The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Mr. Hugo SwirePhotograph: Parliament TV |
The following are details of a debate on Bangladesh in the UK House of Commons, May 24, 2016.
Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Ind):
What recent discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi
counterpart on the protection of human rights in that country. [905038]
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab):
What representations he has made to the Government of
Bangladesh on violence towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in
that country. [905044]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Hugo Swire):
I would like to start by expressing my condolences to the
families of those who lost loved ones and homes to Cyclone Roanu over the
weekend. I welcome the strong leadership shown by the Government of Bangladesh.
I raised my concerns about human rights and violence against
LGBT people again this morning with the Bangladeshi high commissioner. The
Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon.
Friend the Member for New Forest West (Mr Swayne), raised this with the Prime
Minister of Bangladesh during his visit there in August 2015.
Simon Danczuk:
With extra-judicial killings, disappearances of political
opponents and fraudulent elections, Bangladesh is quickly becoming a failed
state. Does the Minister not think that it is time to start applying some form
of sanctions to try to get Sheikh Hasina to hold a proper general election as
soon as possible?
Mr Swire:
Like all those in this House, I was absolutely appalled by
the senseless murders of the LGBT activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy, and
we call on the Bangladeshi Government to bring those responsible for the
killings to justice. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Extremist-related
murders of members of minority religious groups and those whose views and
lifestyles are contrary to Islam have increased in Bangladesh since February
2015, and we are discussing this regularly with the Government of that country.
Alex Cunningham:
The Minister has said that he has talked to the Bangladeshi
Government, but does he really think that that Government are taking sufficient
steps to tackle the issue of violence against LGBT people?
Mr Swire:
Clearly I do not. We have a certain amount of leverage in
Bangladesh—we are the largest grant aid donor, giving £162 million in
2015-16—so our voice has some influence there. In the past year our human
rights and democracy programme has provided safety training for bloggers, and
we have also funded a project promoting the rights of LGBT groups in
Bangladesh, but there is a huge amount more to do. We are not shy of pushing
the Government of Bangladesh in the right direction, but sometimes it takes a
little bit of time and persuasion.
Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con):
The human rights of secularists in Bangladesh are
threatened. Last month, Nazimuddin Samad, a law student in Dhaka, was killed
for blogging, “I have no religion.” Will my right hon. Friend raise this with
his Bangladeshi counterparts and ensure that secularists’ rights are also
protected in Bangladesh?
Mr Swire:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There was not only the
Daesh-claimed killing on 9 April in Dhaka of Nazimuddin Samad, but the murder
on 23 April of Rezaul Karim Siddique in Rajshahi, in the east of the country.
This is becoming an all too familiar occurrence in Bangladesh. There is a
disagreement: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blames the opposition parties for
trying to destabilise the country and the victims for insulting Islam; we think
the problem goes beyond that.
Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con):
Do not the Government of Bangladesh’s inability to protect
human rights and the absence of effective opposition to that Government require
the UK Government, which continues to provide substantial aid to Bangladesh, to
have a timetable for intervention to ensure that democracy and human rights
continue in that country and do not fall under a single-party state?
Mr Swire:
I do not think my hon. Friend is suggesting that we should
tie our aid, which helps some of the worst-off people in the world, with
political progress, but I take on board his point. There is much more we can do
in Bangladesh and we are trying, not least through the role of the new
Commonwealth Secretary-General. Bangladesh is of course a member of the
Commonwealth and we want the Commonwealth to take more action in that country,
which at the moment is not heading in the right direction.
Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP):
Around 70 to 80 women and children are trafficked from
Bangladesh abroad each day. Law enforcement is failing to prevent forced
prostitution. What discussions is the Foreign Secretary having to press that
legal systems prevail for women and girls in Bangladesh?
Mr Swire:
The hon. Lady is absolutely right, although of course it is
not just Bangladesh that is affected. We have done a lot on human trafficking
through legislation; we have also done a lot on the supply chain, where I know
there are concerns. We continue to raise the matter, not just in Bangladesh but
in countries around the world. It is something we want to erase. It is
unfortunately all too common and we take it seriously.
Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab):
I am delighted to hear that the Minister is so concerned
about the recent killings of liberal activists in Bangladesh. He mentioned the
brutal murder on 25 April of Xulhaz Mannan, editor of the country’s first and
only LGBT magazine, and the appalling fatal machete attack on blogger
Nazimuddin Samad on 6 April. Surely the Government of Bangladesh have been far
too slow to act. What additional pressure are he and the Government prepared to
put on the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that these murders are dealt with
properly?
Mr Swire:
The Government of Bangladesh would argue, as the high
commissioner did to me this morning, that one of the victims of these crimes
was a cousin of a former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, so this is something
they are taking extremely seriously. I do believe that Bangladesh has a
problem, and we will continue to talk to our Bangladeshi counterparts on a
range of issues, some of which are of very great concern.
Source: Hansard
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