Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide (a) training and (b) project funding to prisons in Bahrain in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to support Bahraini-led reform in a range of areas, including security and justice. The FCDO will continue to support the Ministry of Interior's reforms in Financial Year (FY) 2023/24, though project areas are yet to be formally confirmed. There is no direct funding provided to prisons and all technical assistance is delivered through implementing partners.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the treatment of death row inmates in Jau Prison in Bahrain; and whether he plans to make representations to his Bahraini counterpart on this issue.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. The UK Government's long-standing policy is to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, in all countries, as a matter of principle, and Bahrain is fully aware of that. During Bahrain's Universal Periodic Review in November 2022, the UK recommended an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty. We also encourage those with specific concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the treatment of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed a range of human rights issues during his visit to Bahrain on 12 February, including the case of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of press freedom in Bahrain.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO most recently published our assessment of the human rights situation in Bahrain in the annual FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report, in December 2022 [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-and-democracy-report-2021]. Bahrain remains a FCDO Human Rights Priority Country and we continue to engage regularly, privately and effectively across a range of areas with the Government of Bahrain. During Bahrain's Universal Periodic Review in November 2022, the UK recommended Bahrain move quickly to pass a new Journalism and E-Media Law, to ensure stronger protections for journalists and enhance wider media freedoms.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for (a) his policies and (b) human rights defenders of the letter sent to the Bahraini government by six UN Special Rapporteurs on 8 May 2023 on counter-terrorism laws in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain and is aware of a letter sent to the Government of Bahrain by UN Special Rapporteurs on 8 May 2023. We welcome engagement between Bahrain and the UN and encourage both sides to do so in a constructive manner. We continue to draw upon a range of sources when assessing the human rights situation in Bahrain.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran; and what diplomatic steps he has taken to urge the Iranian authorities to (a) release imprisoned Bahá’ís and (b) compensate those who have lost their houses and their land.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK unequivocally condemns the persecution of religious minorities in Iran. Reports of increased detentions, expropriation of land and destruction of homes indicate the regime intensified its repression of the Baha'i community in 2022. On 20 December 2022, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Fiona Bruce, expressed the UK's condemnation of the sentencing of Baha'i leaders Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi to a further decade of imprisonment. We continue to work closely with our international partners to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record and raise these issues with the regime at all appropriate opportunities.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to respond to the United Nation’s call for the international community to take immediate and effective steps to protect and sustain the six Palestinian civil society groups that were designated as terrorist organisations by the Government of Israel in October 2021; and if he will (a) make representations to the Israeli authorities to rescind this designation, (b) condemn the steps taken by Israeli forces on these organisations, and (c) review the UK’s bilateral relations with Israel.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have been clear that we do not support the Israeli government's decision last year to designate six Palestinian non-governmental organization (NGOs) as terrorist organisations. The subsequent raids on the offices of seven Palestinian NGOs, and on St Andrew's Anglican Church in Ramallah, and arrests of their staff, are equally troubling. We have not changed our approach, based on the information provided by the Government of Israel and we continue to engage with a number of these organisations. Civil society organisations play an important role in upholding human rights and democracy and they must be able to operate freely in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Officials at the British Embassy Tel Aviv, alongside our European partners, have directly raised our opposition with the Israeli Government on the designations, and made clear our support for Civil Society Organisations in Israel and the OPTs.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality, published on 7 July 2022, for what reason references to (a) sexual and reproductive health and rights and (b) bodily autonomy were removed from the original Statement; and if he will reinstate the original version of that Statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
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 and further gender equality in international agreements. The UK continues to fund, support and lead on initiatives related to promoting gender equality including SRHR, Women, Peace and Security and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle (a) malaria, (b) leprosy and (c) other neglected tropical diseases globally.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to driving down the number of malaria cases and deaths. This is closely linked with the UK's ambition to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (the Global Fund) is the UK's main financing mechanism for combatting malaria. We have been the third largest donor over its lifetime, contributing over £4.4 billion. The UK is also a leading investor in research and innovation to combat malaria and in market shaping interventions to bring down prices of new products and tackle barriers to widespread access.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure access to clean water for (a) midwives and (b) other healthcare workers; and if she will hold discussions with representatives of WaterAid on this issue.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The FCDO recognises the importance of ensuring that all health care staff and their patients have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to reduce infection risks and improve quality of care globally.
We will continue to pursue these objectives through our membership of the WASH In Healthcare Facilities international taskforce, continuing to support the Sanitation and Water for All partnership to help governments increase access to WASH services in healthcare facilities, through our bilateral programming such as our bilateral funding to the Joint Monitoring Programme who have recently published a report on WASH in Health Care Facilities, and through our core multilateral funding to the World Health Organisation.