Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding has been disbursed to the Ozanne Foundation via the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office or predecessor departments since 2019; on what evidential basis was that funding released; and what conditions, if any, were attached to that funding.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
LGBT rights are human rights and the UK is committed to championing these rights internationally, supporting those who defend them. The Ozanne Foundation works with religious organisations around the world to eliminate discrimination based on sexuality or gender to embrace and celebrate the equality and diversity of all. Since 2019, the FCDO and predecessor departments have provided the Ozanne Foundation with £207,500, this includes £20,000 for 2023-24. The funding, which was allocated to address the issue of violence and discrimination of LGBT people, has primarily been used for the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT lives which calls for an end to violence and criminalisation against LGBT people. It was announced by the Cabinet Office Minister on 13 May that all future contracts for external diversity spending will be signed off by ministers.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what (a) assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of and (b) representations he has made to his Saudi counterpart on the case of Manahel al-Otaibi.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is closely monitoring the case of Manahel al-Otaibi and the British Embassy in Riyadh will continue to attempt to attend trials where possible. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon regularly raises individual freedom of expression cases with the Saudi authorities, alongside other human rights concerns, including in January with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission. Saudi Arabia remains a FCDO human rights priority country, in part due to continued restrictions on freedom of expression.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of (a) the statement by Amnesty International entitled Bahrain: human rights activist faces trial in further prosecution for protesting travel ban, published on 3 May 2024, and (b) other reports by human rights organisations on that matter; and if he will make representations to his Bharani counterpart on ensuring that human rights are upheld.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO continues to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely and is aware of the report by Amnesty International. We continue to draw upon a range of sources when assessing the situation in Bahrain. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain and to encouraging the government to meet its human rights commitments.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make (a) an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of and (b) representations to his Saudi counterpart on the approval of new death sentences against minors in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO Human Rights Priority Country, in part because of the continued use of the death penalty. The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and circumstances. During Saudi Arabia's Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 22 January, the UK Government recommended that Saudi Arabia abolish the juvenile death penalty and conduct thorough investigations into individuals who may have been minors at the time of their alleged crimes. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has also raised recent cases with the Saudi authorities as a priority, including in January with the President of the Human Rights Commission.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether (a) he and (b) the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (i) have made and (ii) plan to make representations to their counterparts in Georgia on ensuring free and fair elections in that country.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK is committed to supporting Georgia to hold elections that meet international standards. During his March 2023 visit to Georgia, the former Foreign Secretary pledged £500,000 to support election monitoring in Georgia, including £70,000 to support the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights mission ahead of elections expected in October 2024. The former Minister for Europe discussed elections with then Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili during his visit to Tbilisi on 21 November 2023.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of the Women’s Health Strategy; and whether she plans to help tackle disparities in access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ couples.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Women’s Health Strategy is a 10-year strategy. On 17 January 2024, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, set out our priorities for implementing the Women’s Health Strategy in 2024. This statement is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-17/hcws192
Improving access to fertility treatment is a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy. On 15 May 2024, we laid a Statutory Instrument to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act to allow gamete donation for people with HIV, who have an undetectable viral load. It will also eliminate additional screening costs for female same sex couples undertaking reciprocal, or shared motherhood, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. This is part of wider work to improve access to IVF for everyone, and ensure same-sex couples have the same rights as a man and woman when accessing fertility treatment.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Human Rights Watch entitled The Massalit Will Not Come Home: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan, published on 9 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK condemns in the strongest terms reported atrocities being committed across Sudan, particularly in Darfur. Reports of ongoing attacks on innocent civilians by militias, particularly the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing. These acts must stop immediately. The UK continues to pursue all diplomatic avenues to press the warring parties into a permanent ceasefire, to allow unfettered humanitarian access, to protect civilians, and to commit to a sustained and meaningful peace process. Atrocity prevention is one of the pillars of our Sudan strategy and we analyse the conflict on an ongoing and rolling basis. Our policies are under constant review and the FCDO will ensure we take the policy suggestions detailed in the report into consideration.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the government of Iran regarding the death sentences imposed upon Toomaj Salehi, Abbas Deries, Reza Rasaei and Mojahed Kourkour.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the death sentence of prominent and fearless artist Toomaj Salehi. Iran's deliberate attempts to silence dissenting voices are clear for all to see. We call for Mr Salehi's immediate release, and the release of all those who are unjustly detained by the Iranian regime. Mr Salehi's sentence is yet more evidence of unacceptable restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran. Nine people associated with the "Woman Life Freedom" protests have been executed.
The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We condemn Iran's continued imposition of the death penalty on protesters and have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022. We call on Iran to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 April (HL Deb cols 642GC–644GC), whether they plan to provide official development assistance to the government of Pakistan for the purposes of seizing assets of owners of brick kilns illegally using bonded labour so that those assets can be reused for the education and welfare of families trapped in bonded labour.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking anywhere in the world. In Pakistan, our Aawaz II Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme and Asia Regional Child Labour Programme are working with partners, including the Government of Pakistan, to reduce child and bonded labour. Meanwhile, our Girls and Out of School Action for Learning programme is improving education outcomes for marginalised children from the most vulnerable sections of society. The UK is aiming to triple Official Development Assistance to Pakistan this financial year. We will continue to use our funding to support Pakistan's long-term development, focusing on improving human capital (health, education, gender equality), governance and human rights, macroeconomic stability and trade, and climate resilience.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 April (HL Deb cols 640GC–644GC), whether any development funding for Pakistan will be allocated to providing advice and assistance to the government of that country to create a national trust fund to support the education of children from the families of bonded labour.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking anywhere in the world. In Pakistan, our Aawaz II Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme and Asia Regional Child Labour Programme are working with partners, including the Government of Pakistan, to reduce child and bonded labour. Meanwhile, our Girls and Out of School Action for Learning programme is improving education outcomes for marginalised children from the most vulnerable sections of society. The UK is aiming to triple Official Development Assistance to Pakistan this financial year. We will continue to use our funding to support Pakistan's long-term development, focusing on improving human capital (health, education, gender equality), governance and human rights, macroeconomic stability and trade, and climate resilience.