Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in response to the increase in the number of political prisoners in Burma in the last year.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK actively pushes for the release of all political prisoners in Burma. The most recent official figures from the government of Burma suggest that 27 political prisoners remain in prison, having dropped from over 2,000 in 2011. However these figures are contested, and a leading local non-government organisation – the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) – suggest that as of January there are 160 political prisoners with another 203 facing trial.
Clearly, the UK is very concerned by the increase in political prisoners witnessed over the last year. Officials from our Embassy in Rangoon meet regularly with members of civil society on this issue, and we continue to raise our concerns with the government of Burma at Ministerial level. I raised our concerns over political prisoners with Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw in June 2014. Most recently, the Minister of State at the Home Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms Featherstone), raised this issue directly with the Minister for the President’s Office, U Soe Thein, during her visit to Burma this month. We continue to lobby on individual cases. We also raise our concerns publicly in our Annual Report on Human Rights and in multilateral fora such as the UN General Assembly, where the UK co-sponsored a Resolution last year that called for the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
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 role played by women in peace-building in (a) Afghanistan and (b) other countries entering a post-conflict period.
Answered by James Duddridge
Women have largely been under-represented in peace-building efforts with only 2.5% of signatories to peace agreements being women. This is unacceptable and more must be done. With this in mind, the UK has been working in Afghanistan, and other post-conflict countries, to improve women’s political participation and their role in building peace.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the case of Ghoncheh Ghavami.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government has raised the case of Ghonceh Ghavami with the Iranian authorities on many occasions, including most recently on 23 November. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have raised this with President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif. We welcome news that Ms Ghavami has been released on bail. I met with the family on 25 November to discuss ways we can work together to ensure the best possible outcome of this case.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to address the situation of religious minorities in India following the recent elections.
Answered by Lord Swire
Our High Commissioner to New Delhi, Sir James Bevan, met the new Indian Minister for Minorities, Mrs Najma Heptulla, on 16 June and discussed issues facing minority communities in India. Our High Commission in New Delhi also maintains a regular dialogue with officials in India’s national human rights institutions, including the Minorities Commission, and with the relevant State level authorities. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the new Indian government about minority rights issues.
We also support religious and other minorities in India through the Department for International Development’s programme in India which helps to promote equal treatment and access to services for the most disadvantaged communities.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
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 draft religious conversion law proposed by the government of Burma.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government has voiced our strong concerns over proposed legislation on religious conversion, both with members of the Burmese government and with Burmese parliamentarians. If enacted, this law would harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During my visit in January, I delivered a speech in which I called for greater religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. We continue to make clear that respect for freedom of religion and belief must be guaranteed.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Burmese counterparts on ratification of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have had a number of discussions with the Burmese government on the importance of Burma ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I personally raised the importance of adhering to international human rights standards and encouraged the ratification of key human rights treaties with Burma’s Deputy Foreign Minister when we met in June. At the request of the Burmese government the British Embassy in Rangoon recently funded an experts’ visit to Burma to identify steps that would need to be taken and issues that would need to be considered to ratify the ICCPR.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Sudanese government about lessons to be learnt from the case of Meriam Ibrahim.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Officials at the British Embassy in Khartoum have discussed the issues highlighted by the Meriam Ibrahim case with both the Sudanese Attorney General and senior members of the ruling National Congress Party. In addition, my Hon Friend, the member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa highlighted the need for the lessons of this case to be learned in a recent letter to the Sudanese Minister for Foreign Affairs. The UK also ensured that this case was raised with the delegation from the Government of Sudan at the 27th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which took place between 8-26 September.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure MONUSCO peace-keepers are implementing their mandate.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has a clear mandate and we are working through the UN Security Council and with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, MONUSCO, the government of DRC and governments of the region to ensure it is fully implemented.
In August, the UK used its Presidency of the UN Security Council to draw attention to the importance of MONUSCO implementing its mandate, with the then Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds MP, chairing a discussion in the UN Security Council which also involved senior Ministers from the region. In September my Hon Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa, discussed implementation of MONUSCO’s mandate with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler (SRSG). Senior officials in Kinshasa and New York regularly discuss progress and raise issues of concern, including when we believe peacekeepers have fallen short in implementing MONUSCO’s mandate to protect civilians. This has included accompanying the SRSG on visits to peacekeepers on the ground to emphasise what more they need to do to implement the mandate. We have raised the importance of political support for implementing the mandate with governments in the region, including countries which contribute troops to the Force Intervention Brigade. We are also contributing to an ongoing strategic review of MONUSCO which will focus on ways to further deliver the robust and mobile force needed to fully implement the mandate.
Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking in collaboration with Deputy Special Representative of MINUSCA, Diane Corner, to ensure that a comprehensive and inclusive disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process is planned and prioritised in the Central African Republic.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
MINUSCA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic) assumed responsibility from the AU Mission, MISCA (African-led support mission to the Central African Republic) on 15 September. The mission’s mandate includes a call for “support for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former armed elements, with specific attention to children, and the repatriation of foreign elements, as well as community violence-reduction programmes”. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are monitoring MINUSCA’s progress on all areas of the mandate as the mission works to build up to full capacity; and are in close contact with Diane Corner (Deputy SRSG)on this. We have encouraged the UN to prioritise their efforts given the Mission is in early stages, and the operational challenges due to the surge in violence in CAR in recent weeks. Ensuring security is an essential first step in bringing peace and stability to CAR. MINUSCA has a phased mandate, with its priority task being the protection of civilians; HMG supports this approach.Asked by: Naomi Long (Alliance - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Nigerian government on the use of torture by the Nigerian police and military.
Answered by David Lidington
The Government has made clear to the Nigerian authorities at all levels, that we do not condone human rights abuses. During my visit to Abuja on 3 September, my Hon Friend, the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), the Minister for Africa, raised human rights with the Nigerian Foreign Minister, and underlined the importance of respect for human rights and the safeguarding of the civilian population during the Nigerian governments fight against terrorism.
We encourage the Nigerian Government to respond constructively to credible reports of human rights abuses by the Nigerian Security Forces, and to investigate fully. Any member of the Nigerian security forces found to have been involved in human rights abuses should be brought to justice.