Contributions
3,506 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFCO Support for Persecuted ChristiansOn a lighter note, this is the second day running that I have been asked about post-imperial guilt. The irony is not lost on me. On standing up for persecuted Christian minorities…24 Jul 2019HANSARDCouncil of Europe: House of Lords Members’ ContributionMy Lords, I join all noble Lords in thanking my noble friend Lord Balfe for securing this timely debate. Let us not forget that, in the year that the Council of Europe marks its…24 Jul 2019HANSARDFCO Support for Persecuted ChristiansMy Lords, the Bishop of Truro’s independent review of FCO support for persecuted Christians proposed a series of ambitious recommendations, which the British Government have…24 Jul 2019HANSARDBahrainAs the noble Lord will know, we regularly raise the cases he has related, as well as other cases, bilaterally with the Bahrainis. On the support we give various bodies, including…24 Jul 2019HANSARDFCO Support for Persecuted ChristiansI thank the noble Lord. There is the thought for the afternoon. I am grateful for his work in this area and agree with him. I was the Prime Minister’s envoy on freedom of religion…24 Jul 2019HANSARDFCO Support for Persecuted ChristiansOn the noble Lord’s second point on the UN Human Rights Council, we have made sure, through repeated UPRs on every country, that freedom of religion or belief is a specific…24 Jul 2019HANSARDFCO Support for Persecuted ChristiansI totally agree with the right reverend Prelate.24 Jul 2019HANSARDBahrainI took slight licence with the previous Question as I knew I would be answering this Question as well. The UK’s position is that Bahrain remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office…24 Jul 2019HANSARDBahrainI am delighted that the noble Baroness noticed my photograph, so I thank her for that. On the more pertinent and important issue of the guidance, I think it was right that we…24 Jul 2019HANSARDHong KongI assure my noble friend that we have made our position very clear bilaterally on the persecution of the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. We have continued to make that…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityMy Lords, I agree with my noble friend’s comments, and I am sure he will agree with me that my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has prioritised this issue not just at…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityI am also the Prime Minister’s envoy on freedom of religion or belief. Religion or faith is for all of humanity and, whatever faith it may be, it teaches not just tolerance but…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityThe noble Lord is right: it was not in the last communiqué or the one before that, and it is unlikely to be in the Kigali one because, as he will know, the Commonwealth takes…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityWe of course welcome the application from the Maldives, and I have met the Maldives Foreign Minister. Their application is being processed and we all hope that it will be…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityI totally agree with my noble friend.23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityMy Lords, at last year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Prime Minister announced a £5.6 million programme to assist member states seeking to reform legislation that…23 Jul 2019HANSARDHong KongI totally agree with the noble Lord. That principle applies not just in China, but anywhere around the world. On the specific issue of the identity of those people committing the…23 Jul 2019HANSARDHong KongI agree with the noble Lord on his final point; we have seen Hong Kong’s two-systems policy work well. We have been calling for these protests, on all sides, to uphold the rule of…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityI assure the noble Lord that I regularly raise every element of human rights in my interactions with Ministers in other departments, particularly those with a trade focus. As we…23 Jul 2019HANSARDCommonwealth: Decriminalising HomosexualityThe noble Baroness is right to raise that. I think that the legislation has been tested recently, and we should welcome the review of the courts. Regarding the legacy of the old…23 Jul 2019