§ Baroness Whitakerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which member states of the European Union and which members of the Commonwealth have statutory or constitutional provision to prohibit discrimination on grounds of religion. [HL1642]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalInformation on statutory and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion in all EU and Commonwealth states is not held centrally. To provide the information requested for all 69 states would be a major undertaking which would incur disproportionate cost.
The Home Secretary has commissioned research into the nature and scale of religious discrimination in England and Wales. This project, to be completed in autumn this year, will consider the legal and constitutional position in other jurisdictions. The interim report, published on 31 January, includes an initial analysis of approaches to tackling religious discrimination in several Commonwealth and EU jurisdictions. Copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses and on the research project's website at:www.multifaithnet.org.
Mr. Abdul Wahab Hussain
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What information they have about the re-arrest of Mr Abdul Wahab Hussain, who was released on 17 March after more than four years of imprisonment in Bahrain without charge or trial; and whether they will raise his case and those of other long-term detainees in Bahrain at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. [HL1628]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalWe have asked our Embassy in Bahrain for full details of Mr Hussein's case and in particular the circumstances surrounding his recent re-arrest, which we view with concern.