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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans there are for the appointment of a new Middle East Quartet Representative; and what the timeline is for any such appointment.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There are no current plans to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative. The Office of the Quartet Representative has been renamed the Office of the Quartet. It is now being led by a Head of Mission, supported by a Deputy Head of Mission. The Quartet Principals (EU, US, UN and Russia) are responsible for taking decisions about the structure of the Quartet, including its staffing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of access to Yemen by the UNHCR and non-governmental organisations looking after the most vulnerable in that country.

Baroness Verma

Intense fighting on the ground is making it increasingly hard for UNHCR and other non-governmental organisations to reach those in need within Yemen. This is compounded by restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, including fuel. This in turn is hampering the distribution of humanitarian supplies within country, including essential food and medicines.Of the 2.3 million internally displaced people in Yemen, to date UNHCR has provided emergency relief items to 147,386 of them since the end of March.

The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has announced £75m to respond to the crisis in Yemen. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, working with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong track record in delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We also support a UN-led process on access negotiations and the establishment of the Access Working Group where partners report cases of obstruction and accessible routes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the promotion of human rights is part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office mission statement, and what are their top five priorities in that area.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Annual Report and Accounts set out the FCO’s purpose for 2014–15. This listed eight separate commitments, two of which mentioned promoting human rights explicitly:

– Strengthen the Commonwealth as a focus for promoting democratic values, human rights, climate resilient development, conflict prevention and trade.

– Use soft power as a tool of UK foreign policy; promote British values and respect for human rights; build capacity to tackle terrorism in line with UK security requirements; and contribute to the welfare of developing countries and their citizens.

In addition, human rights are an integral part of the FCO’s work, linked with many aspects of our national interest including the stability and prosperity of our international partners. We set out in the 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report the actions we have taken to mainstream human rights across the FCO network, including ramping up our internal communications and training.

We are currently reconfiguring our work on human rights around three pillars to reflect the Government’s manifesto commitments, play to our strengths, boost our impact, and increase our ability to respond to international developments. These pillars are:

i) Democratic values and the rule of law;

ii) The rules-based international system and,

iii) Human rights for a stable world