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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances embryonic stem cell lines that have been derived from human embryos subjected to genome editing by means of CRISPR-Cas9 would be considered to conform to good manufacturing practice and classed as clinical grade by either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or the UK Stem Cell Bank.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has licensed one human embryo research project involving the use of genome editing CRISPR-Cas9. One objective of this project is to derive human embryonic stem cells. As outlined in the HFEA Inspection Report, there is no intention for these stem cells to be used in human application. In these circumstances, there is no need to assess whether they conform to good manufacturing practice and are classed as clinical grade.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 8 February (HL5360) and the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hugo Swire, on 29 January (HC23512), whether the UK will act on the information that officials from a number of state institutions and ministries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are responsible for possible crimes against humanity in North Korea, and ensure that there is no impunity for those accused of serious human rights violations.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As stated in the previous responses, we remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry report highlighted the horrific human rights violations perpetrated by the regime, including details of officials from state institutions and ministries.

The Government supports the principle that there must be no impunity for those accused of human rights violations and that crimes against humanity are appropriately investigated.

We will continue to work with members of the international community through multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, to ensure the regime is held to account for its appalling human rights record.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings have been held between senior officials of the UK and representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Ambassador to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and senior officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have met representatives of the DPRK on a number of occasions since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK. The FCO does not keep a record of the number of individual meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ministries’ representatives the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Embassy in Pyongyang has met with a number of officials from various Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ministries since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they did not respond to correspondence sent by the UN Panel of Experts, as listed in UN Security Council Report S/2015/131; and whether they have investigated the actions of Princess Yachts International in the light of the sighting of the Princess 95MY yacht in North Korea in 2013.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government fully cooperated with the Panel of Experts on this matter. Following a request to the Government for assistance, the Panel were put in direct contact with Princess Yachts International to follow up on their investigations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to investigate and address the role of the Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in London in evading UN Security Council sanctions in respect of their submission of vessel registration changes to the International Maritime Organisation in 2014; and what assessment they have made of the involvement of embassies of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea worldwide in sanctions evasion.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Vessel registration is a matter for Flag state action. The UK is not a Flag state for any Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) vessels, so has not been involved in investigating this issue. We have processes in place to verify the provenance of any vessel registered under the British flag.

There are documented links between the DPRK’s diplomatic missions and its proliferation activity which are in breach of sanctions. For example, the UN DPRK Panel of Experts reported that DPRK Embassy officials in Cuba were engaged in making arrangements for the 2013 Chong Chon Gang shipment of conventional arms and related materials in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. We have since worked with partners to encourage the need for vigilance over possible illicit activity taking place by DPRK diplomatic missions.