Baroness Chapman of Darlington, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL2598):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of China about reports by human rights groups that repatriated or abducted Uyghur refugees are likely to be tortured or executed by that government. (HL2598)
Tabled on: 18 November 2024
This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:
- Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the Assistant United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that deportations of Uyghurs to China are “a flagrant violation of international law”, as reported by The New York Times on 10 November; whether they have raised this issue at the UN Human Rights Council or the UN General Assembly; and if not, why not. (HL2599)
Tabled on: 18 November 2024
Answer:
Baroness Chapman of Darlington:
This Government stands firm on human rights, including over Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts President Xi and Foreign Minister Wang. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account: we joined a statement led by Australia at the UN General Assembly last month, and joined a statement led by the USA at the Human Rights Council in September. Both statements noted evidence of torture in Xinjiang, among other human rights violations. The UK is committed to upholding the principle of non-refoulement and has repeatedly called on other countries to respect their obligations under international human rights law, including under the Convention Against Torture.
Date and time of answer: 28 Nov 2024 at 13:45.
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