Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1348272

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	China: Detainees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of claims by UN experts on 14 June 2021 that they had obtained credible information that (a) detainees from minority communities in China may be being subjected to forced organ harvesting and (b) that specific ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities in detention appear to be targeted.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	35688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>We have taken note of the statement published by UN experts on 14 June expressing concern about alleged organ harvesting targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China. We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practice, change or share one's faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We continue to monitor the issue of alleged organ harvesting closely and consider carefully all evidence presented to us. We regularly raise our concerns about human rights with the Chinese authorities, and will continue to do so.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 22/07/2021 08:58:06 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1348276

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Africa: Religious Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s factsheet entitled Nonbelievers in Africa published on 11 June 2021, what assessment his Department has made of the scale of challenges faced by non-religious people in Africa.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	35689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>We have taken note of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's factsheet entitled Nonbelievers in Africa. Protecting freedom of religion or belief for all faiths, and none, remains a priority for the UK Government. Members of non-religious communities continue to be victims of harassment and persecution, despite progress over recent years with the promotion of freedom of religion or belief for all. The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the severity and scale of violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all in many parts of the world, including in Africa. As the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon underlined these points at the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group Annual General Meeting on 24 May.</p><p>Lord Ahmad works closely with the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP. In addition to championing FoRB, Mrs Bruce represents the UK at meetings of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to advocate for the rights of individuals being discriminated against or persecuted on the basis of their faith or belief, including members of non-religious communities.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 22/07/2021 16:26:27 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1341111

registered interest
date	28/06/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Sewage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made for the implications for his policies of the report by Aid to the Church in Need, published 23 June 2021, on the refusal of the Water and Sanitation Agency in Pakistan to close a sewage plant next to the New Covenant School System in the Punjab.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	23216
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2021 answer text <p>We have not engaged on decisions about this sewage plant, which is a matter for local environmental authorities. The UK's policy towards freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Pakistan remains unchanged. We are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities around the globe. Pakistan is one of the FCDO's human rights priority countries and protecting FoRB is an integral part of our engagement on human rights in Pakistan. The UK Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 01/07/2021 16:39:08 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1341113

registered interest
date	28/06/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	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 findings of the Aid to the Church in Need, published 11 June 2021, that Islamist groups in Pakistan are inciting violence towards Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel who were recently acquitted after being on death row for blasphemy.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	23218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2021 answer text <p>The UK Government welcomes the recent acquittal of Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel by the Lahore High Court. We remain concerned about the use of blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which are only compatible with international human rights law in narrow circumstances. It is our longstanding policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.</p><p>We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about human rights with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently on 23 and 24 June during a visit to Pakistan, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon raised our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Imran Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari. Lord Ahmad also met with minority communities during the visit to understand better their concerns and the challenges they face.</p><p>We will continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly the most vulnerable, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 01/07/2021 16:32:06 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1254985

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Forced Marriage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Pakistan on the recent spate of kidnappings of young and underage Christian and Hindu girls who have been forced to convert to Islam and marry their abductor.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	120055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2020 answer text <p>We are concerned about women's and girls' rights in Pakistan and ongoing reports of forced marriage and forced conversion of Hindu, Christian and Sikh women and girls. The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls from religious minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief, women and girls' rights and gender equality with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. On 19 October, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised our concerns about child, early and forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls, including those of religious minorities, with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari. In addition, Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief with Dr Mazari on 16 November.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 30/11/2020 17:18:03 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1254991

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Forced Marriage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the level of kidnapping, forced conversion and marriage of Christian and Hindu girls to their older male abductors in Pakistan on the Government’s allocation of Official Development Assistance to that country; and whether his Department has had discussions with the Government of Pakistan on that matter.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	120056
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2020 answer text <p>We are concerned about women's and girls' rights in Pakistan and ongoing reports of forced marriage and forced conversion of Hindu, Christian and Sikh women and girls. The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls from religious minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief, women and girls' rights and gender equality with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. On 19 October, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised our concerns about child, early and forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls, including those of religious minorities, with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari. In addition, Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief with Dr Mazari on 16 November.</p><p>Pakistan is one of the UK's top development priorities and currently the second largest bilateral aid programme with a total of £257.369 million disbursed in 2019-20. This includes support for policy reform at federal and provincial levels to strengthen child protection laws to prevent child marriage. We are also supporting the creation of child courts which will ensure that issues affecting children, including child marriage, are more effectively dealt with in the legal system. Our aid relationship with any government is based on an assessment of commitment to our Partnership Principles, including human rights. While we will continue to raise human rights as a concern in our dialogue with the Government of Pakistan, including at our annual Bilateral Assistance Talks, it would not be fair for the poorest to suffer from a withdrawal or reduction of UK support.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 30/11/2020 17:07:10 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1254993

