Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what representations they have
made to the Government of Iran about the treatment of women
protesters in that country.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office () (Con)
My Lords, the death of Mahsa Amini and all those who have since
lost their lives standing up to the authorities in Iran is,
simply put, a tragedy. We stand in absolute solidarity with, and
in awe of, the extraordinary bravery shown by Iranian women and
girls. The Iranian Government must now listen to their people. We
have made our views clear to Iran in the strongest terms; most
recently, I spoke to Iran’s representative here in the UK on 26
October. We have robustly condemned Iran’s crackdown on
protestors, including at the UN Human Rights Council, the
Security Council and the General Assembly, and we have sanctioned
the morality police and two of its leaders, as well as five other
officials responsible for human rights violations. Our message is
clear: Iran must change course—and change course now.
(Non-Afl)
Will we take advantage of the opportunity of England and Wales
playing Iran in the FIFA World Cup to celebrate the warmth and
vibrancy of the Iranian people, who are browbeaten, and worse,
into living a monochrome existence by a regime terrified of its
own people?
(Con)
I agree that the World Cup provides an opportunity to celebrate.
The fact that Iran is in the same group as two of the home
nations also reflects the fact that football is a real
celebration. In Iran itself, we have seen a real strength and
courage, and a real vision of what the people of Iran want. As we
have said consistently across the years, our fight is not with
the Iranian people. Iran has a rich culture with incredible
people, and it is about time that the Iranian Government
recognised the strength of their own people as well.
(Con)
My Lords, I am the only Member of your Lordships’ House who has
been blacklisted by the Iranian regime, which is a badge of
honour that I wear with pride. Two weeks ago, I asked two
questions: why have we not proscribed the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps and why have we not taken a lead at the United
Nations to ensure that Iran is immediately suspended and removed
as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women? I now add a
third question: why, two weeks later, has the FCDO not taken any
action? Why are we quick to speak and condemn, but oh so slow to
take meaningful action?
(Con)
My Lords, first, I pay tribute to my noble friend’s work in this
regard. On his first question, on the IRGC, of course it is a
despicable organisation and we have continued to see that that is
the case. Of course, I know the strength of feeling in your
Lordships’ House and, as I cannot speak specifically to any
future proscription, I note the strength of feeling, which very
much reflects my own personal views in this respect.
On the issue of the CSW, I apologise—that is something that the
FCDO has specifically led on. I assure my noble friend that in
the past two weeks—how can I put it?—a change has yet again been
part of government, and we have seen a new Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, I assure my noble friend that on the CSW I directed
officials immediately, and we are working very closely, hand in
glove, with the United States and other partners to ensure the
removal of Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status
of Women. It cannot be right that Iran continues to be part of
that body.
(LD)
My Lords, the young women of Iran are an inspiration, but the
Iranian regime is profiting from additional oil sales and it was
confirmed this week that a major buyer of Iranian oil is India.
At the very same time, the UK is offering wider market access to
the very financing institutions that are purchasing this oil,
circumventing UN sanctions. Does the Minister agree that we are
not doing the women of Iran a service if we are turning a blind
eye to our friends who are supporting the regime by making it
more profitable?
(Con)
My Lords, I assure the noble Lord that we are not turning a blind
eye, whether on the issue of Iran or the issue of Ukraine. There
are countries, partners and friends of ours that have different
perspectives. I cannot speak to their foreign policy, but I can
assure the noble Lord that we are robust in putting to them the
United Kingdom’s position, and our position on Iran is of course
very clear.
(Lab)
My Lords, I recognise what the Government have been doing,
particularly at the United Nations, and I recognise what we have
been doing Government to Government. However, the real issue here
is how we support those very people who are on the street, how we
support civil society and how we amplify those voices. Faith
leaders need to be heard across the board, as do civil society
organisations globally. Can the Minister assure us that we are
supporting those organisations so that it is the people’s voices
that are heard, not simply those of Governments?
(Con)
I can give the noble Lord that assurance. I lead on the freedom
of religion or belief, and indeed on engagement with civil
society, and the noble Lord knows how important and central they
are to my thinking and policy-making. On Iran specifically, I am
looking to schedule a meeting with some of the key faith leaders
here. What is being done on the ground there is not about
religion; it is pure abuse of the rights of women and it must
stop.
(Con)
My Lords, should we not also note that not only is Iran
persecuting its own people, especially women, it is also
supplying drones that are destroying the infrastructure of the
Ukrainian people? Has my noble friend communicated that to the
Iranian envoy in this country?
(Con)
My Lords, I assure my noble friend that we have been very robust.
He raises a very important issue and colleagues in both the FCDO
and the Ministry of Defence have made that case very
powerfully.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister is a strong and sincere advocate for human
rights at home and across the world. Just yesterday, a young
woman reporter covering a protest for her media outlet was
detained by the police for seven hours without interview before
being released. That happened not in Iran but on the M25. Is it
really time to be increasing police powers and scrapping our
Human Rights Act?
(Con)
My Lords, I speak both for the Government and the FCDO. I thank
the noble Baroness for her kind remarks about me personally. The
issue of media freedom both at home and abroad is an important
one. The United Kingdom has led on this; indeed, I was in Vienna
on Friday discussing this very issue of protection of
journalists. I do not know the full details of that specific
case, but I am sure that my colleagues in the Home Office will
have noted it and I will ensure that the noble Baroness gets a
reply in that respect.
The Lord
To follow up on that, it was reported earlier this week that the
lives of two British-Iranian journalists were at risk due to
lethal threats from Iran following their coverage of the protests
for the news channel Iran International. Will the Government take
steps to condemn these threats and encourage the freedom of the
press in Iran?
(Con)
My Lords, we will and I do so now.
(GP)
My Lords, the Minister mentioned that sanctions had been put on
some of the morality police and others. What were those
sanctions? Could there not be sanctions on much higher-profile
people, such as the ruling caste?
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness rightly raises the issue of
sanctions. The sanctions are consistent in their application in
terms of travel bans, finances and bank accounts held. She will
know that I cannot speculate on future sanctions policy, but I
assure her that we are considering very carefully every element
and tool at our disposal in our response to Iran.
