Tag: human rights

Bishop of St Albans leads debate on human rights abuses in China

The Bishop of St Albans tabled a question for short debate in Grand Committee on 17th November 2022, concerning reports of human rights abuses in China:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of allegations of human rights abuses in China.

My Lords, I approach this debate with a great deal of reticence and, indeed, almost reluctance. I have long admired China and the Chinese people, although one should of course acknowledge that the population of China is made up of 56 different ethnic groups. I have long admired their ancient civilisation. Not only is China a country of great natural beauty; it is the nation that invented the compass, gunpowder, paper, moveable-type printing, kites, fireworks, silk, tea and porcelain, to name a few. I will perhaps omit noodles from my list of admirable inventions. My Chinese friends are among some of the most educated, industrious and cultured people I know. China is the fourth-largest country by land mass and has the largest population of any country in the world. Over many decades, we have developed extensive trade links with China, and it is in its interests and ours for us to share in commerce and seek to find common cause for the good of the world.

Yet I feel I cannot remain silent in the face of such a wide range of human rights abuses. Lying behind our profound differences is a vast cultural gulf that was laid bare most recently for me when I read President Xi’s speech at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party last month. He said:

“We will … continue to take the correct and distinctively Chinese approach to handling ethnic affairs … We will remain committed to the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation and provide active guidance to religions so that they can adapt to socialist society.”

He also said:

“We have effectively contained ethnic separatists, religious extremists, and violent terrorists”.

To those here who are familiar with China’s history of human rights abuses, these are worrying words.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans leads debate on human rights abuses in China”

Bishop of St Albans warns of ‘tinkering with human rights convention’ in debate on the Human Rights Act

The Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the 1998 Human Rights Act, on 14th July 2022:

My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, for securing this debate, and for setting out so clearly many of the great benefits that have been achieved through the Human Rights Act. I will not repeat or elaborate any of those here, and perhaps save a moment or two in so doing.

As neither a legal nor constitutional expert, I am not going to delve into the technical side of the matter, but it is clear to me that this is a discussion not simply about the importance of the Human Rights Act 1998 but about many of the concerns—already raised from different Benches in this House—that noble Lords have with the proposed British Bill of Rights. Before I mention some of my concerns, I commend the introduction of the right to a trial by jury in the updated Bill of Rights Bill. But aside from this one welcome measure, it strikes me that there is a very real danger that the new Bill of Rights may remove levels of accountability from government, particularly in areas such as immigration, which I have an interest in.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans warns of ‘tinkering with human rights convention’ in debate on the Human Rights Act”

Bishop of St Albans asks about any potential audits of UK assets held by Chinese Hong Kong Officials linked to human rights violations

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 11th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, if any, to carry out an audit of UK assets held by Chinese Hong Kong officials who are linked to human rights violations.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about any potential audits of UK assets held by Chinese Hong Kong Officials linked to human rights violations”

Bishop of Southwark asks about human rights in Azerbaijan

The Bishop of Southwark received the following written answer on 5th July 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Southwark asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the case of the Azeri imam Sardar Babayev, who has been arrested on a charge of treason, and (2) the state of human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Continue reading “Bishop of Southwark asks about human rights in Azerbaijan”

Bishop of Guildford asks about discrimination against minorities in Pakistan

The Bishop of Guildford received the following written answer on 21st June 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Guildford asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by the National Commission for Human Rights Pakistan Unequal citizens: ending systematic discrimination against minorities, published on 23 May; and what plans they have to use UK Aid to increase employment among young Christians in Pakistan.

Continue reading “Bishop of Guildford asks about discrimination against minorities in Pakistan”

Archbishop of Canterbury asks about the government’s asylum policy

The Archbishop of Canterbury received the following written answers on 24th May 2022:

The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

  • what criteria they will use to determine whether someone arriving in the UK, outside of the authorised channels, is eligible for being relocated to Rwanda.
  • whether families will be split up through the new Asylum Partnership Arrangement with Rwanda; and if not, what evidence they have that the policy will not lead to increased trafficking of women and children.
Continue reading “Archbishop of Canterbury asks about the government’s asylum policy”

Bishop of Durham asks about human rights in Burundi

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 4th March 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the current level of human rights protection in Burundi.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con): The UK Government welcomes steps taken by the Government of Burundi over the past 18 months, which demonstrate greater commitment to human rights including prisoner releases and engagement with some media outlets.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about human rights in Burundi”

Bishop of St Albans tables question on political prisoners in Hong Kong

On 22nd February 2022, Lord Alton of Liverpool asked a question on human rights and political prisoners in Hong Kong, on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Government of Hong Kong about the (1) human rights, and (2) release, of pro- democracy political prisoners remanded in custody under that Government’s national security law.

Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB): My Lords, on behalf of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, and with his permission, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in his name on the Order Paper. In so doing, I declare my interests both as a patron of Hong Kong Watch and as vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong.

The Earl of Courtown (Con): My Lords, the mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have used the national security law to target pro-democracy figures, curtail freedoms and shrink the space for opposition, a free press and civil society. The UK continues to raise its concerns directly with Hong Kong and Chinese authorities. We continue to urge Beijing to uphold its international obligations, including the rights and freedoms protected in the joint declaration.

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans tables question on political prisoners in Hong Kong”

Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments on offshoring of asylum seekers

On 8th February 2022, the House of Lords debated the Nationality and Borders Bill in its fourth day of the Committee stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendments 100 and 101, tabled by Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, that would remove the powers in the bill to “offshore” asylum seekers before the consideration of their claims:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, in rising to support Amendments 100 and 101, to which I have added my name, I declare my interests in relation to both the RAMP project and Reset, as set out in the register.

When people arrive on our shores seeking protection, we have a responsibility to treat them as we would wish to be treated if we had to flee for our lives. It is right that we have a process to determine who meets the criteria for refugee status, but while we determine this, we are responsible for people’s safety, welfare and care. If we move them to other countries for the processing of their asylum claims, I fear a blind eye will be turned to their treatment. How will we be sure that they are being treated humanely and fairly, and would our Government even give this much concern once they had left our shores? If we look to the experience of Australia and the refugees accommodated in Nauru, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, has just mentioned, we hear deeply shocking accounts of abuse, inhumane treatment and mental and physical ill-health.

As mentioned in relation to an earlier amendment, I visited Napier barracks last week to see improvements that have been made since the exposure of the disgraceful conditions at the beginning of last year. If what we have seen at Napier is permitted to happen in the UK, what can we expect overseas, where accountability and monitoring will be so much harder? The monitoring of asylum accommodation contractors in the UK is poor, which gives us some idea about the level of monitoring we could expect of offshore processing.

Continue reading “Nationality and Borders Bill: Bishop of Durham speaks in support of amendments on offshoring of asylum seekers”

Bishop of St Albans asks about monitoring of property owned by businesses suspected of human rights abuses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) audit, and (2) monitor, the commercial UK real estate holdings of companies directly associated with regimes with poor human rights records.

Lord Callanan (Con): Monitoring of individuals, and any companies they may be associated with, for human rights abuses overseas is a matter for FCDO and HM Treasury, under the recently introduced Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Hansard