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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what co-operation programmes between the UK and Thailand there are; and what steps he has taken to review that co-operation.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK and Thailand have strong bilateral ties which are exemplified by a range of activities and programmes across the political, commercial, and cultural spectrum, for example strong trading and tourism links. We want our bilateral relationship to prosper, but in view of the rapid and serious deterioration of the democratic environment, we are reviewing the scope of our cooperation with Thailand. We are particularly concerned by restrictions on the freedoms of assembly, association and expression, and by the large numbers of arbitrary detentions we have seen since the coup was announced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to (a) improve the security of humanitarian aid goods and workers and (b) speed up customs processes for humanitarian aid shipments in South Sudan.

Lynne Featherstone

The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to press for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian goods and workers in South Sudan. At the Humanitarian Conference on South Sudan in Oslo on 20 May, which was attended by both the South Sudanese Government and the Opposition, I called on all parties to facilitate safe and speedy access, including accelerated customs clearance. The FCO Minister for Africa raised humanitarian access with senior Ministers when he visited Juba in April.

The UK is also providing practical support to help improve security. For example we are funding well-coordinated and security-aware transportation of goods and staff, including emergency air evacuations, through the World Food Programme Logistics Cluster. We are also supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which works to increase understanding of, and respect for, International Humanitarian Law by all parties to the conflict. UK officials raise our concerns about the humanitarian situation and the need to improve access regularly in Juba and Addis Ababa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the UK has taken to support UN Security Council Resolution 2139 regarding humanitarian access in Syria.

Hugh Robertson

The UK played a leading role in ensuring the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2139 on 22 February. Since then, we have regularly echoed the UN Security Council’s demand that all parties to the conflict, in particular the Syrian authorities, implement fully the requirements of UNSCR 2139. We welcome the National Coalition’s commitment to implementing UNSCR 2139 and have encouraged those with influence on the parties to urge them to implement the demands of the resolution. The UK is working closely with P5 colleagues and others in New York on a draft resolution in response to the UN Secretary General’s call for the UNSC to act decisively to address the worsening humanitarian situation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made by UK forces in the search for the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds

The UK is working with the US, France, Nigeria, its neighbours and international partners to provide advice and assistance to the Nigerian Government to help them secure the safe release of the schoolgirls and defeat Boko Haram. Our SENTINEL aircraft, as part of a number of allied surveillance assets, continues to conduct over-flights of Nigeria and a team of UK experts is working alongside US and French counterparts in Nigeria in the Intelligence Fusion Cell to assist the Nigerians in locating the abducted students. I look forward to taking further stock of this activity, and wider work to tackle Boko Haram, with Foreign Minister Wali and representatives from Nigeria’s neighbours, the US, France, Canada, UN, AU and EU at this week’s ministerial meeting on security in northern Nigeria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made towards negotiating a peaceful solution with Iran on the nuclear issue.

Hugh Robertson

The November interim agreement between the E3+3 and Iran was a significant first step to resolving the nuclear issue. It has created time to negotiate a comprehensive agreement. On this we are making progress although we are under no illusion about the difficulty of reaching a successful outcome. Talks resume on 16 June in Vienna, with the aim of reaching an agreement by the 20 July which is when the interim deal currently expires.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what aid the Government has provided for the relief of flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia.

Mr David Lidington

I discussed the impact of the floods with Prime Minister Vucic of Serbia in Belgrade on 2 June and with Prime Minister Bevanda in Sarajevo on 3 June. During my visit to the region I also met the Serbian Red Cross and travelled to Maglaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the Mayor and representatives of World Vision.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), between 18 and 23 May a thirty-three person water rescue team from the British Fire Service was deployed to work alongside EUFOR Operation Althea and local rescue efforts. They rescued nearly 200 people, delivered large amounts of humanitarian aid, and helped restore power in villages North of Bijeljina.

In Serbia, the UK provided 64 radios for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, to assist with the coordination of their response teams; and donated £280,000 worth of heavy lift and transport vehicles to the Serbian Red Cross to aid their relief distribution effort.

A team from the UK flew out to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the week commencing 20 May to assess likely humanitarian and recovery needs. During my visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was able to announce that the UK had approved £250,000 to support a World Vision flood response project in the region focussing on sanitation and health and providing support for 140,000 people made homeless by the floods.

In addition to this bilateral support, the UK provided support to BiH, Serbia and Croatia through the EU, UN and other international organisations. In BiH, EUFOR Operation Althea, to which the UK contributes troops in-theatre and in reserve, assisted the BiH Armed Forces in their response to the flooding. The First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who provide part of EUFOR’s intermediate reserve, and are in BiH for a routine operational rehearsal, will assist the BiH Armed Forces in this regard.

The UK has worked closely with the EU European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and offered advice and assistance during all phases of the flood response effort. ECHO have released €3.2m in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable population in BiH and in Serbia (to which the UK will have contributed 15%).

The Government will work closely with the UNDP, the EU and other international organisations to assess what further help might be given to help both Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina recover from the impact of the floods.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the outbreak of the ebola virus in Western Africa.

Mark Simmonds

We continue to monitor the Ebola outbreak in West Africa closely. As of 6 June there had been over 220 confirmed cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

International health agencies are providing support to affected countries. There is no specific vaccine or anti-viral drug available, so the priority is to contain the outbreak by limiting human to human transmission by early identification and care for those affected.

We are keeping our Travel Advice for British nationals under regular review and in line with WHO guidance. There have been no reports of British citizens being infected and there have been no known imported cases of Ebola in the UK to date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in working with the Commonwealth Secretary-General to review LGBT rights in Uganda.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) wrote to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth on 1 March to ask him to work with us to review the worrying trend on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the Commonwealth. We welcomed the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s statement to the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council on 6 March reiterating the Commonwealth’s commitment to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of rights without discrimination on any grounds. Whilst we support the work of the Secretariat in strengthening the capacity of national human rights institutions to engage their respective governments on sensitive areas such as LGBT rights, we continue to encourage the Commonwealth to do more to address LGBT rights across the Commonwealth, and in particular Uganda.