Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the human rights standards that are in place for people imprisoned in Jau Prison in Bahrain.
Answered by Amanda Milling
We continue to monitor and regularly raise the cases of Hasan Mushaima, Dr Abduljalil al-Singace and others with the Bahraini Government as well as with the independent oversight bodies.
The British Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau prison on 3 May 2021. Officials and ministers regularly discuss human rights issues and individual cases with senior members of the Government of Bahrain, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies. The visit by Minister of State for South and Central Asia, UN and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad to Bahrain from 13-14 February was such an opportunity. We continue to encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the relevant oversight bodies.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterpart in Bahrain on securing the immediate release of (a) Hasan Mushaima and (b) Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.
Answered by Amanda Milling
We continue to monitor and regularly raise the cases of Hasan Mushaima, Dr Abduljalil al-Singace and others with the Bahraini Government as well as with the independent oversight bodies.
The British Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau prison on 3 May 2021. Officials and ministers regularly discuss human rights issues and individual cases with senior members of the Government of Bahrain, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies. The visit by Minister of State for South and Central Asia, UN and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad to Bahrain from 13-14 February was such an opportunity. We continue to encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the relevant oversight bodies.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress she has made on securing the release of (a) Anoosheh Ashoori and (b) other British nationals held in Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori, Morad Tahbaz and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise Iran's practice of detaining British dual nationals with her Iranian counterpart, including during their call this month. Our Ambassador in Tehran also continues to raise these cases with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently on 21 February.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that any hostage release deal as part of the Vienna talks includes the release of all British nationals held in Iran including Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
It is unhelpful to connect the release of detainees to wider issues. We remain committed to securing the immediate and permanent release of unfairly detained British nationals in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) progress she has made on reaching an agreement with Iran on the repayment of the IMS debt and (b) commitment she has made to not renege on any repayment agreed by UK negotiators.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The IMS debt is a longstanding issue and we have been consistently clear that we continue to explore options to resolve this case. We will not comment further as discussions are ongoing.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of (a) Pakistan's and (b) Israel's nuclear arsenal.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Pakistan and Israel are not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and as such they are not bound by the legally binding obligations of the NPT. Pakistan has developed a nuclear weapons programme and Israel has never declared a nuclear weapons programme. The UK Government continues to encourage both countries to sign the NPT as Non-Nuclear Weapon States. We continue to monitor all global nuclear developments and will continue to work with international partners to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and advance multilateral nuclear disarmament.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of political prisoners being held in Egypt.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK Government is aware of political prisoners in the Egyptian system and we regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Egyptian authorities, both privately and in forums such as the UN Human Rights Council. This includes raising the implementation of the rights guaranteed by Egypt's constitution. We believe that these rights and freedoms are essential for Egypt's long-term stability and we welcome the publication of Egypt's human rights strategy.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 child, early and forced marriage in Pakistan in the context of that country's commitment to goal 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK Government welcomes the publication of the All Party Parliamentary Group's report. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, spoke at the launch event. The UK strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise concerns about 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 our concerns. He met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Lord Ahmad discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, on 28 November 2021. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address commitments made under Sustainable Development Goal 5, to end harmful practices including child and forced marriages. 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.