Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the political situation in (a) Tibet and (b) Xinjiang.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The FCDO monitors closely the situations in Tibet and Xinjiang. We are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Tibet, including reports of severe restrictions on freedom of religion of belief, Tibetans dying in custody, coercive control, and labour transfer schemes.
We also have serious concerns about the human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang, including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in "political re-education camps" since 2017, systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam, and extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities.
The UK Government continues to raise concerns about the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Most recently, the Prime Minister did so in a telephone call with President Xi on 29 October, as did the Foreign Secretary in her introductory call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 22 October. I personally raised the situation with the Chinese Ambassador to London in our meeting on 15 December.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in the United Nations to highlight human rights abuses in China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has led international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. On 22 June, a global UK diplomatic effort helped deliver the support of 44 countries for a statement on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet at the UN Human Rights Council. This followed a statement by 39 countries at the UN General Assembly Third Committee in October 2020. The UK led the first two statements on Xinjiang at the UN, in 2019 and 2020 respectively, and the FCDO has utilised its diplomatic network to raise the issue up the international agenda. The Foreign Secretary urged China to grant urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or another independent fact-finding expert in a personal address to the UN Human Rights Council on 22 February. We will continue to work closely with our partners and take every opportunity to hold China to account for its human rights violations at the UN.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken in response to the political situation in Tibet.
Answered by Nigel Adams
On 22 February, the Foreign Secretary expressed his deep concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet in a ministerial statement at the Human Rights Council. Officials have also raised concerns with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in recent months. We consistently urge China to respect all fundamental rights in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party. We will continue to raise the situation in Tibet with the Chinese authorities.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the US Tibet Policy Support Act 2020.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of the US Tibet Policy Support Act 2020, which calls for reciprocal access to Tibet and makes it official US policy that the succession of the Dalai Lama should be left solely to Tibetan Buddhists to decide. The UK continues to call for unfettered access to the Tibet Autonomous Region, and seeks a reciprocal, fair and transparent system of access for our diplomats and citizens. British diplomats last visited the Tibet Autonomous Region in July 2019, following a request for access by our Embassy in Beijing. We periodically request access to the Tibet Autonomous Region, but did not do so in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. We continue to raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet with the Chinese authorities, including through joint statements in the UN's human rights bodies, and call on them to uphold the rights of all citizens guaranteed in international law and China's own constitution.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to challenge the spread of technological surveillance in (a) Tibet and (b) Xinjiang.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We regularly raise our deep concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet and Xinjiang bilaterally with the Chinese authorities and at the UN. There is a growing body of evidence of extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang. The UK is committed to promoting the ethical development and deployment of technology in the UK and overseas.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the use of forced labour in (a) Tibet and (b) Xinjiang.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Evidence of forced labour within Tibet and Xinjiang is credible and growing. The UK continues to urge China to respect all fundamental rights in line with both its own constitution and its international human rights obligations. The Foreign Secretary raised concerns about Uyghur forced labour in his intervention at the UN Human Rights Council on 22 February. On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary announced robust, targeted measures to help ensure that British organisations, whether public or private sector, are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang. These measures will target in a forensic way either those profiting from forced labour or those who would financially support it, whether deliberately or otherwise.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese Government on the persecution of Tibetan Buddhists.
Answered by Nigel Adams
On 22 February, the Foreign Secretary expressed his deep concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet in a ministerial statement at the Human Rights Council. Officials have also raised concerns with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in recent months. We consistently urge China to respect all fundamental rights in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party. We will continue to raise the situation in Tibet with the Chinese authorities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they plan to make at the UN Human Rights Council regarding alleged violations of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the government of China, in connection with restrictions on (1) BBC broadcasts, (2) media freedom, and (3) freedom of speech, in (a) China, and (b) Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK continues to take a leading international role in holding China to account for its human rights violations, including by leading the first statement at the UN Human Rights Council on Xinjiang and Hong Kong. On 22 February, the Foreign Secretary delivered a ministerial statement at the Human Rights Council where he expressed our deep concerns about the situation in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to allow journalists to practice their profession without fear or arrest, harassment or reprisal, and to end extensive censorship and control over the media and wider freedom of expression. In Hong Kong, rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of speech, are expressly guaranteed in the Joint Declaration, and must be upheld.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Chinese Government on human rights abuses in state-run re-education camps in Tibet.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We continue to express our concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet both directly with the Chinese authorities and at the UN. We have consistently urged China to respect all fundamental rights in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party. On 22 February, the Foreign Secretary delivered a ministerial statement at the Human Rights Council where he expressed our deep concerns about the situation in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what requests for access have been made by British Embassy and Consular officials in China to (a) Tibet and (b) Tibetans held in confinement; which of those requests for access were permitted; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
British diplomats last visited the Tibet Autonomous Region in July 2019, following a request for access by our Embassy in Beijing. We periodically request access to the Tibet Autonomous Region, but did not do so in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and related reasons. A British Ambassador has not visited Tibet since 2017. Our Ambassador is the UK representative to the whole of China and we believe it is important she is able to visit all parts of the country. We have not requested access to Tibetans in detention. Our consular access is limited to British nationals. However, we continue to express our concerns about the human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region with the Chinese authorities, and call on them to uphold the rights of all citizens guaranteed in international law and China's own constitution.