We are concerned by increasing insecurity in Nigeria. While communities of different religions live together peacefully across much of Nigeria, incidents of intercommunal violence occur across many states in the country. These continue to negatively impact on the human rights of communities of all faiths, including Christians. Religious identity is a factor in many incidents of intercommunal violence but the root causes are more complex and frequently relate to competition over resources and criminality.<\/p>
In North East Nigeria, attacks by terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa over the past decade have had a devastating effect on communities of all faiths. These groups attack indiscriminately those who do not subscribe to their extremist views, abusing both international human rights and international humanitarian law including the rights to life, freedom of religion or belief, freedom from slavery and right for children not to be used in armed conflict. Although 2014 saw the greatest number of attacks on civilians, terrorist attacks continue to occur on a regular basis in the North East. While Christians have been targeted by the terrorist groups, the majority of people killed have been Muslim. We condemn all terrorist attacks and are providing a comprehensive package of security, humanitarian and stabilisation support to Nigeria to help tackle the terrorist threat.<\/p>
In January, the Prime Minister discussed insecurity in Nigeria and UK support with President Buhari. Most recently, I raised concerns over intercommunal violence in Nigeria with President Buhari's Chief of Staff in June. We encourage the Government of Nigeria to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of conflict, and for those responsible for human rights violations or abuses to be held to account. We will continue to make clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians, including all ethnic and religious groups, and human rights for all Nigerians.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1559", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir James Duddridge"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochford and Southend East"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Duddridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-01T11:57:54.427Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Nigeria: Christianity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment has he made of the (a) extent of and (b) trends in the level of incidences of persecution and human rights abuses against Christians in Nigeria.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Penrose"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Weston-super-Mare"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "John Penrose"} ], "uin" : "78595"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227241", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227241/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In North East Nigeria, attacks by terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa, have had devastating effects on communities of all faiths, including Christians. These groups seek to undermine the right to freedom of religion by attacking indiscriminately those who do not subscribe to their extremist views. I have made clear to Parliament that the UK Government condemns all attacks made by these groups.<\/p>
In many states in Nigeria, incidents of intercommunal violence have occurred between communities of different faiths and ethnicities. Reprisal attacks by affected communities have also occurred. Religious identity is a factor in this, but the drivers of intercommunal conflict are complex and include competition over natural resources and criminality. We are working with the Nigerian Government to respond to the challenge of resource competition. We have provided technical support to the Nigerian Government for the development of the National Livestock Transformation Plan. The plan aims to promote cattle-rearing in one place, rather than the traditional nomadic practice, to limit competition over land and resources leading to violence.<\/p>
It is vital that those responsible for attacks in Nigeria are held to account. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities, at the highest levels, the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1559", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir James Duddridge"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochford and Southend East"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Duddridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-01T11:49:38.877Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Nigeria: Christianity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential identities of the perpetrators of incidences of persecution and human rights abuses against Christians in Nigeria.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Penrose"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Weston-super-Mare"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "John Penrose"} ], "uin" : "78596"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227242", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227242/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK Government is firmly committed to promoting and protecting human rights around the world. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians, including all ethnic and religious groups, and human rights for all Nigerians.<\/p>
We are aware of allegations of Nigerian military or government complicity in attacks on communities of all faiths in Nigeria. However, we do not assess that there is systemic complicity by the Nigerian authorities in the persecution of any peoples in Nigeria. The Nigerian Armed Forces are deployed in North East Nigeria to tackle the threat from terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa, who continue to cause immense suffering on communities of all faiths. Through our engagement and programmatic activity in Nigeria, the UK Government is supporting efforts to bring about the long-term changes needed to improve human rights compliance. For example, UK capacity building training for the Nigerian Armed Forces specifically includes topics on human rights compliance and rules of engagement.<\/p>
In January, the Prime Minister discussed insecurity in Nigeria with President Buhari. In June, I raised security concerns in Nigeria with President Buhari's Chief of Staff. We will continue to monitor levels of violence in Nigeria, and to push for allegations of human rights abuses to be investigated and for those responsible to be held to account.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1559", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir James Duddridge"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochford and Southend East"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Duddridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-01T13:12:30.927Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Nigeria: Christianity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which Nigerian national or state Government officials have been involved in either preventing or allowing incidences of persecution and human rights abuses to take place against Christians in Nigeria.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Penrose"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Weston-super-Mare"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "John Penrose"} ], "uin" : "78597"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227243", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227243/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In North East Nigeria, terrorist groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa have targeted both Christian and Muslim communities. Despite appalling attacks on Christians, the majority of those killed have been Muslim. Additionally, in many states across Nigeria incidents of intercommunal violence have affected Christian and Muslim communities. While religion is a factor in some incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria, the root causes are more complex and frequently relate to competition over resources and criminality.<\/p>
We continue to call on the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to protect all communities affected by violence in Nigeria and carry out full investigations to bring perpetrators to justice.<\/p>
On 6 July, the UK Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. This sanctions regime gives the Government a powerful new tool to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses, including those who target individuals on the grounds of their religion or belief. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1559", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir James Duddridge"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochford and Southend East"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Duddridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-01T11:29:12.837Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Nigeria: Christianity"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying sanctions to those responsible for committing or allowing incidences of persecution and human rights abuses against Christians in Nigeria.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Penrose"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Weston-super-Mare"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "John Penrose"} ], "uin" : "78598"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227588", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1227588/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK and South Africa enjoy a strong bilateral relationship. Through our High Commission in Pretoria we regularly engage with the South African Government on African Union (AU) and regional issues. The Foreign Secretary has spoken twice with the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, since South Africa became AU Chair, and I spoke with my South African counterpart, Mr Alvin Botes, on 16 July. I also met a number of senior AU officials including Kwesi Quartey (Acting Chairperson), Albert M Muchanga (Commissioner for Trade and Industry), Amira El Fadil (Commissioner for Social Affairs), and Smail Chergui (Peace & Security Commissioner) during my visit to Ethiopia in July.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1559", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir James Duddridge"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochford and Southend East"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Duddridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-01T11:47:09.28Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "African Union"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with President Cyril Ramaphosa in his role as African Union Chair.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4603", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birmingham, Edgbaston"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Preet Kaur Gill"} ], "uin" : "78816"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1226861", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1226861/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK Government condemns all incidents of intercommunal violence in Nigeria; these incidents have had devastating effects on communities of all faiths, including Christians. We have made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights for all.<\/p>