Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to implement the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro's Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, published on 8 July 2019.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
The Bishop of Truro's review provided recommendations for an enhanced Government response to support members of all faiths, beliefs, and those of no religious belief. We are making good progress on implementing all the recommendations, including on the recommendation to review the recommendations independently three years from publication of the report.
Hosting an international Ministerial conference on FoRB in July 2022 will build on this ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB for all. Work to deliver this conference is underway, including early engagement with a range of stakeholders. Civil society, faith and belief actors have a key role to play in championing the right to FoRB - as plans progress, we will widen consultation further with FoRB stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what progress they have made in organising a Ministerial Conference on freedom of religion or belief in July 2022, and (2) what steps they have taken, if any, to involve civil society and faith organisations in the planning and proceedings of this conference.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
The Bishop of Truro's review provided recommendations for an enhanced Government response to support members of all faiths, beliefs, and those of no religious belief. We are making good progress on implementing all the recommendations, including on the recommendation to review the recommendations independently three years from publication of the report.
Hosting an international Ministerial conference on FoRB in July 2022 will build on this ongoing commitment to promoting FoRB for all. Work to deliver this conference is underway, including early engagement with a range of stakeholders. Civil society, faith and belief actors have a key role to play in championing the right to FoRB - as plans progress, we will widen consultation further with FoRB stakeholders.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
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 is taking to tackle the increase in hate crimes committed against people of the Jewish faith.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. We are clear that victims should be supported and the individuals who carry out these heinous attacks must be brought to justice. The Government is providing £14 million this year for the Protective Security Grant to protect Jewish schools and community buildings and we have encouraged the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism across universities and local authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the escalation of violence in Nigeria, and (2) the risk of local vigilante armies emerging, as a result of (a) inaction by the government of Nigeria, and (b) reports of Nigerian military collusion in attacks.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is concerned by increasing insecurity in Nigeria, including the rise in both criminal violence and intercommunal violence. We are also concerned by increasing vigilantism in response. We condemn all violence against civilians in Nigeria. We continue to promote intercommunal and interfaith dialogue. Our High Commissioner and her team regularly visit states affected by violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities. Most recently, British High Commission officials visited Plateau state in October 2021, where they met with a range of interlocutors, including Christian and Muslim leaders, who recognised the causes of the intercommunal violence are complex and relate frequently to criminality, competition for resources and failures of governance.
On 1 November the Minister for Africa raised insecurity in Nigeria with Foreign Minister Onyeama in the margins of the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The Prime Minister also discussed insecurity with President Buhari in the margins of the Global Education Summit in July. We will continue to urge and support the Nigerian Government to take action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 July (HL1232), what further steps they have taken in Nigeria to (1) "promote intercommunal and interfaith dialogue", and (2) "continue to call for solutions that address the complex underlying causes of violence".
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government is concerned by increasing insecurity in Nigeria, including the rise in both criminal violence and intercommunal violence. We are also concerned by increasing vigilantism in response. We condemn all violence against civilians in Nigeria. We continue to promote intercommunal and interfaith dialogue. Our High Commissioner and her team regularly visit states affected by violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities. Most recently, British High Commission officials visited Plateau state in October 2021, where they met with a range of interlocutors, including Christian and Muslim leaders, who recognised the causes of the intercommunal violence are complex and relate frequently to criminality, competition for resources and failures of governance.
On 1 November the Minister for Africa raised insecurity in Nigeria with Foreign Minister Onyeama in the margins of the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The Prime Minister also discussed insecurity with President Buhari in the margins of the Global Education Summit in July. We will continue to urge and support the Nigerian Government to take action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the intensification of jihadist attacks against Christians in Nigeria, as reported by the Gatestone Institute on 10 October; whether they will discuss these attacks with the government of Nigeria; and what further steps, if any, they will take.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We condemn all violence across Nigeria, the devastating effects of which are felt by communities of different faiths. We are aware of the Gatestone Institute report. Jihadist ideology is a driver of the conflict involving terrorist groups in the North East. We assess that the drivers of intercommunal violence elsewhere in Nigeria are complex and frequently relate to competition over resources and criminality. We regularly visit states affected by intercommunal violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities. The Prime Minister discussed a range of issues with President Buhari, including security, in the margins of the Global Education Summit in July. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all those at risk of violence and implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)
Question
To ask the President of COP26, what steps he is taking to ensure that faith communities are effectively represented at COP26.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Representing over 80% of the world’s population, faith and spiritual groups have a unique perspective on climate change, in making the moral case to individuals, communities and states to protect the planet and support the most vulnerable in society. This is why the UK COP26 Presidency is working with faith leaders from across the globe to inspire a global response to climate change and drive real world action.
