Tag: human rights

Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments to ensure high standard of “safe” countries

On 5th June 2023, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill on the second day of the committee stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments to the bill tabled by Baroness Hamwee, Lord Carlile of Berriew, and Lord Alton of Liverpool that would ensure that, when removing migrants to “safe” countries, the country in question meets high definitions of safety:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: I apologise that I was unable to be present on day one of Committee and I arrived today rather later than I had planned, so was unable to speak earlier. However, I am grateful to my noble friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Coventry for so doing.

Continue reading “Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports amendments to ensure high standard of “safe” countries”

Bishop of Durham asks about the proposed Illegal Migration Bill

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answers on 23rd May 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government whether there have been any changes to asylum screening interviews since 7 March.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con, Home Office): There have been no changes to the asylum screening interview template since 7 March.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about the proposed Illegal Migration Bill”

Bishop of St Albans asks about British citizen imprisoned in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to (1) the government of China, and (2) the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, about British citizen Jimmy Lai.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about British citizen imprisoned in China”

Bishop of St Albans asks about recent executions in Saudi Arabia

The Bishop of St Albans asked about the government response to human rights issues in Saudi Arabia on 16th March 2023, following a Commons Urgent Question on the execution of Hussein Abo al-Kheir and other recent executions in the country:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the whole House acknowledges the contribution the Minister makes in this important area, but there are real concerns as to whether His Majesty’s Government are as intent on addressing these issues. Saudi is part of the Arab Charter on Human Rights 2004, but the problem is enforcement. Even the statute brought in 2014 does not enable enforcement. What representations are His Majesty’s Government making to the wider Arab world to work with colleagues to nudge Saudi in a new direction and stop this extraordinary range of executions, which do not seem to be abating at all?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about recent executions in Saudi Arabia”

Bishop of Southwark asks about closure of UN Human Rights Commissioners’ Office in Uganda

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 7th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked His Majesty’s Government what discussions they will have with the government of Uganda about its decision to close the offices of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in that country in August 2023.

Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about closure of UN Human Rights Commissioners’ Office in Uganda”

Bishop of St Albans asks about UK’s human rights obligations towards migrants

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures they would need to implement to ensure the UK is compliant with international human rights obligations to migrants in the event of withdrawal from the ECHR.

Lord Murray of Blidworth (Con): Further detail regarding the new legislation to tackle small boats will be set out in due course.

Hansard

British Iranian Relations: Bishop of St Albans stresses importance of media and need to support those demonstrating in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on British-Iranian relations on 23rd February 2023, emphasising the importance of holding the Iranian regime to account, and the critical role played by media services such as BBC Persian:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for obtaining this debate, for his superb introductory talk and not least for his powerful call that we should oppose the persecution of Baha’is and Christians. I will raise just two issues in the few moments I have.

First, as we conduct British-Iranian relations, it is vital that we support loudly and clearly those who are demonstrating for their freedoms, in particular those who face the most opposition: the young and the women who are being opposed by their own Government. They are rightly demonstrating for freedom of speech and for their rights to an education and a job.

It is difficult to know exactly how many people have been caught up in the demonstrations although it is widely reported that, so far, between 600 and 800 protesters have been killed, more than 30,000 have been arrested and more than 40 have been executed. Those are probably very modest figures. I echo the question to the Minister from the noble Lord, Lord Alton: what attempts are being made to record the regime’s crimes so that they can be taken to the UN Security Council? What representations have His Majesty’s Government made to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran? Does the Minister agree that Supreme Leader Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi should be held to account?

Continue reading “British Iranian Relations: Bishop of St Albans stresses importance of media and need to support those demonstrating in Iran”

Strikes (Minimum Service) Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich urges government to reconsider legislation

On 21st February 2023, the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich spoke in a debate on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, expressing concerns on workers rights and the broadness of the legislation proposed, and urging that the government reconsider the bill:

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: My Lords, I too look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady O’Neill. There is only me standing in the way, so I will try to be brief.

At Second Reading in the other place, the Government said that the Bill’s purpose was

“to maintain a reasonable balance between the ability of workers to strike and the rights of the public, who work hard and expect the essential services that they pay for to be there when they need them.”—[Official Report, Commons, 16/1/23; col. 54.]

At first glance this might seem a straightforward aim. However, as noble Lords and those in the other place have already said, there is much more at stake here than initially meets the eye. I believe that the Bill in its current form creates more problems than those it perceives or seeks to solve.

There has been a terrible increase in industrial action in the past months. We all reflect on why this may be the case. There are serious and legitimate concerns held by those who decide to go on strike about their well-being, as well as the well-being of the services for which they work and that of wider society.

Continue reading “Strikes (Minimum Service) Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich urges government to reconsider legislation”

Bishop of St Albans asks about links between Chinese surveillance companies and human rights abuses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 7th February 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the Chinese surveillance companies (1) Dahua, and (2) Hikvision; what assessment they have made of any links between those companies and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang province; and what assessment they have made of whether they constitute a security threat to the UK.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about links between Chinese surveillance companies and human rights abuses”

Bishop of St Albans asks about human rights of children in Iran

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 19th December 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of children detained in prisons in Iran.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): The treatment of juvenile offenders in Iran falls short of international standards. The Iranian judicial system is deeply flawed with frequent and well-documented violations of fair trial rights. The use of death sentences against minors is also a regular occurrence. Because of the lack of transparency of the Iranian judicial system, it is difficult to calculate with accuracy the number of children detained in Iran. In recent months, we have observed a significant increase in the rate at which children are arrested and a disproportionate number who have died during the protests. This was also noted by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 17 October. The UK will continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account for its actions.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about human rights of children in Iran”