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: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of relations between the UK and the Holy See.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's relationship with the Holy See remains strong. The UK continues to work with the Holy See on a range of shared challenges, and we are proud of the global nature of our partnership. These priorities include addressing the scourge of modern slavery, seeking peaceful solutions to long running conflicts, and, particularly in view of the upcoming COP26 Conference in Glasgow, driving international collaboration to tackle the growing threat of climate change. On this issue, the UK is proud to be co-hosting the "Faith and Science: Toward COP26" event, alongside the Holy See and Italy, on 4 October - bringing together key religious figures from across the globe to build momentum towards November's summit. Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Holy See discussed how the UK and the Holy See can further deepen our collaboration on these issues with His Holiness the Pope when he presented his credentials on 4 September and Minister Morton met key Holy See Ministers during her visit on 16 September.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Holy See has met the Vatican Secretary of State following the visit by Cardinal Parolin to Cameroon in February; what (1) financial, and (2) other, support they have provided to faith-based groups working in conflict resolution in that country; and if none, what plans they have to provide such support in future.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Holy See is in regular contact with the Vatican and met Cardinal Parolin following his visit to Cameroon.
The FCDO is committed to conflict resolution and finding a peaceful resolution to the crisis is the Government's top priority in Cameroon. The UK continues to work with the Catholic Church on a range of global challenges. In financial year 2019/20, FCDO provided a grant of £20,000 to the Peace and Justice Commission of the Bamenda Archdiocese to fund a project to document and report on serious and systemic human rights violations in Cameroon. During his visit to Cameroon, the Minister for Africa and the UK High Commissioner to Cameroon met religious leaders from a number of faiths to hear first-hand their accounts of the crisis in the North-west South-west regions.
Asked by: Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had on inviting Pope Francis to COP26.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
All parties of the UNFCCC are entitled to attend a COP. We are not in a position to confirm at this stage the attendance of specific leaders, but as the Holy See is a UNFCCC observer state, His Holiness The Pope will receive an invitation.
It is at the discretion of each party as to what level of representation they send.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2020 to Question 126854 on Embassies: Staff, how many UK-based staff there are in each UK embassy in each EU Member State, by headcount band.
Answered by Nigel Adams
For security reasons, the FCDO provides headcount detail in bands. The FCDO was formed on 2nd September 20, with Legacy Departments continuing to use legacy systems for recording staff locations in the interim. People in former DFID roles are recorded at Country level with no ability to report at Post level currently available. Therefore the data provided is at Country level only.
As at 31st October 2020, the UK based headcount band for each Country in Europe is set out in the table below.
Data does not include Posts where there is no UKB presence, or Posts in Eastern Europe.
Country/Territory | FCDO Headcount at 31st October 2020 |
Albania | Fewer than 10 |
Austria | Fewer than 10 |
Belgium | 10 to 19 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Fewer than 10 |
Bulgaria | Fewer than 10 |
Croatia | Fewer than 10 |
Cyprus | 10 to 19 |
Czech Republic | Fewer than 10 |
Denmark | Fewer than 10 |
Estonia | Fewer than 10 |
Finland | Fewer than 10 |
France | 30-39 |
Germany | 20-29 |
Greece | Fewer than 10 |
Holy See | Fewer than 10 |
Hungary | Fewer than 10 |
Iceland | Fewer than 10 |
Ireland | 10 to 19 |
Italy | 10 to 19 |
Kosovo | Fewer than 10 |
Latvia | 10 to 19 |
Lithuania | Fewer than 10 |
Luxembourg | Fewer than 10 |
Malta | Fewer than 10 |
Montenegro | Fewer than 10 |
Netherlands | 10 to 19 |
North Macedonia | Fewer than 10 |
Norway | Fewer than 10 |
Poland | 10 to 19 |
Portugal | Fewer than 10 |
Romania | Fewer than 10 |
Serbia | 10 to 19 |
Slovakia | Fewer than 10 |
Slovenia | Fewer than 10 |
Spain | 10 to 19 |
Sweden | 10 to 19 |
Switzerland | 10 to 19 |
Turkey | 20-29 |
Turkey | 10 to 19 |
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts throughout the world on the protection of religious freedoms in their countries; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Defending and promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a longstanding human rights priority for the British Government. Through our diplomatic network, we lobby governments for changes in laws and practices that discriminate against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief. Over recent months, ministers and diplomats have raised FoRB concerns in many countries both bilaterally and through multilateral institutions such as the UN, EU and OSCE. Our Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has held Freedom of Religion or Belief roundtables, including in Lebanon. He met the Polish Foreign Minister on 19 January at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance ministerial meeting to reaffirm their commitments to defend FoRB for all. The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for FoRB has visited Bahrain and the Holy See and has held discussions with the Ambassadors of a number of countries in London and also with a number of other FoRB Special Envoys to see how they can work more closely together to advance FoRB. Ministers have also pressed for the rights of those unfairly detained, including calling for the immediate release of all Baha’is in Iran and Yemen imprisoned for their beliefs.
