Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of North Koreans who work in Russia as labourers or who have entered Russia to escape North Korean human rights violations; and of the potential contravention of Russia’s international obligations and violation of human rights should North Koreans be repatriated from Russia to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We estimate that there are approximately 20,000 – 35,000 workers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Russian Federation. We do not hold detailed information on the number of DPRK refugees currently in the Russian Federation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 7 March (HL6225) and 8 March (HL6323), and the letter from the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to both Lord Alton of Liverpool and the Department of Health on 7 March, whether there are any principled reasons why copies of the patient information and consent forms submitted to the HFEA by the person responsible in order to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 have not yet been made publicly available; if so, what those reasons are; and if not, when they will place those documents in the Library of the House.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it is has no objections to these documents being placed in the Library. While licence applications and associated documents are not routinely placed in the public domain, inspection reports relating to licence renewal applications and the minutes of the licensing Committee’s decision, which contain lay summaries, are published on the HFEA’s website.

Licence applications may contain third party personal information. On this occasion, a copy of the research licence application and associated documents is attached with third party personal information redacted.

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 whether North Korean citizens are given disproportionately harsh punishments for listening to foreign radio broadcasts than for other comparable offences.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea releases no reliable information about prosecution of offences, so it is hard to make a judgement on the proportionality of punishments imposed for listening to foreign radio broadcasts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate being in a position to reply to the representations made to Lord Bates and to Lord Keen of Elie about Syrian Christian families seeking asylum after the beheading of family members.

Lord Keen of Elie

I understand the Noble Lord is referring to correspondence dated 25 April from a member of the public on behalf of people they believe are at risk in Syria.

I can confirm that a response was sent on 9 May.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the human rights of Christian pastors in Sudan are protected, in the light of the arrests and continuing detention of Telahoon Nogosi Kassa Rata and Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan continues to be an area of deep concern. We have consistently called on the Government of Sudan to ensure all legislation is consistent with the Interim Constitution of 2005; within which religious freedom is enshrined. We regularly attend court cases in Sudan on freedom of religion or belief and through our project work we also seek to support lawyers who take on cases addressing important human rights issues.

Our Ambassador in Khartoum raised the specific cases of Mr Talahon and Reverend Hassan with the Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments and the Sudanese Director of Church Affairs in February. We also raised this issue with the Sudanese Director of Human Rights during the UK-Sudan bilateral talks in March, and again with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April. Furthermore, we continue to raise concerns about the scope of the National Security Act (2010) and the powers it gives the National Intelligence and Security Service. Most recently, we highlighted this issue in our statement at Sudan’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 4 May. We will remain active on these issues.

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 5 April (HL7189), and further to the findings of the United Nations Panel of Experts and paragraph 13 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270, what assessment they have made of the role of personnel from the North Korean Embassy in London in nuclear proliferation activity and sanctions evasion; and whether any representations on this matter have been made to the North Korean Ambassador to the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are concerned by the evidence in the Panel of Experts’ report that officials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to play key roles in facilitating trade of prohibited items. We regularly raise our concerns about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programme and nuclear proliferation with the North Korean Embassy in London. We remind all foreign diplomatic missions in the UK to operate in accordance with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the lessons to be learnt from the flight of refugees from Fallujah and applied to the liberation of Mosul when it takes place; and what assistance will be provided to the minorities from Mosul’s neighbouring towns and villages to ensure that towns, villages and homes vacated by Christians, Yazidis and ethnic Shiites are restored to the rightful occupants.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK is working closely with the United Nations, Government of Iraq and other partners to learn lessons from the displacement of civilians from Fallujah and ensure they are factored into humanitarian contingency planning for Mosul. The UK is also working with the Coalition to support the Government of Iraq in developing plans to stabilise areas, like Fallujah, which have been liberated from Daesh, and by working to provide the governance, services and security necessary to enable the safe return of all communities, including those of minorities, to their homes.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth about recent visits to Rwanda and Uganda by Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not held any discussions with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth on this matter. However we continue to believe that State cooperation, in particular with respect to enforcement of arrest warrants is vital for the International Criminal Court to be effective in fulfilling its mandate to achieve justice for the victims of atrocities. We look forward to future meetings and discussions with the Secretary General on shared priorities for the Commonwealth.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of the practice of forced organ harvesting in China set out in the report published in June by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, and in the film The Bleeding Edge.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) stated to the House of Commons on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round which is scheduled to take place in October. My officials most recently raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on 1 September 2016.

The Kilgour/Matas/Gutmann report is an important source of information about China’s organ transplant system, which we take seriously, but we are unable to substantiate all the evidence presented in the report. We have not assessed any evidence from ‘the Bleeding Edge’, as we understand it to be a semi-fictional feature film.We encourage the Chinese authorities to provide more information about the sources of organs for transplant, and about the implementation of existing Chinese regulations in this area.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 16 June (HL392), whether the British Embassy in North Korea had presented a copy of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to North Korean officials by 10 October.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As stated in answer HL392, the British Embassy in Pyongyang presented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) with a statement supporting the UN Commission of Inquiry’s (COI) findings from the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire). This statement was rejected by the MFA. The DPRK is fully aware of the COI report’s findings, but refuses to substantively engage on human rights issues and regularly denounces the UN COI report as a politically motivated fabrication.