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147342

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the President of Pakistan and the Pakistan High Commissioner in London about the burning to death in Kot Radha Kishan of a Christian couple following allegations of blasphemy.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2746
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>We were shocked by this brutal killing and immediately issued a statement condemning this act. It is essential the authorities investigate these atrocious murders and bring those responsible to justice. We regularly raise the misuse of blasphemy laws with representatives of the Pakistani government. Most recently, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), raised this with the Pakistan High Commissioner on 28 October. We will continue to raise our concerns at the highest levels in Pakistan.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 17/11/2014 16:27:57 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

147343

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
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	Middle East
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 case for providing overseas aid to members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and other Christian communities in Iraq and Syria; and whether they consider that such Christian communities benefit from adequate protection from their governments against ISIL and other Islamic fundamentalists.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2747
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text The UK Government is horrified by the barbaric acts of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which is seeking to stoke sectarian conflict across the Middle East. Across Syria and Northern Iraq ISIL have launched a campaign of violence and terror and carried out appalling atrocities. They have attacked people of every faith and of none. In Iraq we have committed £23 million of humanitarian assistance to help those who have fled ISIL advances. We are working closely with the Iraqi government and our international coalition partners to assist and protect civilians wherever we can. We welcome the commitments that Prime Minister al-Abadi has made to inclusivity, to protecting Iraqi citizens, addressing human rights abuses and holding those responsible to account. The UK has committed a total of £700 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. The Syrian regime is seeking to heighten sectarian tension and fear within Christian, and other minority communities, painting the opposition as solely Islamic extremists, with Assad trying to paint himself as the only defender of the Syrian Christians. He is not; he continues to create the conditions for extremism in Syria by prosecuting a war he can’t win, destroying communities and the social fabric of the country. In the long run the only way to secure the position of Syria’s minority communities is to find an inclusive political solution to the crisis. The UK is determined to support the moderate opposition, who are working for an inclusive political settlement, and are committed to protect all of Syria’s communities and resist, extremists and authoritarian regimes. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 17/11/2014 16:52:23 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

147344

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Middle East
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many refugees from the Christian communities of Iraq and Syria have been received into the United Kingdom in the last 12 months; and whether they intend to review immigration and asylum provisions for such Christian refugees in the light of the continuing attacks upon them in their home countries.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2748
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2014 answer text <p>All asylum claims are considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our international obligations, taking full account of the conditions in the country concerned. The Home Office does not systematically record the basis of a person’s asylum claim or the reason(s) why a person might be granted asylum, and therefore does not have accurate data on how many Christians from Iraq and Syria have claimed or been granted asylum in the UK.</p><p>In terms of reviewing our immigration and asylum provisions, the Home Office has recently updated its country information and guidance on Iraq and plans to do likewise on Syria shortly. The guidance to decision makers – as informed by the accompanying country information – recognises the precarious situation in parts of Iraq under the control of, or being contested by, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It also recognises that particular groups, including Christians, are at heightened risk and are therefore likely to qualify for protection.</p><p>We continue to monitor the situation closely and, as the situation changes and more up-to-date information becomes available, we can and will update the country information and guidance to reflect this.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 25/11/2014 14:32:09 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

147345

registered interest
date	10/11/2014
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	Middle East
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking and intend to take in the future to ameliorate the situation of members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and other Christian communities in Iraq and Syria in the light of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in those countries.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL2749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of communities on the basis of their religion, belief or ethnicity. We are concerned about the growing number of reports of Christians, and other minority groups, being targeted in Syria with many having already fled to camps in Lebanon, Turkey or Jordan. The UK has committed a total of £700 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. Of this, £314 million has already been allocated to help ensure refugees from Syria are supported in neighbouring countries. We are supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, with a view to a future political settlement. We are also funding training for Syrian activists to document abuses to a criminal law standard with the aim that this documentation could be used in a future process of accountability. In Iraq we have committed £23 million of humanitarian assistance to help those who have fled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) advances. Following lobbying from the UK and other international partners, a resolution was passed at the Human Rights Council in September, mandating the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to despatch a mission to investigate and report on ISIL abuses. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met the Archbishop Athanasius of the Syriac Orthodox Church in London on 29 July to discuss the situation for religious groups in the region and issued a statement condemning reported threats against Christians in Iraq and Syria. We continue to encourage influential religious leaders in Iraq to speak out publicly and condemn sectarian violence. answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 20/11/2014 14:28:15 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool