Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how information from his Department's meetings with civil society groups on freedom of religion or belief will inform foreign policy.
Answered by Mark Field
Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), including our network of Embassies and High Commissions overseas, frequently meet representatives of civil society groups to discuss human rights issues, including the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). These meetings include a wide variety of faith leaders, academics, human rights defenders and members of non-governmental organisations. Such meetings enrich policy-makers' understanding of issues and inform the development of better policy.
The FCO Minister of State with responsibility for human rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has hosted two roundtables which have allowed for in-depth discussion of themes related to FoRB. The first, on 23 October 2017, looked at the Rohingya crisis. The second, on 12 December 2017, examined the role of women in tackling religiously motivated violent extremism. These roundtables have been excellent opportunities for policy-makers to hear the perspectives and insights of faith leaders and academic experts. This has helped deepen understanding and better prepare officials to respond to policy challenges.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of religious freedom in Syria; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right of freedom of religion in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The ongoing conflict in Syria has increased tensions between the different religious groups in Syria leading to less tolerance, particularly in Daesh controlled areas, and increased sectarian violence. We continue to support non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement. We have been clear that any future political settlement must include protection for religious rights and freedoms, including for religious minorities.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will establish a funding stream for programmes to support freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Mark Field
The protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a priority of the Government's foreign policy. Projects that directly support FoRB are funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. In 2017/18 the Magna Carta Fund will spend £758,717 on six Freedom of Religion or Belief projects. Bids to support FoRB work from the Magna carta Fund are currently being invited for financial year 2018/19.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 implications for his policies of the recommendations and conclusions of the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group International Freedom of Religion and Belief, Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality, published on 25 October 2017.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) welcomed the publication of "Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality" by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion and Belief. My colleague the Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke at the launch of the report on 25th October. The report is a serious and significant contribution to the policy debate on how to promote and defend Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Government is currently evaluating the report, including the recommendations for Government policy and activity and will give its formal response in due course.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will prioritise the protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Mark Field
The protection of Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a priority of Her Majesty's Government's foreign policy and will continue to be so. In their interactions with foreign governments, Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers and officials routinely raise individual cases and highlight practices and laws that discriminate against people on the basis of their religion or belief.
For example, during my visit to Pakistan on 8-9 November, I discussed the treatment of religious minorities, including discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya and Christian communities, with the Federal Secretary of Pakistan's Human Rights Ministry. The United Kingdom also actively promotes FoRB through multilateral diplomacy. At the recent United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Kingdom worked successfully to help maintain consensus on the adoption and implementation of the European Union sponsored Resolution on 'Freedom of Religion or Belief' and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation sponsored Resolution on 'Combating Religious Intolerance'. The FCO also continues to support a number of projects to promote tolerance through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. Current projects include work to promote religious tolerance through secondary school curricula in Iraq, Morocco and Lebanon.
In October, The FCO minister with responsibility for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad convened the first in a series of roundtable meetings on FoRB. These meetings bring together faith leaders and civil society experts to discuss current international challenges to FoRB, and how we can collaborate to strengthen our responses.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of British Overseas Territories on providing those territories with observer status at the Commonwealth Summit in London in April 2018.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is committed to strengthening the links between Commonwealth countries. The only category of Commonwealth membership is that of sovereign states. Any decision to create a new membership status would need to be agreed by consensus of Commonwealth Heads of Government.
Whilst the Overseas Territories are unable to attend the Heads of Government Meeting in their own right, their interests will be represented by Her Majesty's Government at the Summit next April. My hon. Friend Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN will be discussing a range of issues, including the Commonwealth Summit, with Overseas Territories' leaders at the Joint Ministerial Council at the end of this month.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East 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 Pakistani government on persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We remain concerned about the persecution of religious and other minorities in Pakistan, including Christians. The Government of Pakistan can be under no doubt as to the importance we attach to this issue. In August, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised religious freedom and human rights with Interior Minister Nisar. In June, I conveyed our concern about minorities in Pakistan to the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK.
We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to meet its international obligations to uphold the human rights of all its citizens. Our concerns about minorities in Pakistan are documented in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Reports.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East 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 government of China on the alleged harvesting of organs from Falun Gong prisoners held in China.
Answered by Lord Swire
I remain concerned by reports of organ harvesting, which we have raised on numerous occasions, including at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year.
The Chinese government has repeatedly denied allegations that organs are forcibly removed from detainees. We are aware that organs removed from executed prisoners have been used for human transplantation purposes in China; Chinese law requires that prisoners give prior consent that their organs be used in this way.
We welcome steps taken by the Chinese government in recent years to improve the regulation of organ transplantation, for example the reports that suggest China would stop using organs harvested from executed prisoners from January of this year. Implementation of this policy is an important step.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what sanctions his Department has considered imposing on Egypt in response to the death sentence passed on Mohammad Morsi.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the sentencing to death of former President Morsi and over 100 others. The UK Government has responded to these sentences in a number of ways, as given in my answer of today (PQ 4375). We have no plans to impose formal sanctions as part of this response.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East 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 Egypt on the death sentence passed on the former President Mohammad Morsi.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I issued a statement on 17 May setting out the Government's deep concern at the sentencing to death of former President Morsi and over 100 others. I also raised concerns with the Egyptian Ambassador on that day. Senior officials have discussed this case with representatives of the Egyptian government. We have been clear that the Egyptian authorities must apply the rule of law consistently in line with international standards, and protect the political and legal rights of all Egyptians as the basis for the country’s future stability. It is the long-standing policy of the Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We note that there are further stages in the legal process, and will continue to follow this case closely and remain in contact with the Egyptian authorities.