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Religious Freedom: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on levels of persecution of (a) women and girls from minority faith communities and (b) religious communities around the world.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	120057
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2020 answer text <p>The UK remains deeply concerned by the severity and scale of violations and abuses of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in many parts of the world. Defending the right to FoRB for all is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We continue to assess the impact of COVID-19 on human rights globally, including members of all minority religious and belief communities. We recognise that women and girls from religious minorities can often suffer because of both their gender and their faith. That is why we ensure our human rights policy work considers the intersectionality of human rights, for example the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities. We are concerned by the secondary effects of the pandemic, including incidents of hate speech; reports that some Christian communities have been denied access to aid and, and the rise in conspiracy theories that certain faiths or beliefs are to blame for the pandemic. The UK will continue to refute these divisive and harmful claims.</p><p>The UK has called for states to ensure that any restrictions put in place to protect public health, including the right to FoRB, are necessary, proportionate and time-limited. The Minister of State for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged states to take steps to mitigate the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society, including religious and belief minorities, during the UK's closing statement at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July. On 16 November, Lord Ahmad virtually attended the Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief in Warsaw where he reaffirmed the UK's commitment to promoting FoRB within the pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 30/11/2020 17:05:06 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1254994

registered interest
date	24/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Religious Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Pew Research Center’s 11th annual study of restrictions on religion published on 10 November 2020, that Government restrictions on religion rose to a record high in 2018; and what steps he is taking to tackle restrictions on religion in the (a) Middle East, (b) North Africa and (c) Asia.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	120058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2020 answer text <p>We have seen the Pew Research Centre's 11th annual study of restrictions on religion and are concerned by its findings. The UK is committed to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We remain deeply concerned about violations and abuses of FoRB in many parts of the world, including the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with governments, including at Ministerial level. The Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad (Tariq) of Wimbledon, underlined the UK's commitment to FoRB for all in a number of international meetings earlier this month, speaking at the Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Ministers' Forum of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.</p><p>The Magna Carta Fund for human rights has been used to fund a series of projects around the world, including projects to combat intolerance. The FCDO has also supported research projects in a diverse range of geographic regions, including Asia and the Middle East. These projects have provided the Government with specific recommendations on how we might tackle the problem of persecution as it affects particular countries or groups</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 30/11/2020 17:20:09 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara

1237482

registered interest
date	24/09/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Nguyen Bac Truyen
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Vietnamese counterpart for the release of Nguyen Bac Truyen from detention in that country.
tabling member constituency	Argyll and Bute
tabling member printed	Brendan O'Hara
uin	95100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2020 answer text <p>The UK is concerned by restrictions on freedom of expression in Vietnam. We regularly raise these issues in international fora and in bilateral contacts with the Government of Vietnam. We are concerned by prison conditions, which are affecting many inmates, including prisoners of conscience.</p><p>We raised concerns about freedom of expression and assembly, the treatment of prisoners, and the protection of civil society, during Vietnam's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2019. We also expressed our concern about restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly in Vietnam in a UN Human Rights Council Item 2 Statement in September 2020. In January, the British Embassy in Hanoi met the Inter-faith Council of Vietnam to understand the restrictions religious groups in Vietnam have faced. Also in January, the former Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised the UK's concerns about human rights with the Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister during her visit to Vietnam.</p><p>We also raise individual cases of concern, including members of the Hoa Hao Buddhist movement who have faced repression. We have raised and will continue to raise our concerns in relation to Vietnam's UPR implementation plan.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 29/09/2020 14:22:53 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4371 label Biography information for Brendan O'Hara