29Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must apply same human rights standards to US when it comes to exports

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the UK will continue to export tear gas and rubber bullets to the US despite continued use of force against protesters, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “From the use of gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters, to the arrest of over 70 journalists, it is clear that there are serious ongoing questions regarding the use of this equipment in the United States. "The UK must ensure that human rights are upheld and protected. Supplying tear gas to those who use it inappropriately is unacceptable. It's appalling that Boris Johnson's Government have given the green light to continued exports."The UK must apply the same standards to the US as we would expect from any other trading partner. The Government must make the review into these sales…
Read More
20Jul 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Chinese treatment of Uyghurs amounts to genocide, Lib Dem warns

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats have called on the Foreign Secretary to acknowledge that the Chinese government is "engineering a genocide of the Uyghur people" and to come before Parliament before the recess to set out the Government's response. In a letter to the Foreign Secretary, the Party's Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael urged the Government to use the next round of targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for human rights abuses in China. The intervention follows the Chinese Ambassador to the UK denying on The Andrew Marr Show that the Uyghur people are being transported across China for forced labour in factories. Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “The images we have seen in recent days are harrowing and inhuman. The Government has a duty to take a lead and…
Read More
15Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems condemn Government decision to scrap GRA reform

Parliamentary news
Responding to reports that the Government will ban conversion therapy, but has dropped plans to simplify the gender recognition process, Liberal Democrat Equalities spokesperson Christine Jardine said: “We have fought long and hard to ban conversion therapy, but if the Conservatives think the fight for LGBT+ rights ends there, they are very wrong. “The Liberal Democrats will always stand up for equality and human rights for all, and that includes reforming the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for people to gain legal recognition of their gender identity. “With trans people continuing to face discrimination, harassment, and experience lower wellbeing, shelving reform of the Gender Recognition Act will continue the suffering of far too many across the UK. “It is time the Government stopped preventing trans people from living freely,…
Read More