Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
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 human rights situation in Pakistan following reports of attacks, harassment and the severe marginalisation of the Ahmadi community in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Pakistan is an FCDO human rights priority country. Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 9 January. On 14 December 2022 Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, also raised this issue with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the High Commissioner raised the matter with Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar on 4 January.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his Pakistani counterpart on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Pakistan is an FCDO human rights priority country. Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 9 January. On 14 December 2022 Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, also raised this issue with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the High Commissioner raised the matter with Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar on 4 January.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of Islamophobic hate crime; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to mark Islamophobia Awareness Month 2022.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he is taking steps to adopt a definition of Islamophobia.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this, but we are not complacent. This Government takes tackling hatred towards Muslims very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to support Muslim victims. We will outline our further steps in due course. Hate Crime Statistics in England and Wales are published annually, and the latest data are available here.
Asked by: John Howell (Conservative - Henley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the debate entitled Raising Awareness of and countering Islamophobia, which took place at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 11 October 2022.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK is an open, tolerant and welcoming country where Muslims practice their faith in freedom. We recognise the huge contribution British Muslims make to public life and we are committed to celebrating and promoting this. However we are not complacent. This Government takes hate crime very seriously and will not tolerate Anti-Muslim hatred in any form, seeking to stamp it out wherever it occurs. For those who do suffer discrimination and hate, we have some of the strongest legislation in the world to tackle hate crime. We have supported Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) with just over £4 million between 2016 and 2022 to monitor and combat Anti-Muslim hatred and support victims.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Government of Pakistan on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Pakistan is one of the FCDO's human rights priority countries and protecting Freedom of Religious Beliefs (FoRB), including those of Ahmadi Muslims, is an integral part of our engagement. Lord Ahmad publicly condemned the recent targeted killings of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan and Christian Turner, the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, raised the attacks with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or belief.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made recent representations to the Indian Government on the safety and security of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are aware of recent reports about the situation in Uttar Pradesh and we condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level.
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow reports of violence and discrimination closely, while recognising that these are matters for India. It is for the Indian Government to address the concerns of all Indian citizens, regardless of faith.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had any recent discussions with Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party's persecution of Muslims in India.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters and where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, also regularly speaks to the High Commissioner of India, and human rights including freedom of religion or belief forms part of that dialogue.
The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions will continue to follow reports of violence and discrimination closely, while recognising that these are matters for India. It is for the Indian Government to address the concerns of all Indian citizens, regardless of faith. Our network of High Commissions across India also regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights. For example, we have hosted Iftars to celebrate the important contribution Indian Muslims and other communities have made to Indian society. Moreover, we have supported a UK-India Interfaith Leadership Programme for a cohort of emerging Indian leaders of diverse faith backgrounds, creating an opportunity to exchange UK-India experiences on leading modern, inclusive communities.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of whether goods produced by the slave labour of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang are present in Government procurement contracts.
Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg
HM Government is committed to preventing modern slavery occurring in public sector supply chains. The Cabinet Office has published commercial policy and guidance setting out the steps that all Government departments must take to identify and mitigate modern slavery and labour abuse risks throughout the commercial life cycle - focusing on the areas of highest risk. This policy is mandatory for all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
The Government has taken a number of measures to help ensure that no British organisations are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities. We have introduced new guidance for UK businesses on the risks of conducting business in Xinjiang, implemented enhanced export controls, and committed to introducing new procurement guidance for Government bodies as well as financial penalties for non-compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
The Procurement Bill, which was recently introduced to Parliament, will strengthen the approach to exclude suppliers from bidding for public contracts where there is clear evidence of their involvement in forced labour or other Modern Slavery practices.