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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of North Korea on reports of widespread rape committed by its military; and whether the UK defence attaché to North Korea will raise this issue with their counterpart.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of the disturbing reports of sexual violence within the Korean People’s Army. We consistently raise our concerns about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) directly with the regime. In June, our Ambassador to North Korea made clear the UK’s position on human rights in a speech in Pyongyang attended by DPRK senior officials. We regularly raise North Korean human rights issues in multilateral fora such as the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council, and will continue to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that North Korean workers are producing garments for Burberry Group Inc.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We have made no such assessment.

The Modern Slavery Act, enacted last year, includes a demanding transparency in supply chains disclosure provision. This provision requires businesses operating in the UK, with an annual turnover of more than £36 million, to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement setting out the steps they have taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or its own business.

The provision obliges eligible companies to publish this information on their website, with a conspicuous link from their homepage, so that consumers, investors and the general public know what steps businesses are taking in this regard.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of stateless children living in China with one North Korean parent.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government has not made an assessment of the number of stateless children living in China with one North Korean parent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has access to North Korean refugees in China; and what steps they have taken to address the specific matter of China’s responsibilities to aid North Korean refugees fleeing North Korea.

Baroness Verma

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not have access to the North Koreans at the border area in China.

We raise our concerns around refoulement – the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution – regularly through our Embassy in Beijing and at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the British Embassy in North Korea has presented a copy of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to North Korean officials; and whether the UK Ambassador to North Korea has held discussions on that report with his North Korean counterparts.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Embassy in Pyongyang continues to raise the Commission of Inquiry report in bilateral discussions with the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and urges them to engage with the international community on the human rights situation in the DPRK. Our Embassy has not specifically presented a copy of the report to North Korean officials, but we have presented North Korean officials with a supporting Written Statement by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures they have in place to identify the occurrence of genocide for the purposes of fulfilling their obligations as a contracting party under Article VIII of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide 1948; and whether there is a protocol in place to guide those procedures.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK is party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 which requires that we prevent and punish the crime of genocide in our jurisdiction. As a State Party to the International Criminal Court Statute (ICC), the UK has made it a domestic crime to commit any of the crimes in the ICC Statute, including genocide. Where such crimes take place in the UK, or are committed by UK nationals, they can be prosecuted before the UK courts. Responsibility for investigation and prosecution in the UK lies with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police.

Our seat on the UN Security Council means that the UK is able to swiftly engage where a threat of atrocity crimes emerges. The form of that engagement depends on the particulars of any individual situation. Where prevention has failed, it is the international community’s responsibility to take collective action, through diplomatic, humanitarian and other means. Where timely and decisive action to end, or prevent, the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes is necessary, the UK is active in calling for UN action. However, the Government believes that formal recognition that genocide has been committed is ultimately a matter for the courts, not political bodies.