Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will provide funding to support the work of the charity Open Doors in tackling the persecution of Christians around the world.
Answered by David Lidington
The Government values our close working relationship with a wide range of NGOs working on human rights issues, including Open Doors. Whilst we are not currently providing funding to Open Doors, it is open to them to apply to the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy for funding to implement specific projects overseas. The fund supports targeted projects which aim to tackle the root causes of human rights violations, strengthen institutions and governance, promote and protect human rights, and support democracy and the rule of law.Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department has completed with the charity Open Doors since 2010.
Answered by David Lidington
Ministers and officials from the FCO’s Human Rights and Democracy Department and from a number of geographical departments regularly meet with representatives of Open Doors. FCO Ministers have also attended and spoken at the annual launch of the Open Doors Annual Report.Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 28 January 2016, Official Report, column 426, on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, how many (a) arms export licences have been awarded to Saudi Arabia and (b) reviews of arms sales to Saudi Arabia have been conducted in 2016.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government is satisfied that extant licenses for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria. The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms exports control regimes in the world.
Information on military and dual use export licences is published as Official Statistics in the quarterly and annual reports on Strategic Export Controls which are all available to view on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination (including Saudi Arabia). The statistics include the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. Information covering the period 1 October to 31 December 2015 will be published on 19 April 2016. The 1st quarter results for 2016 covering the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 will be published on 19 July 2016.
Since the outset of the conflict in Yemen, the Government has kept all extant licenses and new licensing to Saudi Arabia under continuous review, and has exercised special caution and vigilance in granting new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia, handling each on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
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 level of respect for freedom of religion in Nepal in the period after the adoption of its new constitution.
Answered by Lord Swire
The right to freedom of religion is enshrined as a fundamental right in article 26 (1) of the new constitution. We do however have concerns about the interpretation of the proposed legislation relating to Article 156 of the Penal Code, particularly around changing religion.
Our Embassy in Kathmandu has publicly encouraged Nepali Members of Parliament to ensure that the political settlement meets Nepal’s international human rights obligations, including ensuring the protection of the right to change religion. During the 2015 UK-Nepal bilateral talks my officials also emphasised the importance that the UK places on the freedom to change religion.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will press for the release of former Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have made clear on a number of occasions our deep concern about Anwar Ibrahim’s imprisonment. I made a statement on 10 February 2015, following his conviction and sentencing. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised Anwar Ibrahim’s case with his Malaysian counterpart during a visit to Malaysia in July last year.
A number of other Ministers have raised Anwar Ibrahim’s case with their Malaysian counterparts. Most recently, in separate meetings with Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister in London in November 2015, the Home Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) and I raised our concerns, including about his health and medical treatment. I have also met Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, several times to discuss this case, most recently in February.
We are aware of concerns regarding judicial independence and the rule of law in this case. We will continue to raise our concerns and encourage Malaysia to recognise the importance of international confidence in its judicial system and to restore trust in its commitment to international human rights standards.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the Shia in Bahrain accept the Al Khalifa government as the legitimate government of that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Governance of Bahrain is a matter for all political parties in Bahrain. That is why we encourage all political parties, including Al Wefaq who boycotted elections in November 2014, to engage constructively in political dialogue in order to reach an inclusive political settlement. 14 out of 40 MPs are independent Shia who chose to stand and were elected in 2014 elections. 3 of these are women.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the number of political prisoners in Bahrain; and if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain calling for the release of such prisoners.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain - including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.