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  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process in the Central African Republic.

    Grant Shapps

    The signing of the agreement on disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation by the transitional government and armed groups at the Bangui Forum in May was an important step towards strengthening security in the Central African Republic. The recent violence in Bangui has demonstrated that it is critical for the agreement to be applied and for international forces to make progress with disarmament.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the reintegration into society of children enlisted in armed groups in the Central African Republic.

    Grant Shapps

    We welcome the agreement reached at the Bangui Forum in May to release all children from the ranks of armed groups. It is important that these children are offered assistance to reintegrate into society. We encourage International Financial Institutions and other donors to invest in productive sectors to increase income-generating opportunities for the youth of Central African Republic and which provide a real alternative to joining an armed group.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice or guidance the Government provides on the potential risks associated with investing in or conducting business with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    In December 2013, we placed advice online to raise awareness of the key security and political risks which UK businesses may face when operating abroad, including in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This includes guidance on Israeli settlements (www.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-palestinian-territories)

    We advise British businesses to bear in mind the British Government’s view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering investments and activities in the region. This is voluntary guidance to British businesses. It is the decision of an individual or company whether to operate in settlements in the Occupied Territories, but the British Government would neither encourage nor support such activity.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Through the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) over 95,000 people have now been able to buy materials to repair homes that were damaged during the conflict. However, we are concerned that none of the homes destroyed have been rebuilt yet. We therefore welcome the June 2015 agreement between the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities on the Residential Stream of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism to support the reconstruction of homes that were completely destroyed. DFID is providing £700,000 to the Materials Monitoring Unit which monitors the import, storage, supply and use of construction materials into Gaza under the GRM. The UK is also calling on all donors to disburse pledges made at the October 2014 Cairo Gaza Reconstruction Conference without delay.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the demolition of the Samra School in Khirbeit Samra on 20 August 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Whilst we have not raised this particular demolition with Israel, our position is clear; demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law.

    We regularly raise the issue of demolitions with our Israeli counterparts. For example on 24 September, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Israel raised demolitions with Israel’s Justice Minister Shaked and on 10 September the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this issue with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the death sentence handed out to Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al Nimr. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all cases. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the number of Colombian human rights defenders assassinated in the last six months.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Human rights continue to be an integral part of our dialogue and relationship with Colombia. We remain concerned by the number of threats that continue to be made against human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia and I raised the issue of human rights with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londoño, on 29 September 2015 during the UN General Assembly.

    Although the number of HRDs murdered fell by a third between 2013 and 2014, threats and assassinations continue. Colombian non-governmental organisation Somos Defensores reports 32 murders and 332 threats from January to July of 2015. Our Embassy is supporting a project on collective protection measures for HRDs in rural areas through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund and regularly raises concerns about the violence and intimidation suffered by human rights defenders in Colombia with the Colombian government. In his last meeting before leaving Post, the then British Ambassador met the Colombian Interior Minister on 5 August 2015 and raised a number of human rights cases of concern. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the recent assassination of three members of the Zenu indigenous peoples.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our officials in Bogota meet regularly with indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in Bogota, and met the Zenu community of Córdoba in May 2015 in a joint visit with ABColombia. We have raised their demands for protection of their rights with the Colombian government, most recently through meetings with the Ministry of Interior on 5 August and 17 September.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure Saudi Arabia ceases its persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief.

    The public practice in Saudi Arabia of any form of religion other than Islam is illegal, however, the Saudi authorities do accept foreign workers privately practising religions other than Islam. These restrictions on freedom of religion or belief reflect widely held conservative social values in Saudi society.

    Our position on human rights in Saudi Arabia is a matter of public record. We have regularly made our views known, including through the UN Universal Periodic Review process and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, in which Saudi Arabia continues to be a designated priority country. We raise our human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels of communication.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the execution of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al Nimr. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all cases. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.