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1135687

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Royal Visits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, during their forthcoming visit to Pakistan, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit (1) the slums inhabited by the minority Christian community, and (2) members of Shahbaz Bhatti’s family.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16780
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>​The details of the programme for the visit by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Pakistan have not yet been agreed. For security reasons, we would not in any case comment on details in advance of the visit.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:37:10 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135688

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Minority Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last raised the plight of minorities in Pakistan with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; what response they received; and whether they asked the Secretary-General to raise continued human rights violations with the government of Pakistan.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to be in close contact with the Commonwealth Secretariat on its support to member states to live up to the commitments to tolerance, to human rights, good governance and the rule of law set out in the Commonwealth Charter.</p><p>In addition, the British Government will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, and to uphold the rule of law.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:38:46 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135689

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Pakistan: Blasphemy
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 sentencing of Shagufta Kauser and her husband to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy; what assessment they have made of whether Shagufta Kauser is (1) from a Christian minority, and (2) illiterate; what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on her behalf; what response they have received to these representations; and what estimate they have made of the number of people currently facing the death sentence in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to monitor the case of Shagufta Kauser and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel who were sentenced to death in April 2014. We understand that Shagufta Kauser is of the Christian faith and we are aware of media reports stating that she and her husband are both illiterate.</p><p>We regularly raise our concerns about the misuse of the blasphemy laws with the government of Pakistan at a senior level. The harsh penalties for blasphemy, including the death penalty, add to these concerns. We remain firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have repeatedly called upon the Government of Pakistan to end capital punishment and, as a minimum, commit to publicly renewing the previously imposed moratorium on the death penalty. Concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief and the protection of minority religious communities were raised with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during a ministerial visit to Islamabad in February.</p><p>We do not hold figures for individuals on specific charges overseas. According to the US State Department 2018 Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief, at the time of publication, 77 individuals were imprisoned in Pakistan on blasphemy charges, 28 of whom had received death sentences.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:41:26 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1135690

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	China: Prisoners
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to updating their travel advice for China to include the findings of the Independent Tribunal into Forced Organ Harvesting from Prisoners of Conscience from China, published on 17 June.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16783
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>We do not intend to update our travel advice to include the findings of the recent report by the pressure group “The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China”. We have reviewed the report and at present, our assessment remains that there is not a strong enough evidential base to substantiate the claim that systematic state-sponsored or sanctioned organ harvesting is taking place in China. We continue to keep this issue under review.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/07/2019 14:42:02 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1134670

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Eritrea: Health Centres
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the letter of 20 June from Lord Alton of Liverpool to Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and to the Minister of State for Africa about the enforced closure of Church-run health facilities in Eritrea; what assessment they have made of the effect of such closures on the health and well-being of the people of Eritrea; whether they have made representations to the government of Eritrea about those closures; and if so, what response they have received.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>We can confirm that the letter of 20 June has been received and will be answered within 20 days in accordance with Cabinet Office Guidance.</p><p>Whilst the Eritrean Government has a good track record on the provision of basic healthcare, we do not believe that using the military to force closure, or take charge of health centres managed by the Catholic Church is proportionate. We have raised our concerns with the Eritrean Government, about the approach they are taking, and will continue to seek opportunities to engage on this issue and monitor the situation. As Eritrea is a priority country under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Reporting, we raise concerns about human rights in Eritrea regularly, both direct with the Government, – as the Minister of State for Africa did with the Eritrean Foreign Minister when she last saw him in September 2018 – and in international fora.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 04/07/2019 14:51:32 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1133450

