Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sri Lankan counterpart on implementation of the resolution on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka adopted by UN Human Rights Council at its 51st session in October 2022.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We regularly engage with the Government of Sri Lanka on human rights concerns and stand ready to support implementation of UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution 51/1. The resolution renewed the mandate of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report on Sri Lanka and to protect and preserve evidence of past human rights abuses to use in future accountability processes.
The Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September, raising the need to engage with UNHRC members and take forward repeated commitments to make progress.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the police response to protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
On 3 October, the Foreign Secretary instructed the FCDO to summon Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK. It was made clear to him that the Iranian authorities should take responsibility for their actions, listening to the concerns of their people, instead of blaming external actors. We reiterated our call for Iran to respect the right to peaceful assembly, exercise restraint and release unfairly detained protesters. We continue to raise our concerns at every opportunity, with the Iranian Embassy in London and via our Ambassador in Tehran.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on potential human rights abuses in Iran.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran is a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. The Foreign Secretary summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK to call for a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death and to condemn the subsequent violent crackdown on protestors. The UK made clear that instead of blaming external actors for unrest, Iranian authorities should take responsibility and listen to concerns of their people.
On 10 October, the UK sanctioned the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities that the UK will hold them to account for their repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence inflicted on their people.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the death of Mahsa Amini.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran is a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. The Foreign Secretary summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK to call for a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death and to condemn the subsequent violent crackdown on protestors. The UK made clear that instead of blaming external actors for unrest, Iranian authorities should take responsibility and listen to concerns of their people.
On 10 October, the UK sanctioned the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities that the UK will hold them to account for their repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence inflicted on their people.