Asked by Lord Scriven To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
representations they have made to the governments of the Gulf
States regarding human rights abuses in those states. The Minister
of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon)
(Con) My Lords, the United Kingdom Government regularly
discuss human rights with the Governments of Gulf states,
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Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they
have made to the governments of the Gulf States regarding
human rights abuses in those states.
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord
Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, the United Kingdom Government regularly discuss
human rights with the Governments of Gulf states, covering
topics such as reforms and individual human rights cases. Our
objective is compliance with internationally accepted human
rights standards while understanding cultural and religious
differences which affect implementation. Saudi Arabia and
Bahrain are FCO human rights priority countries, where we
prioritise UK efforts including funding specific programmes
and helping Bahrain establish independent oversight bodies.
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(LD)
The Minister will be aware of the Bahrain Government’s
crackdown on human rights activists and their families being
targeted in an attempt to silence them. One such case is that
of Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who is present here today. Sayed’s
family have been tried and sentenced on the basis of coerced
confessions. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has
repeatedly told Sayed to report the issues to the ombudsman
of the Ministry of Interior, who the UN Committee Against
Torture has repeatedly said lacks independence. What
significant actions will the Government take to hold the
Bahrain Government to account for the escalation of violence
and reprisals against human rights activists in the UK and
their families in Bahrain?
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The noble Lord raises an important case, and of course there
are other specific cases that we have raised directly, on a
bilateral basis, with the Bahrain authorities. I assure all
noble Lords that we continue both to monitor such cases and
to raise them on a bilateral basis. We have also extended
support and training to ensure greater independence of
oversight bodies, so that those issues of human rights can be
dealt with domestically. I reassure the noble Lord that we
take these matters seriously and consistently raise them
directly with the Bahrain Government.
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(Lab)
My Lords, in last year’s Foreign Office review of and report
on human rights, Bahrain was identified as a country of
interest. It reported progress, with the Government confident
that the reform agenda would be followed, but, as we have
heard from the previous question, there is now a backward
trend. Can the Minister reassure us that the steps for
progress outlined last year will be fully taken up and that
we will see some change in terms of reform?
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The noble Lord is quite right to raise this issue as outlined
in the human rights report. As I said in my original Answer,
Bahrain is not just a concern but one of the priority
countries when it comes to a range of human rights concerns.
I can reassure the noble Lord that we will continue to focus
on the very priorities that he has highlighted to ensure that
Bahrain remains true to the commitments that it has made with
the international community and in its bilateral exchanges
with members of our Government.
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(Con)
My Lords, I know that my noble friend is a huge advocate of
the human right of freedom of religion and belief. Can he
update the House in relation to specific representations that
the Foreign Office has made in the Gulf states on the rights
of minorities there?
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My noble friend of course speaks with great expertise in this
area. She will be aware that we discuss these matters with
Governments across the Gulf, including with key countries
that I have highlighted already and specifically Bahrain. How
the Shia majority is dealt with by the Bahrain authorities is
a matter that we have raised regularly. We have also
regularly raised with other countries such as Saudi Arabia,
UAE and Kuwait not just minority rights but the rights of
religious minorities in those countries, so that they are
able not only to profess and practise but to propagate their
faith. Among the other areas that my right honourable friend
the Prime Minister has highlighted, freedom of religion and
belief is a specific priority on our human rights agenda.
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(Non-Afl)
My Lords, when will the Government—in fact, all Governments
in this country—stop being so hypocritical on the matter of
human rights in continuing to trade with countries that abuse
human rights? Of course, I give the example of Israel which
abuses the human rights of the Palestinian people, whose land
they occupy, but it applies to many countries all around the
Middle East. It is time that it was stopped and we applied
sanctions until it stopped.
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The noble Baroness raises an important point about human
rights. Looking at the record of successive British
Governments, irrespective of political colour, we can be
proud of the fact that we have been instrumental in raising
these issues. The noble Baroness shakes her head; I do not
subscribe to that. I am a passionate believer in human rights
across the piece and when you look at the progress we have
made, where there have been challenges—at the Human Rights
Council, for example—that has not meant that we stepped away
from our responsibility, including with our friends. The
noble Baroness named Israel. We continue to impress our views
upon the Israeli authorities, and it is because of our
constructive relationship with Israel that we do have
traction. We raise the issue of Palestinian communities
within Israel and particularly in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, and urge that a solution is sought on the basis
of what has been agreed internationally, which is a two-state
solution.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I have here a map showing the worst countries in
the world for attacks on journalists and press freedom. Most
of them are in the Middle East. What representations,
specifically, have our Government made in relation to press
freedom and attacks on journalists in the Middle East?
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We have mentioned Bahrain, but I have been focused personally
on the issue of human rights defenders, particularly in the
area of press freedoms, in another country, which is Turkey.
I can reassure the noble Lord that we have been working very
closely with organisations such as Amnesty International to
ensure that the important principle of press freedom is very
clearly understood as part of the human rights priorities
that the UK Government articulate across the world.
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(LD)
My Lords, Bahrain is the major British base in the Gulf now.
The Government of Bahrain have paid for the expansion of that
base. I must say that I think it is a rather odd
relationship, which makes Britain, in many ways, dependent on
the Government of Bahrain. How far does that inhibit our
Government in criticising the Government of Bahrain for the
way they treat the majority of their population?
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We have, as the noble Lord knows, a range of relationships
and we build alliances. On Bahrain, I think that relationship
is strong. Yes, we do have a defence alliance with Bahrain,
and it is an ally in the Gulf, but because of the strength of
that relationship we are not deterred from raising the issues
of human rights, whatever the abuses may be, candidly, very
clearly and in a very honest manner with our Bahraini
counterparts.
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