Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of violence in central Mali on religious minority groups.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is closely monitoring rising instability in Mali. There has been an increase in human rights abuses and violations, including on religious minority groups. The violence is sadly widespread but does not appear to be religiously motivated. Following the recent withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), it is essential that the authorities in Mali deliver on their commitment to a political transition, with free, fair, transparent and inclusive presidential elections. The UK is committed to working with our partners to support initiatives to protect human rights in Mali.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the scale of destruction of religious heritage as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets. We want to see Israel using all possible measures to protect the sanctity of holy sites. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and calls for places of worship to be respected.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church has had discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the attack on the St Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Nigeria in 2022; and whether the Church is providing aid for the victims of that attack.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a statement at the time of the attack on the Roman Catholic Church of St Francis Xavier in 2022, saying: “The massacre of worshippers – men, women and children – during a Mass in South-west Nigeria was an act of pure evil and a profound offence to God. My prayers are with all affected by this barbaric attack. I continue to pray for the nation of Nigeria.” The Archbishop meets often with politicians and clergy from Nigeria and has raised the issues of inter community and inter-religious violence.
Bishops of the Church of England are in regular discussion with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on matters affecting freedom of religion or belief, including in Nigeria. On 6th June 2022 the Lord Bishop of Leeds asked a question of the Minister of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the House of Lords, during exchanges on an answer to an urgent question on the attacks. He stressed that while condemnation by religious leaders was necessary and important, it often had limited impact on the self-proclaimed and ideologically-driven religious groupings and organisations behind such attacks.
The Church has not provided any direct financial aid to the victims of this attack, but through its diocesan companion links with Nigeria and the work of its voluntary mission agencies it is continuing to support the Church in Nigeria more broadly as it responds to violations of freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the seizure of 100 hectares of land belonging to Baha’i farmers by agents of the Iranian state in the Province of Mazandaran in January; and what steps they are taking to raise this matter through bilateral or multilateral means.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the persecution of members of the Baha’i community, including of reports of the expropriation of farming land in Mazandaran Province; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these actions on this community.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Belarussian counterpart on freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK continues to monitor closely Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Belarus, and we are aware of recent concerning legislative amendments regarding religious organisations. The Lukashenko regime's repression and support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine have limited our bilateral contact. Following Belarus' fraudulent 2020 presidential election, the former Minister for Europe (Wendy Morton MP) spoke with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in a phone call to express our grave concern over the conduct of the election and subsequent repression targeting protestors. There has been no contact between UK Ministers and their Belarusian counterparts since then.
The British Embassy in Minsk continues to support and engage with religious groups in Belarus. Belarus remains a human rights priority country for the UK; we are determined to hold the regime accountable for its actions.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to support freedom of religion and belief in Nicaragua.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We share widespread international concern about the suppression of human rights in Nicaragua, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. In June 2023, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Fiona Bruce MP, in her capacity as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, issued an international statement condemning the continued persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nicaraguan Government. In my [Minister Rutley] tweet on 16 January, I welcomed the release of Bishop Álvarez and 18 other clergy from their unjust detention but condemned their expulsion from Nicaragua. The UK calls on President Ortega to fully respect the human rights of all citizens and to unconditionally release all political prisoners.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last held discussions regarding the civil and democratic rights of Ahmadi citizens in Pakistan with (1) the government of Pakistan, and (2) with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth; and what responses they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19 January, I raised the need for inclusivity in the upcoming elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. On 25 September 2023, the former Foreign Secretary raised the importance of credible, inclusive, and timely elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar. On 21 August, I wrote to Foreign Minister Jilani to raise concerns about the treatment of minority religious communities and underline the need to ensure all Pakistan's citizens, including Ahmadi Muslims, are able to exercise their democratic rights. There have been no recent discussions between HMG and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth on Ahmadi citizens in Pakistan. At CHOGM 2022 Commonwealth leaders endorsed specific language, proposed by the UK, that noted that freedom of religion or belief are cornerstones of democratic societies.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications were granted on the basis of the risk of persecution on religious grounds in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This information is not recorded in a reportable format.
Information regarding initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome, is contained within the ASY_D02 tab of the Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement dataset: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
This does not include the grounds for granting leave to remain in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of UK citizens seeking to worship in Christian churches and Jewish synagogues in Turkey.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO routinely updates our travel advice, which provides guidance for British nationals on staying safe abroad, including in Turkey. Our travel advice notes that no travel can be guaranteed safe and in Turkey terrorists may target places visited by foreigners, including places of worship. The UK stands with Turkey against terrorism, and we welcome the Turkish authorities' swift response to security threats, such as the fatal shooting which took place at Santa Maria Church in Istanbul on 28 January. We support the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Christians and Jews.