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	NHS: Negligence
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 Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers’ proposed alternative to the Clinical Negligence Fixed Costs Working Group; and which Ministers are responsible for considering the issue of fixed costs in clinical negligence claims.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>In 2017 the Department consulted on proposals for fixed recoverable costs (FRC) in claims of up to £25,000 damages, for which claimant legal costs are most likely to be disproportionately high relative to damages awarded. The Department published a summary of responses to the consultation in February 2018.</p><p>Following the consultation by the Department in 2017 and Sir Rupert Jackson’s recommendation in July 2017 to control the legal costs of these cases, the Department and the Ministry of Justice commissioned the independent Civil Justice Council (CJC) to draw up a new process for clinical negligence claims of up to £25,000 damages, with proposals for FRC for these cases.</p><p>The CJC has set up a working party to develop proposals, with input from claimant and defendant solicitors, including the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers. The Department will consider the CJC’s recommendations when its report is published and will consult on any resulting proposals for FRC for these cases before implementation.</p><p>In view of the CJC’s role to lead work on proposals taking account of stakeholder views, the Department has not made its own assessment of the proposals from the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers.</p><p>The Minister of State for Care (Caroline Dinenage MP) is responsible for clinical negligence policy.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 02/07/2019 15:11:26 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1133027

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	North Korea: Refugees
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with the government of China the right of North Korean refugees to resettle in the Republic of Korea.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>We continue to emphasise to China that people fleeing North Korea should be treated as legitimate asylum claimants and should not be returned as stipulated by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. We raised the principle of non-refoulement at the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue in June 2017. We also make clear our concerns to China on individual cases as appropriate.</p><p>We have not specifically raised the resettlement of North Korean refugees in the Republic of Korea with the Chinese Government.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/07/2019 13:20:02 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1133028

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Omar al-Bashir
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 June (HL15969), why, following his indictment by the International Criminal Court, Omar al-Bashir is not subject to financial measures in the UK; and whether, in the light of his removal as President of Sudan and imprisonment, they will review this decision.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>Former President Omar al-Bashir is not subject to financial measures in the UK. We do not have any information that former President Bashir has assets in the UK. The UK currently implements financial sanctions through the UN and the EU. There is a mixture of UN and EU sanctions regimes in place for Sudan and its citizens. Following the removal of Bashir and recent events we are, with international partners, considering how we can hold Sudanese regime figures accountable for serious abuses. We are seeking information on financial flows relating to Bashir's overthrow, and will act accordingly.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/07/2019 13:20:39 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1133029

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Sudan: EU Immigration
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) whether the UK's financial contributions to the Khartoum Process have funded the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces, and (2) what assessment they have made of reports that the Rapid Support Forces sold migrants to Libyan human traffickers and abused migrants' fundamental human rights.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16447
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>The purpose of the Khartoum Process is to facilitate an EU-Africa dialogue on managing migration, combatting organised immigration crime and addressing the effects of trafficking in the Horn and North Africa. It is called the Khartoum Process because the agreement was signed in Khartoum but it is not specific to Sudan. The UK's financial contributions to the Khartoum Process have not funded the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces. EU funded work on the Regional Operations Centre Khartoum is currently suspended.</p><p>The UK is aware of reports that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces sold migrants to Libyan human traffickers and abused migrants' fundamental human rights, but is not able to verify their veracity. The British Government has been clear on the need to do more to break the business model of people smugglers, and is taking steps to try to improve the situation in Libya. This includes working with the Government of National Accord to build the capacity of their law enforcement agencies, and taking steps to tackle the organised crime groups who facilitate the travel from source countries to Europe and the United Kingdom. In June 2018, the UK co-designated UN sanctions against six Libyan and Eritrean traffickers along with France, the US, Germany and the Netherlands.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/07/2019 14:10:36 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1133030

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Horn of Africa: EU Immigration
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 UK's role in staffing the Regional Operation Centre in support of the Khartoum Process and AU Horn of Africa Initiative, in the light of reports that it shares intelligence with the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services which was involved in the violence in Khartoum on 3 June.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL16448
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK does not have a direct role in staffing the Regional Operations Centre Khartoum (ROCK) project. Between February 2017 and March 2019 the UK funded directly one technical consultant to support the ROCK to reach its initial operating capacity. The UK contributes around 15% of the EU Trust Fund as a standard assessed contribution. That in turn, funds the ROCK, and we are part of the project’s Management Board, which will continue to scrutinise the ROCK’s operations. However, due to recent events in Sudan, EU funded work on the ROCK is suspended.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/07/2019 14:12:08 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool