Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Government of Tanzania on the promotion of the right to peaceful and democratic opposition in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
On 10 April 2019, our High Commissioner in Tanzania raised our concerns about the deterioration of political and civil society space with President Magufuli. We continue to work with diplomatic partners and civil society to ensure the Government of Tanzania hears the concerns from a range of stakeholders.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to enforce international sanctions on North Korea.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government is actively working with international partners to fully implement all relevant UN Security Council measures in respect of North Korea. The UK has contributed four Royal Navy vessels in the past year to a US-coordinated maritime sanctions enforcement operation. We have lobbied widely to encourage all States to enforce sanctions on North Korea and to stem major sources of illicit revenue for North Korea, such as overseas labourers and cyber-crime. Until North Korea takes concrete steps towards its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation sanctions must remain and all states must continue to enforce them in full.
We also welcome the work of the UN Panel of Experts who report on States’ implementation of UN Security Council measures. The Panel’s latest report details continued evasion of sanctions by North Korea. The Panel of Experts reports can be found at https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1718/panel_experts/reports.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 his counterpart in India on the persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
The British High Commission in New Delhi, our network of Deputy High Commissions, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London maintain a continuous assessment of the situation across India, including Christian persecution. Our officials regularly meet with Christian minority representatives. Most recently, the British High Commission highlighted the importance of Christian persecution to the British Government with India's Ministry of External Affairs on 25 March 2019. We also run a number of projects with religious minorities to raise awareness of their rights and promote interfaith tolerance in India.
We will continue to engage the Indian government and the wider international community on this matter.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations (a) his Department and (b) agencies of his Department have made to the Government of Nigeria on the ongoing systematic violence against Christians in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The British Government is taking every opportunity to raise our concerns over intercommunal violence between farming and herding communities at senior levels. The Prime Minister raised the issue with President Buhari during her recent visit to Nigeria and the Foreign Secretary raised the subject when he wrote to the Foreign Minister in August. The British High Commission in Abuja has also raised the issue with the Vice President and with the governors of affected states.
Our assessment is that the root causes of violence are disputes over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water, and it is important that efforts to address the violence focus on this challenges.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 help tackle the flow of undocumented migrants through Belgian ports.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government is working closely with Belgian colleagues to prevent illegal migrants travelling, and to undermine the business model driving organised illegal immigration. Joint investigations and operational cooperation have seen a number of successes in disrupting organised crime groups. We are also working to tackle people smuggling through the People Smuggling Amplification Plan. We are cooperating with Belgian, French and Dutch law enforcement agencies to share information and build capacity as part of those efforts.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 Myanmar Government on the persecution of the Rohingya in the past month.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK's Permanent Representative to the United Nations made representations on the treatment of the Rohingya to senior members of Burma's Government during the UN Security Council's visit to Burma of 30 April to 1 May.
The British Ambassador to Burma met Commander in Chief of Burma's military on 3 May and urged him to accept an inquiry with international involvement into the human rights violations carried out against the Rohingya of Rakhine State.
The Ambassador met Burma's Minister for Social Welfare on 3 May and restated the UK's readiness to support the implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission's report, which includes recommendations that would address the persecution of the Rohingya in Rakhine State.
The Ambassador met Burma's National Security Advisor on 4 May and encouraged Burma's Government to take steps to improve the living conditions and opportunities of the Rohingya currently resident in Internally Displaced Person camps near Sittwe, Rakhine State. He also encouraged provision of educational opportunities to ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya students on an equal basis.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Algerian Government on the forced closure of Christian churches in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are concerned about the recent church closures in Algeria. Our Ambassador in Algeria has been in touch with the Protestant Church of Algeria, who have raised the closures with the Algerian Ministry of Interior. Our Ambassador will also raise with the Algerian authorities. The Algerian Constitution provides for freedom of conscience and religion. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon discussed the importance of freedom of religion and belief with the Algerian Minister for Religious Affairs in October 2017.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if will make representations to the UN on the murder of Jan Kuciak in Slovakia.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK condemns the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova; we have offered our condolences. We have offered assistance to the Slovak authorities in their investigation if required. The Slovak government have not asked the UK to make representations to the UN on Kuciak's murder. It would be unusual for the UK to make representations to the UN on the murder of a non-British national not on UK soil, especially if the government in question has not requested it.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 the United Arab Emirates on the persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Human rights, including the protection of freedom of religion or belief, is a UK foreign policy priority. As part of our bilateral relationship with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we discuss human rights at both ministerial and official levels. We note the positive steps the UAE has made in this area, including the establishment of the Ministry of Tolerance in 2016, with the objective of supporting religious tolerance and diversity. Promoting dialogue between different faiths was a key theme of the visit of HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to the UAE in 2016. This included a reception hosted at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque involving a discussion with leaders of the Christian faith in the UAE.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage free and fair elections in Commonwealth nations.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are committed to upholding the principles of the Commonwealth Charter, including the inalienable right of individuals to participate in free and fair elections. Our High Commissions regularly engage with a range of political actors and institutions across the Commonwealth in support of those principles.
We also support the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in this field: both its co-ordination of Commonwealth Election Observer Groups and the technical assistance it provides to improve electoral systems, practice and legislation in Commonwealth member states. In addition, the UK works closely with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to promote stronger parliamentary democracy in the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April will discuss the protection and promotion of democracy. The UK will also join the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which acts as the custodian of the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter