Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 February (HL2046), how many civil servants completed the Religion for International Engagement training module in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
222 FCDO officials are recorded as having completed the Religion for International Engagement online training in 2022, and 156 in 2023. The training is also available to other interested civil servants. In addition to this online training module, FoRB is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme, a 2-3 day course delivered in the UK and overseas. In 2023, with the support of the PM's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, two sessions on FoRB were delivered as part of a human rights seminar series open to all staff. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of Chinese Communist Party re-education classes for Catholic priests in the Inner Mongolia region.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continues to monitor the persecution of religious groups in China, including Christians. The freedom to practice, change or share one's faith or belief without discrimination is a human right that all people should enjoy.
The space for religious freedom in China continues to deteriorate. For example, recent new Measures on the Administration of Religious Activity Venues legislation includes widespread restrictions on religious practice such as requirements for priests to conduct sermons promoting core socialist values and Xi Jinping Thought.
The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened. This includes work through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is taking steps to support freedom of religion and belief in Nicaragua.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We share widespread international concern about the suppression of human rights in Nicaragua, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. In June 2023, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Fiona Bruce MP, in her capacity as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, issued an international statement condemning the continued persecution of the Catholic Church by the Nicaraguan Government. In my [Minister Rutley] tweet on 16 January, I welcomed the release of Bishop Álvarez and 18 other clergy from their unjust detention but condemned their expulsion from Nicaragua. The UK calls on President Ortega to fully respect the human rights of all citizens and to unconditionally release all political prisoners.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong on religious freedom; and whether he plans to make representations to his counterpart in Hong Kong on that matter.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The proposed new Article 23 legislation needs to align with international standards and protect the rights promised to the people of Hong Kong. We will monitor the development of the legislation and continue to raise the erosion of rights and freedoms with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary last did so with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to address the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so during his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December 2023. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations. On 23 January at China's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council, the UK again called on China to cease human rights violations in Tibet. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications of the ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union to allow religious symbols to be banned in public sector workplaces for his policies on international religious (a) freedom and (b) expression.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We note the recent Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) ruling on the prohibition of visible religious symbols in government offices.
This case is a matter for the EU and its Member States. We will continue, as part of our wider work on freedom of religion or belief, to monitor the situation of religious or belief communities, including where applicable, as this relates to British citizens working in the EU.
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting mutual respect, here in the UK and internationally. Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a longstanding human rights priority for the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh to encourage the protection of freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (ForB) for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law. The UK regularly raises human rights concerns, including on FoRB, as part of our ongoing dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh. We support FoRB and freedom of expression through our political advocacy and development programme funding. This included funding to Aid Connect for the Freedom of Religion and Belief Leadership Networks project (August 2019 - December 2023) that supported Bangladesh's parliamentary commitment to FoRB. Our support ensured the rights of minorities were respected, and that these groups were protected from discrimination.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of Christians arrested in Iran.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and is aware of the recent upsurge in arbitrary arrests of Christians. At the 78th UNGA, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. The UK is an active member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, where we continue to call on Iran to uphold fundamental rights. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners to promote the rights of Christians in Iran. We also work with our international partners in multilateral fora.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support persecuted Christians in West Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. We monitor the situation for religious and non-religious communities globally, including in Africa, and work with governments, including with the Nigerian Government to promote FoRB. The UK is a founding member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), which is a government-level network committed to protecting and promoting FoRB, including raising awareness and conducting advocacy campaigns on prisoners of conscience. West African membership includes The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in China on the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The British government works with international organisations and networks to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including through the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance. The Foreign Secretary set out his concerns about human rights violations in China during his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December 2023.