Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, what (a) meetings, (b) discussions or (c) correspondence she had with Ministerial colleagues on the decision to remove reference to reproductive healthcare from the statement.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and will continue working with other countries to protect gender equality in international agreements. In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund support and lead on issues of gender including on SRHR, through initiatives related to Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, whether her Department carried out a public consultation prior to removing reference to reproductive healthcare from the statement.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and will continue working with other countries to protect gender equality in international agreements. In our capacity as Chair of the event, we amended the statement we made at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference to make the final statement more inclusive of all perspectives and views to allow for a constructive exchange of views on all issues. The UK continues to fund support and lead on issues of gender including on SRHR, through initiatives related to Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the legal advice provided to her Department relating to her proposals on the Northern Ireland Protocol and the compatibility with the provisions in section 38 of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and Article 4 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
It is a longstanding convention for governments of all parties not to comment on the fact or contents of government legal advice. As the Foreign Secretary set out in the house on 17 May, we are very clear that this is legal in international law. We believe bringing forward further legislation on this issue to be urgent and essential to protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the human rights of women throughout the world of any change to the Roe vs Wade ruling on abortion.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I understand this is a leaked document rather than an official decision, but this is a matter for the US courts. It would not be appropriate for a foreign government to lobby the independent court process. In general, the UK supports women's reproductive rights globally, including the right to access safe and legal abortion.