Tag: The Lord Bishop of Coventry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of Saudi Arabia’s 2014 Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing on religious freedom in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has been following Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism and terrorism financing legislation issue closely since it started being implemented on 31 January 2014. There has been no change to the limited level of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and we are not aware of any persecution of religious groups through this legislation. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continue to monitor this, including through the annual Human Rights and Democracy report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the freedom of religious minorities in Saudi Arabia to practise their religion or belief in private.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country in which Islamic law is strictly enforced and the public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal. However, the Saudi authorities do accept foreign workers privately practising religions other than Islam. These restrictions on freedom of religion or belief reflect widely-held conservative social values in Saudi society. The Saudi authorities are encouraging reforms but at a pace that is acceptable to its society.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support, financial or otherwise, they have provided to the King Adbdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has not provided support, financial or otherwise, to the King Adbdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the decision by the Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia to uphold the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was arrested as a juvenile, to death by crucifixion for seeking democratic reforms in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government is very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr. We have raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level including by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to Saudi Arabia regarding the use of beheading and crucifixion as criminal punishments.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We believe it undermines human dignity and there is no evidence that it works as a deterrent.

Ministers, our Ambassador in Riyadh, and the Embassy team in Riyadh frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review their commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia in the light of the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr to death by crucifixion.

Lord Faulks

I refer the Right Reverend to the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s statement of 13 October 2015. The bid to provide a training needs analysis to the Saudi Arabian prison service under the Just Solutions international (JSi) brand has now been withdrawn. As has previously been announced, Just Solutions international, the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), has ceased to operate. This is in line with our ambition to ensure the department’s resources are firmly focused on domestic priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the displacement of people from the Syrian town of Kessab.

Baroness Northover

According to UN sources, approximately 1,500 to 1,600 families have been displaced from the city of Kessab.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-05-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the question of human rights and freedom of religion and belief was amongst the range of international issues discussed by the Foreign Office’s Political Director, Sir Simon Gass, when he met senior Iranian officials whilst visiting Iran in April.

Baroness Warsi

Human rights were not amongst the issues discussed by Sir Simon Gass on his visit to Iran in April: his interlocutors did not have responsibilities in this area. However, the UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires discussed human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran on 12 March 2014. He raised the use of the death penalty, freedom of religion and the workings of the criminal justice system. Prior to that, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Iran’s human rights records with Iranian foreign minister Zarif at the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the resources for projects under the Human Rights and Democracy Programme were allocated to the area of freedom of religion and belief in 2013.

Baroness Warsi

In the 2013-14 financial year the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 218 proposals for funding. Seventeen of these proposals were for work associated with Freedom of Religion and Belief (FORB), representing 7.8% of proposals received. Six projects were ultimately funded, to the value of £214,029. This represents 3.3% of the total resource available.

The programme is keen to see more good quality project bids on this theme in future bidding rounds, and have actively encouraged more quality bids for the 2014-15 financial year.