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1309314

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Christianity: Females
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 steps he has taken to help tackle religious persecution and gender based violence of Christian women in countries around the world.
tabling member constituency	Islwyn
tabling member printed	Chris Evans
uin	181250
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. 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, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.</p><p>The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 23/04/2021 14:00:35 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

1309315

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Christianity: Females
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 steps his Department is taking to support and counsel persecuted Christian women who are stigmatised by sexual violence overseas.
tabling member constituency	Islwyn
tabling member printed	Chris Evans
uin	181251
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. 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, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.</p><p>The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, Lord Ahmad launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 23/04/2021 13:58:49 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

1309316

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Religious Freedom: Females
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 his Department has made of trends in the level of gender-specific religious persecution of women from religious minorities abroad.
tabling member constituency	Islwyn
tabling member printed	Chris Evans
uin	181252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. 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, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.</p><p>The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 23/04/2021 13:57:57 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

1309322

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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: Abduction and 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 support he has offered the Pakistani Government to improve levels of safety at safe shelters in Pakistan for girls who have been kidnapped and forcibly married.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	181269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns on these issues with the government of Pakistan. Most recently, Lord Ahmad raised our human rights concerns, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, with Pakistan's Special Representative for Religious Harmony, Tahir Ashrafi, on 23 March 2021. Lord Ahmad also raised these concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 20 February 2021. Pakistan remains a FCDO Human Rights Priority Country. The UK's Strengthening Rule of Law in Pakistan programme has worked with civil society to develop human rights based standards and protocols for gender based violence shelters in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 23/04/2021 14:04:24 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1309332

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
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 steps his Department is taking to support the creation of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
tabling member constituency	Islwyn
tabling member printed	Chris Evans
uin	181253
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK remains committed to making progress towards a two-state solution. We support the objectives of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and continue to engage with the Alliance for Middle East Peace and Biden administration to discuss the Fund's development.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 23/04/2021 13:46:36 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

1309333

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Iran: Nuclear Power
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 future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
tabling member constituency	Islwyn
tabling member printed	Chris Evans
uin	181254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2021 answer text <p>The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) is the best, and currently only, way to monitor and constrain Iran's nuclear programme. But Iran's continued systematic non-compliance with its JCPoA commitments is undermining the non-proliferation benefits of the deal and jeopardising our efforts to preserve it. In his call with President Rouhani on 10 March, the Prime Minister stressed that while the UK remains committed to making the JCPoA a success, Iran must stop all nuclear activity that breaches the terms of the deal and come back into compliance.</p><p>We are particularly concerned by Iran's announcement on 16 April that it has started uranium enrichment up to 60% using advanced centrifuges. As the E3 said in a statement on 14 April, the production of highly enriched uranium constitutes an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level.</p><p>We continue to work with the parties to the JCPoA and the new US Administration to find a diplomatic way forward that realises the benefits of the deal, and call upon Iran not to take any further steps which violate its JCPoA commitments and make a return to mutual compliance harder to achieve.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 21/04/2021 09:43:37 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

1309341

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Tigray: Human Rights
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 9 March 2021 to Question 161799 on Ethiopia: Violence, if he will make further representations to his counterpart in the Government of Ethiopia on the need for independent, international, investigations into allegations of human right abuses and violations in the Tigray region of that country.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	181413
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>We are deeply concerned at the mounting evidence of human rights abuses and violations in Ethiopia's Tigray region. Since the conflict started, the UK alongside international partners, have consistently called for an end to fighting, and for all parties to the conflict to prioritise the protection of civilians. We will hold Prime Minister Abiy to his statement on 23 March that the perpetrators of human rights atrocities should face justice - whoever they are. Further atrocities including sexual and gender-based violence must stop and an independent investigation of those that have occurred must take place. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights' planned investigations.</p><p>In a joint statement on Ethiopia with 41 other countries at the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, we condemned in the strongest terms the reported killings of civilians. Eritrea's role in the conflict is particularly concerning; there are numerous reports of atrocities involving Eritrean forces, and the presence of Eritrean forces is fueling insecurity. We welcome the announcement, on 26 March by Prime Minister Abiy that Eritrean forces will withdraw and call for this to be swift, unconditional and verifiable - we have yet to see any evidence that Eritrean forces are leaving Tigray and will continue pressing for this commitment to be delivered.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 23/04/2021 14:02:29 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1309383

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Ethiopia: Politics and Government
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 steps the Government is taking to help ensure peace in Ethiopia following recent violence between the Ethiopian Government and protestors.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	181223
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2021 answer text We are concerned by the ongoing ethnic violence and protests in Ethiopia including in the Oromia and Amhara regions. I [Minister Duddridge] raised growing ethnic tensions and the need for political dialogue as long ago as July 2020 when I last visited, including with the President of the Oromo region. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of respect for human rights and credible elections to maintain peace and security when he met with Prime Minister Abiy during his visit to Ethiopia on 22 January. We will continue to champion open and free political expression for all Ethiopians. answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 26/04/2021 08:02:22 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1309384

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Tigray: Armed Conflict
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 steps the Government is taking to ensure that accurate information is available concerning the recent conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	181224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>We are concerned by instances of media personnel being detained or harassed in Tigray and have lobbied alongside the international community to secure their release. We are also concerned about limitations to access, including the revocation of media licenses, and access to information and communication networks. A free and independent media in Ethiopia is vital to protect human rights. The lack of telephone and internet services in Tigray is hampering humanitarian relief and extending the suffering of the 4.5 million people in Tigray in desperate need.</p><p>We continue to raise the importance of political and media freedoms with senior officials, and did so directly with Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke on the 5 March. We continue to call for the restoration of communication services in Tigray. We will continue to champion open and free political expression in the run up to the 5 June elections in the country.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 23/04/2021 14:03:26 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1309406

registered interest
date	15/04/2021
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	Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
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 the Government's plans are to protect (a) human rights and (b) women's rights in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of UK troops in September 2021.
tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
uin	181233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The UK remains committed to supporting Afghanistan on its path to a more peaceful and positive future. We will continue to work closely with the UN, Afghanistan and our international partners to intensify peace efforts as NATO forces drawdown.</p><p>The UK has assisted in the significant improvement in the rights of all Afghans, including women and minorities. Life expectancy increased from 56 years in 2002 to 65 in 2020. There are 8.2 million more children in school now than in 2002, including 3.7 million girls. However, only a negotiated and inclusive settlement will safeguard the rights and freedoms that Afghans want and deserve. We will continue to make clear to all sides that any Afghan-led political settlement must preserve progress, including protection for women and minorities.</p><p>Afghanistan is a focus country under the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. This plan shows how the UK aims to reduce the impact of conflict on women and girls and to promote their inclusion in conflict resolution. It is part of wider efforts to ensure that the UK's foreign policy consciously and consistently delivers for women and girls. The UK has also provided technical assistance for the implementation of Phase 2 of Afghanistan's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (which runs from 2019 - 2022).</p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 23/04/2021 13:57:14 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards