Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department played in the appointment of Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Alkhalifa to become an Ambassador of Bahrain to the UK.
Answered by Mark Field
As per our standard practice, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office thoroughly reviews each State’s appointee as Head of Mission.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to reports of electoral fraud during the recent General Election in Bangladesh, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying sanctions against Bangladesh until a full and independent investigation is carried out.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps are being taken to ensure that Bangladesh general election irregularities are fully and independently investigated.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking in response to reports of electoral fraud during the recent General Election in Bangladesh.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Government recognises the outcome of the Bangladesh General Election held on 30 December 2018; and what his policy is on that country's regime.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) make representations to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on establishing an independent inquiry into the 1988 prison massacre in Ahvaz, Iran, and (b) respond to Early Day Motion 448 of Session 2016-17, entitled Death of political prisoners in Iran in 1988.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. Whilst at present we have no plans to request an inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, we continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty and by supporting the work done by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran. We also raise our concerns directly with the Iranian government and I was able to raise this directly with my Iranian counterpart during my visit to Tehran in August this year.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Iran on the (a) destruction of the site of the mass grave of people killed in the 1988 prison massacre in Alivoz and (b) protection of that site to preserve forensic evidence for future investigations.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Although we have not received official confirmation of this, we are concerned about reports of plans to destroy grave sites related to the 1988 massacre. Whilst at present we have no plans to request an inquiry by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, we continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty and by supporting the work done by the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran. We also raise our concerns directly with the Iranian government and I was able to raise this directly with my Iranian counterpart during my visit to Tehran in August this year.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of the forced closure of over 100 Baha'i shops in Iran during the first week of November 2016; 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 that the Iranian authorities have closed down a number of Baha'i businesses in response to them temporarily closing to observe Baha'i holy days on 1 and 2 November. This forms part of a worrying trend of persecution of the Baha'i faith in Iran. 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: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on the safety and wellbeing of migrant workers preparing that country for the 2022 World Cup.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have raised our concerns about the safety and wellbeing of migrant workers with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy at Ministerial and Ambassadorial level. We welcome the serious manner in which the Qatari Government is responding to concerns and fully support Qatar’s intention to reform the current labour law. We are encouraging the government of Qatar to put forward a timetable for passing and implementing the proposed legislation and stand ready to support these efforts where we can.