We have worked in collaboration with Italy and the Vatican to convene global faith leaders ahead of COP26. On 4 October 2021, I travelled to the Vatican where Pope Francis presented me with a signed joint Appeal from faith leaders calling on the international community to raise their climate ambition.
I have also established a dedicated civil society engagement team who work with faith communities. In April 2021, I met UK-based faith leaders to discuss how the UK Presidency can best work with faith leaders to deliver an inclusive and ambitious COP26. Officials worked with faith leaders in the UK and across the globe to produce the COP26 faith toolkit. This contains guidance on how religious, faith and spiritual communities can support climate action in the run up to and beyond COP26.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 3 June 2021 to Question 7204 on Nepal: Christianity, what steps the British Embassy takes to engage with members of faith and belief groups and civil society in Nepal; and what trends the British Embassy has identified on religious and belief tolerance in Nepal.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The British Embassy in Kathmandu regularly engages with civil society to discuss a wide range of policy priorities, including human rights, climate change, girls' education, and media freedom. The embassy also meets with representatives of faith and belief groups to hear their priorities and any concerns, and is the Chair of the Human Rights Core Group, a network of like-minded diplomatic missions, which discusses concerns related to freedom of religion or belief to drive collective action.
The UK's assessment of the trends on religious and belief tolerance is that there have not been significant recent shifts in intra-community persecution or closure of civil society space. This is due to Nepal's Constitution and legal framework forming part of the peace settlement to bring marginalised communities into Nepal's institutions, related laws being largely upheld by the courts and relevant human rights commissions, and COVID-19 related lockdowns not discriminating between different faiths or beliefs.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of whether extremist Islamist ideology is a driver of intercommunal attacks in Nigeria; and what assessment they have made of the findings of the Bishop of Truro’s Independent review of persecution of Christians and freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government condemns all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria, the devastating effects of which are felt by communities of different faiths. The underlying drivers of intercommunal violence are complex and frequently relate to competition over resources and increasing criminality. Islamic extremism is a driver of conflict in the North east and not a driver of intercommunal violence.
We have accepted the recommendations of the Bishop of Truro's report. On Nigeria, the report considered intercommunal violence in the Middle Belt and terrorism in the North East. In response to the issues raised in the report on intercommunal violence, the Government co-hosted a Wilton Park conference on 'Fostering Social Cohesion in Nigeria' in February 2020, exploring the complex causes of conflict and solutions to help ease tensions and reduce violence. Since then, we have increased our visits to areas affected by violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities. The Minister for Africa visited Nigeria in April, where he discussed insecurity across the country with the President's Chief of Staff, the Foreign Minister and community leaders.
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 recent events in Kaduna State, Nigeria, including (1) the reported killing of Reverend Silas Yakubu Ali and at least 11 others, (2) the reported kidnap of Reverend Benson Yakusak, and (3) the role of Jihadist ideology in violence in the area.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn all violence across Nigeria, the devastating effects of which are felt by communities of different faiths. We condemn the killing of Reverend Silas Yakubu Ali in Southern Kaduna, an area that has a long history of intercommunal violence. We welcome reports that Reverend Benson Yakusak was released. Jihadist ideology is a driver of the conflict involving terrorist groups in the North East. The drivers of intercommunal violence elsewhere in Nigeria are complex and frequently relate to competition over resources and criminality.
The former Minister for Africa visited Nigeria in April where he discussed insecurity, including kidnaps, with the Foreign Minister and the President's Chief of Staff, and raised the importance of protecting all communities. We regularly visit states affected by intercommunal violence to engage with state governments, civil society, faith and community leaders and affected communities. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all those at risk of violence, to bring perpetrators to justice and to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.