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630995

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 16 September (HL1729), whether the Department for International Development is planning to fund any programmes that directly promote freedom of religion or belief in Pakistan.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL3014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>Through our AAWAZ voice and accountability programme (aawaz means “voice” in Urdu), DFID works to foster tolerance and social cohesion between different religious groups in 4,500 villages across 45 districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It reaches directly over 3 million poor men, women and minority groups including religious minorities (Christian, Sikh, Hindu and others) to address issues of inequality and discrimination, and to prevent violence. Communities identify potential sectarian and inter-faith based conflicts, mapping out where and when they might take place and identifying who is best at a local level to pre-empt or resolve conflict. This has enabled communities to work across sects and faiths to prevent 193 interfaith/sectarian conflicts and resolve 1,097 community conflicts (water/land and other disputes) through negotiation and compromise, benefitting 4,314,685 people. A successor programme to Aawaz is planned for 2018 onwards, building on successes and learning lessons from this programme.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/11/2016 14:58:29 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

628228

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have raised with the government of Pakistan their duties under Articles 22 (1) and 25 (1) of the Constitution of Pakistan concerning freedom of religion in schools and equality, and whether British aid to Pakistan is being used to strengthen these legal protections for minorities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2963
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. The UK Government raises human rights issues and the rights of religious minorities on a regular basis at the highest levels in Pakistan and we ensure our development assistance targets poor women, men and children, regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. One of the four principles set out in the Partnership Principles Assessment is a commitment by Pakistan to respect human rights, including the provisions of non-discrimination and protection for freedom of religion as laid out in its own constitution. The Assessment provides the basis for regular bilateral assistance talks between the UK and Pakistan. DFID’s education programmes in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which teaches religious tolerance and respect for diversity.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/11/2016 14:59:32 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

628230

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of studies, including those undertaken by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace, which have highlighted material in Pakistani text books portraying negative views toward other religions and countries.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2965
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800 million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality, improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles, and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2966 HL2967 HL3010 HL3013 HL3077 HL3078 question first answered 17/11/2016 14:57:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

628231

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role played by Pakistani textbooks in promoting extremism and intolerance against minority faiths such as the Christian, Hindu and Sikh religions and minorities such as Ahmadis not considered to be Muslims.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2966
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800 million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality, improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles, and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2965 HL2967 HL3010 HL3013 HL3077 HL3078 question first answered 17/11/2016 14:57:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

628232

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Education
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what Department for International Development funds are currently being provided to improve educational standards in Pakistan, including the Punjab Education Support Programme; and whether the support given to the Punjab Curriculum Text Board to ensure positive gender portrayal can be expanded to include positive portrayal of Pakistan’s minorities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2967
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800 million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality, improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles, and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2965 HL2966 HL3010 HL3013 HL3077 HL3078 question first answered 17/11/2016 14:57:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

630991

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last discussed with the government of Pakistan the inclusion of religious hate material in Pakistani text books.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL3010
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800 million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality, improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles, and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2965 HL2966 HL2967 HL3013 HL3077 HL3078 question first answered 17/11/2016 14:57:10 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

630994

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Minority Groups
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board of Lahore to include positive affirmations of the role of minorities in the creation of Pakistan and the 1947 speech of the founder of Pakistan, and of the extent to which affirmation of the rights and equality of minorities is being replicated in other provinces across Pakistan.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL3013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800 million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality, improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles, and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2965 HL2966 HL2967 HL3010 HL3077 HL3078 question first answered 17/11/2016 14:57:11 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

628229

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2016
	answering body	Department for International Development
	answering dept id	20
	answering dept short name	International Development
	answering dept sort name	International Development
	hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Pakistan is a signatory to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; whether they consider that the government of Pakistan is fulfilling its duties under Article 18 of that Declaration; what role British aid to Pakistan plays in promoting respect for diversity and difference; and whether they will reconsider their policy of making none of the British aid programme to Pakistan available for the promotion of Article 18 obligations.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2964
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The UK Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. The UK’s concerns are reflected in the latest update to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights Report, which is publicly available. The UK raises human rights issues and the rights of minorities on a regular basis at the highest levels in Pakistan and we ensure our development assistance targets poor women and men, regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. Although DFID does not fund programmes that directly promote Article 18, we do help to foster tolerance and social cohesion between different religious groups through our AAWAZ voice and accountability programme.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/11/2016 15:00:31 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool