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Religious Persecution

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to seek the release from prison of Pastor Cai Zhuohua. [57992]

Ian Pearson: We regularly raise our human rights concerns, including individual cases, with the Chinese Government. Following the trial of Pastor Cai in July 2005, the UK-led EU Presidency raised his case during the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in October 2005. The EU also raised the case of Pastor Cai and his defence lawyer, Gao Zhisheng in December 2005 and February 2006. The next round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in June 2006 will continue the focus of the UK presidency on freedom of religious belief. We continue to raise individual cases of concern in our engagement with the Chinese Government.

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chinese authorities on religious persecution against Protestant groups in China. [57993]

 
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Ian Pearson: The Government are concerned about limitations on freedom of religious belief in China and the treatment of religious practitioners, including Protestants. We regularly raise our concerns with the Chinese Government. We did so at the last UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in June 2005. I spoke at length about the persecution of Christians in China during a parliamentary debate on 13 July 2005, Official Report, columns 302–308WH. Freedom of religion was a focus of the last EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, which took place under the UK presidency in October 2005. The EU Troika raised freedom of religious practice in demarches on the Chinese Government in Beijing on 29 December 2005 and 15 February 2006. We continue to raise our concerns about religious freedom with the Chinese authorities.

Sino-Tibet Talks

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the latest round of Sino-Tibet talks; whether those talks have been discussed in the context of the UK-China human rights dialogue; whether the UK Government plans to make representations pressing for further progress in the talks and negotiations; and if he will make a statement. [57865]

Ian Pearson: The latest round of talks between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama took place in China on 22 February. We welcome the talks and note that both sides confirmed their continued commitment to the dialogue process, while highlighting some fundamental differences in views and approach. As at the last UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, we will continue to urge the Chinese Government to engage in serious negotiations with the Dalai Lama's representatives, without pre-conditions, to build a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution for Tibet.

St. Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for members of the Royal Family to make official visits to St. Helena over the next five years. [56879]

Mr. Straw: None.

Terrorist Suspects

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries with which the UK has held discussions on establishing a memorandum of understanding for the treatment of deported terrorist suspects; and what the status of the discussions is in each case. [58194]

Dr. Howells: Following discussions with the Governments of the countries concerned, memorandum of understanding (MOUs) have been signed with Libya, Lebanon and Jordan. We are in discussion with a number of other countries, including Algeria, with a view to agreeing MOUs. It would not be in the interest of these discussions to give details of their current status.

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries with which the UK has agreed a memorandum of
 
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understanding for the treatment of deported terrorist suspects; when the memorandum was agreed in each case; which non-governmental organisation in the country will monitor the memorandum; how the independence and suitability of the non-governmental organisation for this purpose was established; and if he will make a statement. [58195]

Dr. Howells: Memoranda of understanding have been signed with Jordan, on 10 August 2005, Libya, on 18 October 2005, and the Lebanon, on 23 December 2005. The appointed monitoring body in Jordan is the Adaleh Centre for Human Rights Studies. A monitoring body has not yet been appointed in Libya or Lebanon. We and the other Government identify potential monitoring bodies according to their expertise, capacity and functional independence. The Government are willing to provide capacity building support to the appointed monitoring bodies to help the body to undertake fully the monitoring role.

Uganda

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Uganda following the recent election. [57132]

Ian Pearson: The first multi-party elections for 25 years were held in Uganda on 23 February. Voter turnout was high and the elections and their aftermath have been generally peaceful. The rape case against the main opposition candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye, has been dismissed.

Our high commissioner in Kampala, as chair of the donors' group in Uganda (the Partners for Democracy and Governance), and his Dutch co-chair have held discussions with both President Museveni and the main opposition party following the elections. We have called on all involved to work within the constitution to embed the evolving multi-party democratic system in Uganda.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in Uganda; and what action the Government are taking to improve human rights in Uganda. [57699]

Ian Pearson: There remains a great deal to do to secure full respect for human rights in Uganda. We are particularly concerned by the situation in northern Uganda. As a result of the long-running conflict, 1.7 million people are living in appalling conditions in internally displaced peoples' camps and over 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army since 1988.

Uganda benefits from an independent judiciary and a relatively free press but concerns do remain regarding restrictions on political freedom and reports of arbitrary detention and torture.

We continue to emphasise the importance of upholding human rights in our discussions with the Ugandan Government. In 2004–05, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided financial support to a Ugandan firm of barristers who were challenging the
 
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implementation and application of the death penalty in Uganda. In June 2005, the constitutional court ruled that mandatory death sentences were unconstitutional.

UK Citizens (Overseas Detention)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2244W, on UK citizens (overseas detention), whether the details of the three individuals are a matter of public record. [58291]

Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 March 2006, Official Report, columns 1690–1691W, in which I provided details about the detention of the four British nationals held without charge for more than 12 months. The details of their detention are therefore, a matter of public record. One of the individuals is Mr. Al Jedda and his case is a matter of public record before the courts in the case of R (on the application of Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali Al-Jedda) v. Secretary of State for Defence. However, for reasons of consular confidentiality, I cannot identify the other individuals.

UN Mechanisms (Gaza)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 783W, on UN mechanisms (Gaza), what information he has received from the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs on the UN's discussions with the UNRWA on the Israeli Air Force operating low-flying aircraft over the Gaza strip. [56146]

Dr. Howells: We understand UN Special Co-ordinator de Soto has raised this issue directly with the Israeli authorities.

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