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  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the United Nations to provide an update on progress towards the construction of Antony airport near Abyei; and when construction of that airport is expected to be completed.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Through our regular engagement with the UN, we will ask for an update on progress with the construction of Athony airport to be included in the next Secretary General’s Report on Abyei, which is due by 15 October 2016. The UN have faced considerable disruption to the construction of the airport, and have thus been unable to confirm to us an exact date for completion.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received from representatives in Abyei on the alleged detention without charge of members of the Misseriya peace committee in Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We were aware of the arrest of four members of the Misseriya peace committee in October 2015, and are able to confirm that they were released without charge in early December 2015. We have not received any more recent reports of arrests of this kind from representatives in Abyei.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what operational orders are given to the armed forces serving in Yemen on the protection of cultural property.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi led Coalition’s operations. We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the Government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabia.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 15 July 2014 to Question 205172, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the weather in June 2014 on the storage of records in Diego Garcia.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    Since June 2014, all historic flight records dating from before January 2014 were brought to London where they were digitised and remain in storage. Remaining records in Diego Garcia are now held in a different location.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the UN Security Council to ensure genocide committed by Daesh is brought to the attention of the International Criminal Court.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. We continue to discuss with international partners, including those on the UN Security Council all legal possibilities for investigating Daesh. On 21 July, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), announced that the United Kingdom will work with our international partners to drive a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage recognition of same-sex marriage in countries where it is not currently recognised.

    Alok Sharma

    The United Kingdom is committed to tackling discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. We take discrimination to include the non-enjoyment of equal civil rights by all members of society, including the right to marry. Through our diplomatic network, Her Majesty’s Government regularly demonstrates its support for the principle of same sex marriage and encourages others to follow that example.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Australian counterpart the issue of the living conditions of refugees on Nauru.

    Alok Sharma

    We welcome Prime Minister Turnbull’s announcement that the Australian Government will examine complaints about the treatment of detainees at its immigration detention centre in Nauru. We would not want to prejudge the outcome of that process. The United Kingdom has previously raised these issues with the Australian Government, including at the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Australia in November 2015.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to Pakistan following the bomb attack on lawyers at a hospital in Quetta.

    Alok Sharma

    My thoughts are with the people of Pakistan, including the victims and all those affected by the terrible attack in Quetta. The UK continues to stand with Pakistan in its efforts to tackle terrorism and the extremism that sustains it. Our ongoing support includes working together to help Pakistan deal with improvised explosive devices, to reform the civilian criminal justice system so terrorists are held to account, and to help Pakistan confront the extremist narratives that underpin terrorism.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterparts on recent incursions by Spanish vessels into British Territorial Waters around Gibraltar.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has made clear publicly that the UK will continue to protect and promote Gibraltar’s interests. This includes challenging and protesting against all incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. The Foreign Secretary has also reaffirmed our sovereignty assurances to Gibraltar never to enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their wishes, nor to enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on legal advice related to the UK voting to leave the EU from (a) the Government Legal Service and (b) external legal firms; and how much he plans to spend on such advice over the next 12 months.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not spent anything on external legal advice related to the UK voting to leave the EU.