Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic discussions they have had concerning the recent increasing restrictions on the legal residency of Uyghurs by the Turkish authorities; and what steps they are taking to engage with international partners to address these concerns.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government supports the rights of all minority groups in Turkey, including Uyghurs, and expects Turkey to uphold its international obligations to human rights and the rule of law.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her international counterparts on the targeting of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to question 70115.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding (a) civil society and (b) academic institutions to conduct (i) forced labour and (ii) supply chain research on the Uyghur region.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government regularly works with civil society and academic institutions to fund a variety of research, including topics such as forced labour. We keep under review how we can best tackle forced labour in supply chains, by working across government departments, with businesses and international partners.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to undertake regular assessments of the exposure of supply chains to Uyghur forced labour.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including the repression of Uyghurs, and continues to work with international partners to find ways of holding China to account.
The Government’s Overseas Business Risk guidance sets out the risks of operating in certain regions and urges companies to conduct appropriate due diligence, in line with the UN Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct.
In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into responsible business conduct. The review is considering how we can best tackle supply chain harms, such as forced labour. This includes consideration of measures to improve supply chain transparency and traceability.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the safety of Uyghur (a) exiles and (b) dissidents residing in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The first duty of government is to keep its citizens safe. The National Security Act 2023 provides the necessary tools to deter, detect and disrupt modern-day state threats.
The Government, working alongside operational partners, continuously assess the risks and threats faced by people living within the UK. Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate.
Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact the police via 101, a local police station or dial 999 in an emergency.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that British businesses follow human rights obligations set out in the Second Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Session 2021-22 on Never Again: The UK's Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond, HC 198, published on 29 June 2021.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK has carefully considered and implemented several of the Foreign Affairs Committee's recommendations on responding to human rights violations in China since 2021. This Government will stand firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.
Regarding recommendations on forced labour and the business sector, this Government has launched a Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) review to consider the effectiveness of the UK's current RBC measures and alternative policy options, including approaches to tackle forced labour. There are a number of ways in which HMG currently tackles the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains. The Overseas Business Risk Guidance makes clear to UK companies the risk of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions. The UK also has reporting requirements for companies with a turnover of £36 million or more under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what response he received from his Chinese counterparts on the concerns he raised about human rights abuses in Xinjiang in October 2024.
Answered by Catherine West
I am not able to comment on the details of discussions with international counterparts. The effective conduct of the UK's international relations depends upon maintaining the trust and confidence of other states and international organisations.
This Government will stand firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and I all raised human rights recently with our counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made with international counterparts on cooperating to protect the human rights of Uyghurs.
Answered by Catherine West
This Government will stand firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.
We will continue to work closely with international partners in a number of areas, including holding China to account in international fora. For example, we joined a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October. We also work together to monitor, expose and react to human rights violations in Xinjiang. This includes working with international partners to understand the impact and effectiveness of measures to combat forced labour.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has implemented the recommendations of the Second Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Session 2021-22 on Never Again: The UK's Responsibility to Act on Atrocities in Xinjiang and Beyond, HC 198, published on 29 June 2021.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK has carefully considered and implemented several of the Foreign Affairs Committee's recommendations on responding to human rights violations in China since 2021. This Government will stand firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities.
We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and I all raised human rights recently with our counterparts. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly in October. In the recently published Trade Strategy, the Department for Business and Trade launched a Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) review to consider the effectiveness of the UK's current RBC measures and alternative policy options, including approaches to tackle forced labour.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in the G7 on creating a common investment-ban list for companies credibly implicated in (a) forced labour, (b) genocide and (c) mass surveillance in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Answered by Catherine West
The human rights situation in China, including China's persecution of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, remains a priority for the government. The UK regularly discusses issues of common concern with likeminded partners, including through the G7.
There are a number of ways in which His Majesty's Government currently tackles the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains. The Overseas Business Risk Guidance makes clear to UK companies the risk of operating in certain regions and urges them to conduct appropriate due diligence when making business decisions.
Last month, this Government launched a review of its approach to ensuring responsible business conduct, focusing on the global supply chains of businesses operating in the UK. This includes a review of alternative measures to tackle forced labour.