Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department has taken with the United Nations to help tackle (a) drug-resistant tuberculosis and (b) antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The department actively contributed to the High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis held at the UN General Assembly last September, at which Lord Ahmad represented the UK. The UK's current £1billion commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will support treatment for 41,800 people with Multi-Drug Resistant TB.
The UK funds major programmes and research to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and strengthen health, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems. The High-Level Meeting on AMR is an excellent opportunity to catalyse global progress, set high ambitions across the One Health spectrum, and promote equitable access to and stewardship of antimicrobials.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart on the persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan. The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September. On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.
Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent (a) violence against and (b) the persecution of Christians in Pakistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan. The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September. On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.
Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help provide humanitarian support following the recent outbreak of cholera in Malawi.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK was a key partner during Malawi's worst ever cholera outbreak in 2022/23, disbursing emergency funds, deploying an Emergency Medical Team and leveraging additional funding from other donors in support of the Government of Malawi's response. Although numbers are much reduced this cholera season, The BHC Lilongwe team continues to monitor the data and work with Ministry of Health and development partners to support the response and mitigate the risk of another outbreak. This includes recent new funding for resilience and preparedness activities in affected districts through our bilateral health programme, as well as pulling in support from a Centrally Managed health security programme (TDDAP2) to build the capacity of Malawi's health system and institutions to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies such as cholera.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with counterparts in Nigeria on violent persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Rising insecurity in Nigeria has affected all faith and non-faith communities, including Christians. UK Government officials and I (Minister Mitchell) regularly raise Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), including the impact of insecurity on communities and the need to bring perpetrators to justice, with the Nigerian Government. In August 2023, the former Foreign Secretary discussed insecurity with President Tinubu and the National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu. In January 2024, the British High Commissioner raised the recent attacks in Plateau with the Nigerian National Security Adviser. Across Nigeria, the High Commissioner and his team work closely with the authorities, local communities and faith leaders to raise and address these issues, including through engagement with the Nigeria Governors' Forum, National Peace Committee and National Human Rights Commission.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what support his Department is providing to organisations promoting freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Rising insecurity in Nigeria has affected all faith and non-faith communities, including Christians. UK Government officials and I regularly raise freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), including the impact of insecurity on communities and the need to bring perpetrators to justice, with the Nigerian Government. The UK supports Nigeria to deliver on its constitutional commitment to FoRB through our development programming and security cooperation. We have funded peacebuilding projects to build dialogue between religious groups and, through the Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria programme, will help Nigeria to tackle the causes of intercommunal conflict.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to his oral contribution of 19 December 2023, Official Report column 1252, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the situations of UK nationals travelling to fight in (a) Ukraine and (b) Israel are not analogous.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Section 4 of the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 makes it an offence for a British subject to enlist in the military of a foreign state at war with another foreign state with which the UK is at peace. That prohibition does not extend, however, to enlistment in a foreign government's forces which are engaged in a civil war or combating terrorism or internal uprisings. The Occupied Palestinian Territories are not currently recognised as a state by the UK. It is the UK government's longstanding position that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and that Israel is an occupying power under that convention. The 1870 Act therefore does not apply in this instance.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will issue guidance for individuals considering travelling to (a) Israel and (b) Palestine with the intention of fighting in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK recognises the right of British nationals with more than one nationality to serve in the armed forces of their additional nationalities. The Israel Defence Force is a recognised armed force and British nationals can volunteer for service with them. FCDO Travel Advice provides British nationals with information on the risks of travelling or living abroad, including in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories This guidance can be found on Gov.uk. Anyone who travels to conflict zones to engage in unlawful activity should expect to be investigated upon their return to the UK. Decisions on prosecutions are taken independently by the police and Crown Prosecution Service on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Ethiopia on the treatment of prisoners from the Amhara community in the Awash Arba military camp.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We regularly raise human rights issues in our interactions with Ethiopian interlocutors. In August, the UK's ambassador to Ethiopia met with the Regional President of Amhara and highlighted the need to ensure the protection of civilians and meaningful dialogue to end hostilities. The Foreign Secretary also spoke with his counterpart in December when he raised the conflict in Amhara.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions his Department has had with its Iranian counterparts on the imprisonment of Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Alaa Abd El-Fattah is detained in Egypt. The FCDO has not raised his case with the Iranian Government. Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. The Prime Minister has raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on a number of occasions, most recently on 1 December on the margins of COP28.