Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of India regarding (1) religious intolerance, and (2) violence, in that country; and what representations they have also made regarding hate speech by members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We look to India to uphold all freedoms and rights guaranteed in its strong constitution and by the international instruments to which India is a party. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with NGOs, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. 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 regularly meet religious representatives and have run projects supporting minority rights. The British High Commission supports a UK-India Interfaith Leadership Programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Christians and Muslims, creating an opportunity to exchange expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities, and promote values of tolerance and multi-culturalism. The UK will host an international Ministerial conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2022 to energise collective efforts on this agenda. We also work with the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, G7 and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK's work at the UN on imposing sanctions and a range of supply-chain measures to end human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK remains deeply concerned by the scale and the severity of the human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang. In response, the UK has led international efforts to hold China to account at the UN, imposed sanctions on senior Chinese government officials, and taken robust action in respect of UK supply chains.
Those sanctioned face travel bans and asset freezes across the US, Canada, the EU and the UK, which together make up over 1/3 of global GDP. This sends a clear message to the Chinese Government that the international community will not turn a blind eye to such serious and systematic violations of basic human rights.
The supply chains measures we have taken include new guidance for UK businesses, and announcing enhanced export controls as well as the introduction of financial penalties under the Modern Slavery Act. Taken together, these measures will help ensure that no British organisations - government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently - are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of recent reports of anti-Muslim attacks in India; and whether she has raised that matter with the Indian Government.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or faith involved. We look to India to uphold all freedoms and rights guaranteed in its strong constitution and by the international instruments to which India is a party. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with non-governmental organisations, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. 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 regularly meet religious representatives and engage with Indian faith communities. The British High Commission supports a UK-India Interfaith Leadership Programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Muslims, creating an opportunity to promote values of tolerance and multi-culturalism. The UK will host an international Ministerial conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in 2022 to energise collective efforts on this agenda, demonstrating our enduring commitment to promoting FoRB for all. We also work with the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, G7 and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that cotton produced in Xinjiang province through the forced labour of Uyghur Muslims does not enter the UK supply chain.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government has announced a number of measures to help make sure that no British organisation is complicit, through their supply chains, in the violation of rights and responsibilities occurring in Xinjiang.
The United Kingdom has taken a leading international role in holding China to account for such violations, including helping to secure the support of 43 countries for a joint statement at the UN in October that called on China to allow “immediate, meaningful and unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent observers.”
We are committed to ongoing discussions on cotton and trade related matters at the WTO too, and recognise the importance of reform to the global cotton market, which will benefit the most vulnerable in particular.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports of the alleged torture of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China; and what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on those reports of alleged torture.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is deeply concerned about the systematic human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang, including disturbing reports of torture of Uyghur Muslims. We have led international efforts to hold China to account for its actions, leading the first two statements on Xinjiang at the UN and utilising our diplomatic network to raise the issue up the international agenda. In March, the UK announced sanctions against four Chinese officials and an entity responsible for the egregious human rights violations taking place. In January, the Government also announced a series of measures to help ensure that British organisations are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in the region. We will continue to take robust action, including by raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) Chinese companies which have been banned from operating in the United States but have not been banned in the UK, and (2) reasons why those companies have been banned in the United States.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
HM Government has repeatedly condemned the violation of rights and responsibilities in Xinjiang. On 22nd June, a British diplomatic effort helped deliver the support of over 40 countries for a statement on the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council, calling on China to grant unfettered access to the region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The US is a close partner, but we are an independent nation, with our own decision-making on what constitutes a security threat. The United Kingdom has no equivalent of the US Entity List.
As the passage of the National Security and Investment Act shows, we are strengthening our domestic toolbox in certain sectors. This Act will mandate notification of certain types of transaction to provide a proportionate defence against hostile actors targeting certain sectors. No single country or company is designated as ‘high risk’; transactions are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
In addition, large businesses operating in the United Kingdom are required to report on how they are tackling forced labour in their operations and supply chains under the Modern Slavery Act.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the US Commerce Department’s decision to add BGI Group to an economic blacklist of Chinese companies implicated in human rights violations regarding China’s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
HM Government has repeatedly condemned the violation of rights and responsibilities in Xinjiang. On 22nd June, a British diplomatic effort helped deliver the support of over 40 countries for a statement on the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council, calling on China to grant unfettered access to the region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The US is a close partner, but we are an independent nation, with our own decision-making on what constitutes a security threat. The United Kingdom has no equivalent of the US Entity List.
As the passage of the National Security and Investment Act shows, we are strengthening our domestic toolbox in certain sectors. This Act will mandate notification of certain types of transaction to provide a proportionate defence against hostile actors targeting certain sectors. No single country or company is designated as ‘high risk’; transactions are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
In addition, large businesses operating in the United Kingdom are required to report on how they are tackling forced labour in their operations and supply chains under the Modern Slavery Act.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of COVID-19 on intercommunal violence in India.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise that there have been reports of discrimination against religious minorities in India linked to COVID-19. The situation for minorities varies across India depending on location, socio-economic background, and proportion of religious minorities. India's strength, like that of the UK's, is in its diversity and we are committed to supporting the continuation of that. This year, the British High Commission supported an interfaith leadership programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Christians and Muslims, creating an opportunity to exchange expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities, and promoting values of tolerance and multi-culturalism. During my visit to India in March, I [Lord Ahmad] discussed the situation for Christians in India with Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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 Indian counterpart on the protection of religious minorities in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Human rights form a regular part of our dialogue with India. Most recently, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for South Asia, discussed the situation for Christians in India with India's Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, on 15 March. Our Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi also discussed UK Parliamentary interest in minorities in India with officials from India's Ministry of External Affairs on 5 January. A senior FCDO official discussed the situation for India's religious minorities with the Indian High Commissioner on 29 December 2020.
The British High Commission in New Delhi regularly meets religious representatives and has run projects promoting minority rights. This year, they supported an interfaith leadership programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Christians and Muslims, creating an opportunity to exchange expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities, and promoting values of tolerance and multi-culturalism.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds data on how many and what proportion of local authorities in England have adopted the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The definition proposed by the APPG on British Muslims is not in line with the Equality Act 2010 and would have severe consequences for freedom of speech, which is why the Government does not accept it or hold data on its adoption.
Government does not, and will not, tolerate anti-Muslim hatred in any form and will continue to combat such discrimination and intolerance wherever it occurs.