Baha'i community. We are aware of the enforced closures of Baha'i businesses by the Iranian authorities. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle extremism in Sudan.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK has engaged directly with the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Khartoum on counter extremism issues. This led to us supporting two parallel events in 2015 – one at the university in Khartoum and one in Manchester for alumni – which aimed to raise awareness and to engage staff, students and the graduate association on options for tackling the risks of radicalisation.
Asked by: Mark Durkan (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the joint projects between the UK and Sudanese governments that are tackling extremism in the Horn of Africa region.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are not engaged in any joint projects with the Government of Sudan directly designed to tackle extremism in the Horn of Africa. We are, however, exploring options for cooperation in this area with relevant Sudanese Government bodies, as we believe the Government of Sudan has an important role to play in countering these threats.