We have encouraged our diplomatic missions to consider what they can do to engage their host governments where human rights violations and abuses relating to freedom of religion or belief are of concern. We will also continue to work with faith leaders and civil society organisations to tackle discrimination and persecution and to promote the value and benefit - to individuals, communities and wider society - of Freedom of Religion or Belief and mutual respect.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about Palestinian Christians in Gaza being denied permits to travel to worship in Bethlehem or Jerusalem; and what action they will take to preserve religious freedom in the Palestinian Occupied Territory.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to freedom of movement for those wishing to pursue religious ceremonies and purposes. We understand that in April Israel provided some permits for Christians to visit holy sites both in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and outside of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However Israel continues to implement severe restrictions on movement access for Palestinians in Gaza. We regularly raise our concerns about Gaza with the Israeli authorities, urging them to ease movement and access restrictions and work together with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to see long-term improvements to the situation in Gaza. We encourage Israel to continue to promptly issue permits regularly to both Christians and Muslims in Gaza, and uphold freedom of religion and belief for all.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which nationalities were able to use e-passport gates in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) to date in 2019; and which nationalities are planned to be able to access e-passport gates in 2020.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Eligibility to use ePassport gates is currently limited to UK/EU/EEA and Swiss nationals aged 12 and over using an ePassport, and adult members of the Registered Traveller Service (RTS). From this summer, nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States of America will also be routinely eligible to use the ePassport gates.
In respect of RTS, in January 2016, it was open to eligible nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, United States of America, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region only), Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
In November 2016, RTS was expanded to include eligible nationals from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Costa Rica, Chile, El Salvador, Guatema-la, Honduras, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
A further expansion of RTS took place in October 2017 to include eligible nationals from Andorra, Bahamas, Botswana, Holy See (Vatican City), Ma-cao (Special Administrative Region of China), Maldives, Monaco, Namibia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga and Trinidad and Tobago.
We keep the border under regular review and will monitor the impact of the recently announced expansion of eligibility before considering any further expansion to additional nationalities.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Right Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church Commissioners have had on maintaining the Christian community in the Middle East.
Answered by Caroline Spelman
The Church of England continues to work alongside the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem to support the Christian community in Jordan, Syria, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. The Church also partners and engages with development and mission agencies working to support Christian communities overseas. Regular pilgrimage visits are made by parishes and dioceses of the Church of England, mainly to those holy sites that are not in conflict zones and which often involve meetings with local Christians
Westminster Abbey will be holding a special service on the 4th December at which His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will attend to offer encouragement to Christians throughout the region and to celebrate the contributions they make to their communities
The Archbishop of Canterbury made an official visit to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories in 2017, the primary purpose of which was to affirm the Christian community in the Holy Land, to identify and explore challenges relating to religious freedom and to give encouragement to St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. The Archbishop also met with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian politicians during his visit
During the November parliamentary recess I joined a small group of MPs on a regional visit to see for myself the challenges faced by the Christian community in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. We visited a number of projects that are funded or supported by the Anglican Church, including hospitals and schools. Speaking with the different communities gave a helpful perspective on the significant challenges to the daily lives and movements of people.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which member states of the United Nations have recognised Palestine as a state.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
136 UN member states have recognised a Palestinian state. They are: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Antigua & Barbuda; Argentina; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belize; Benin; Bhutan; Bolivia; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cambodia; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China; Comoros; Republic of Congo; Costa Rica; Cote d' Ivoire; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint Lucia; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Slovakia; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Suriname; Swaziland; Sweden; Syria; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Vietnam; Yemen; Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Holy See, which is not a member of the United Nations but has permanent observer status, has also recognised a Palestinian state.