Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the freedom to receive information inside North Korea, and (2) the number of South Korean and US radio broadcasters that tailor and transmit programming to North Korean citizens.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea found that North Korean citizens are denied the right to access information from independent sources and all media is heavily censored. There are a number of US and South Korean broadcasters that are currently transmitting programming into North Korea, or have recently, including Voice of America and Korean Broadcasting System Korea Global Radio.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that non-judicial bodies such as the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the US House of Representatives are competent to make a declaration that a genocide is underway; and whether they consider that the UK Parliament can do so, and if not, why not.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government believes that recognition of genocide should be a matter for judicial decision. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. Political pronouncements on whether genocide has occurred, such as the European Parliament resolution, are not legally binding and do not create legal obligations on member states.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that North Korean agents have killed the Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of the concerning reports surrounding the murder of Han Choong Yeol in the border region between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However, any investigation will be a matter for the Chinese authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 9 May (HL7870) and further to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea’s February conference on violence against women and girls in North Korea, which found that sexual violence had been perpetrated by the government of North Korea, whether the FCO or the British Embassy in Pyongyang have received representations, or will consider representations, on projects directed at combating sexual violence inside North Korea or the effects of sexual violence in the North Korean diaspora.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not currently run projects directly aimed at preventing sexual violence in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However we continue to support projects aimed at improving the lives of some of the most vulnerable groups in North Korean society. We will consider any applications for projects aimed at addressing sexual violence in the DPRK or its effects among the North Korean diaspora made through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to increase the amount of funding they give to develop hospital infrastructure in South Sudan.

Baroness Verma

The UK is the lead for a multi-donor Health Pooled Fund in South Sudan which has provided over £18 million between 2013 and 2016 to support hospital infrastructure in eight county level hospitals, four state level hospitals and seven faith-based hospitals. A further £6million has been allocated for 2016 to 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they now recognise that a genocide is underway against minorities in Syria and Iraq; and whether the opinion set out in The Sunday Telegraph on 27 March that ISIS are engaged in what can only be called genocide of the poor Yazidis” by the new Foreign Secretary reflects their official position.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

This Government shares the House of Commons’ condemnation of Daesh atrocities against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Iraq and Syria who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.

It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

We are fully committed to working internationally to ensure Daesh is held to account for its crimes. Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That is why the UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition of more than 66 countries and international organisations united to defeat Daesh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue and the EU–China Human Rights Dialogue, and whether they will establish specific benchmarks for progress in those dialogues.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue provides a platform to highlight a wide range of the Government’s human rights concerns to relevant Chinese officials. It also provides an opportunity for frank, expert exchanges on policies as they are applied in the UK and China. In recent years workshop themes have included: judicial procedures; disability rights; and minority languages.

The Dialogue is an addition to, rather than a replacement for discussions in other bilateral and multilateral fora. It is one part of our strategy to promote British values in China, and we do not have benchmarks to measure the Dialogue in isolation. We do measure progress against our overall strategy and we report on it in the FCO Annual Human Rights report.

The EU-China Human Rights dialogue functions in a similar way, and we engage closely with the organisers to share views and objectives. We are confident that the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue is coherent with UK objectives.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and to what extent, the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has concluded that a potentially viable pregnancy with normal karyotype can be achieved through pronuclear transfer based on the accompanying images of the relevant karyotypes in figures or other supporting data presented in Reproductive BioMedicine Online published in October.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that the independent expert panel are currently reviewing the latest evidence of safety and efficacy for pro-nuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer. The panel has not yet reached its conclusions. It is anticipated that the panel’s report will be published by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the priority given to the promotion of democracy and human rights within the UK–Sudanese strategic dialogue; and what assessment they have made of (1) the reliability of the Sudanese regime as a reliable partner with a shared agenda, and (2) the extent to which the strategic dialogue will embolden the regime in Sudan to continue with their current policies.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Improving human rights remains one of our policy priorities in Sudan, and therefore discussions of human rights issues are a key part of the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue. At the last round of talks on 10/11 October, a representative from the Sudan Advisory Council for Human Rights accompanied the Sudanese delegation.

In a number of areas we fundamentally disagree with the government of Sudan; however, in others our interests are much more closely aligned. We assess that direct engagement through the Strategic Dialogue process provides better opportunities to raise issues of bilateral concern, as well as to look at strategic questions such as the resolution of internal conflicts, regional security and migration. We keep this policy under regular review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with other European Union member states about children who have arrived in Europe unaccompanied or separated from family members; what assessment they have made of the vulnerability of such children; and what they are doing to ensure that those children are prioritised for security and shelter.

Lord Bates

The UK recognises the need to provide protection to those fleeing persecution. However, it is an accepted principle that asylum seekers should seek protection in the first safe country they reach. In line with their international obligations, EU Member States have a responsibility to register and process all asylum claims made on their territory, including those made by unaccompanied children. This extends to providing adequate support and accommodation.

The Government has been consistently clear that we do not agree with the relocation of asylum seekers between Member States. We believe it will act as a pull factor, and that it does not address the cause of the problem but simply moves it around the EU. Making an exception for children makes little sense as they are on the territory of Member States who have duties to protect and support them.