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Written Question
Nigeria: Abduction
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

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 tackle the kidnappings of schoolchildren in Nigeria.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK Government is monitoring the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren in Nigeria and condemns this crime. At the latest UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) dialogue in February, we strengthened our commitment to providing mentoring and capacity-building support to agencies tackling the threat of kidnap within Nigeria. As part of this partnership, the UK National Crime Agency is working with Nigeria to create a Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell to increase interoperability between security and justice agencies responding to kidnaps. This will help reduce harm to victims and hold those responsible to account.


Written Question
Zimbabwe: Period Poverty
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Zimbabwe on period poverty.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

I have not reviewed this matter in my meetings with President Mnangagwa or his Minister but supporting women and girls in Zimbabwe is a UK priority. Through our health programme the UK has delivered menstrual health education as part of the Sister2Sister (S2S) clubs which included supporting sustainable menstrual health options for girls such as disposable pads, reusable pads, menstrual cups, and menstrual underwear. Since 2012 the UK has worked alongside the Government of Zimbabwe to help provide sanitary products for schools through the Zimbabwe Girls Secondary Education (ZGSE) Programme implemented by CAMFED.


Written Question
Sudan: Human Rights
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Sudan on human rights issues.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Our senior diplomats have used meetings with senior decision-makers in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to raise concerns about credible reports of human rights violations. The UK has consistently denounced mounting reports of serious atrocities that have taken place in Sudan since 15 April 2023 and secured a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2023 to establish a fact-finding mission for Sudan. We continue to support the essential work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan (OHCHR) and the International Criminal Court in investigating and documenting reports of human rights violations.


Written Question
Turkey: Administration of Justice
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the new legislative package in Turkey entitled Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Various Laws and Decree-Law No. 659.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

As a close partner, we consistently encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and to live up to its international obligations as a founding member state of the Council of Europe. We remind Turkey to act in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, other Council of Europe conventions, and broader democratic norms.


Written Question
Tibet: Buddhism
Wednesday 14th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to address the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so during his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December 2023. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations. On 23 January at China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK again called on China to cease human rights violations in Tibet. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.


Written Question
Bangladesh: Rohingya
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of police abuses in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government is committed to improving the security of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. We engage regularly with the UN, NGOs and the Government of Bangladesh on protection issues, and we spoke with the government about security issues last month. UK funding (over £373 million to the Rohingya response since 2017) includes ongoing support to protection services in the camps. We will continue to monitor the security situation in the camps.


Written Question
UK-Africa Investment Summit
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, for what reason the UK-African Investment Summit has been postponed.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK-African Investment Summit (UK-AIS), due to take place in April 2024, will now be postponed to a later date owing to scheduling issues in the international calendar. New summit dates will be announced in due course.

The UK government is committed to building on the success of the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit, which laid the foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. This includes by ensuring attendance from governments across the continent, as well as British and African businesses eager to harness the benefits of our trading relationship.


Written Question
Xinjiang: Uyghurs
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the Chinese government's treatment of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang; and what diplomatic steps he has taken in response.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government has led international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. We were the first country to lead a joint statement on China's human rights record in Xinjiang at the UN, and our leadership has sustained pressure on China to change its behaviour. In October 2023, the UK led another joint statement with a record number of 50 signatories on Xinjiang at the UN, demonstrating a significant number of countries are prepared to call China out for its human rights violations. We have also imposed sanctions, provided guidance to businesses, and taken action to tackle forced labour in supply chains. Bilaterally, we consistently raise human rights issues at senior levels with the Chinese authorities; the Foreign Secretary did so in his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December.


Written Question
Pakistan: Ahmadiyya
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policies of expulsion threats against Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan; and whether his Department has taken steps to tackle those threats.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government condemns all instances of hate and discrimination directed towards minority religious communities, including Ahmadi Muslims. We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, raised the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on 13 September and in a letter of 5 October. The UK government continues to fund projects with local Pakistani organisations to empower minority religious communities and to tackle online hate-speech.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Forced Marriage
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has taken steps with international partners to address the incidence of forced marriage of young girls and women from religious minorities in Ethiopia; and whether he has had recent discussions with his Ethiopian counterpart on this issue.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is committed to stepping up our international leadership on child marriage, to give girls a greater say over their bodies and futures. We are a champion of the UN Global Programme to End Child Marriage and we have supported over 140,000 adolescent girls in Ethiopia with interventions to prevent and respond to child marriage.