Blog

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to Israel of the implications of its obligations under the Geneva Convention for the practice of forcible transportation of child prisoners from Palestine to Israeli jails.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As I made clear on 6 January during a Westminster Hall debate, the UK remains concerned about the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons.

    On 23 November 2015, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about the treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention with the Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor. We welcome recent improvements made by the Israeli authorities, including increasing the age of majority from 16 to 18 years old. However, we remain concerned at the number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli detention. We will also fund another visit of the delegation who authored the independent report on Children in Military Custody in February to report on further progress.

    We continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of Palestinian children detained.

  • 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 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21764, whether the government of Saudi Arabia (a) responded formally, (b) responded informally or (c) did not respond when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and the UK Ambassador raised the UK’s concerns about the recent mass executions; on what date the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and the Ambassador raised those concerns; and whether the exchange referred to in that Answer took place by telephone, in person, or in writing.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have raised our objections to executions, and the use of the death penalty on numerous occasions since 2 January, both in person and over the phone. I most recently raised the issue with the Government of Saudi Arabia on 12 January over the phone and in person on 14 January. The Saudi Government is aware of our position.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the report on progress on recommendations regarding child detention in Palestine by the delegation of lawyers visiting Palestine in February 2016 to be published.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The visit is currently scheduled for February 2016 and the report will be published in due course. The original report that produced these recommendations was released in June 2012, following a visit in September 2011.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Colombian counterpart (a) the deteriorating health of many former combatant prisoners, (b) the reported human rights violations of prisoners, (c) the reported arbitrary transfers of prisoners and (d) the reported isolation of prisoners in that country which have taken place since its government’s pledges of November 2015 made following the prisoners’ hunger strike there.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I am aware of the hunger strike by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) across 13 prisons in November over prison conditions, and recent Colombian media reports on the same issue.

    I understand the Colombian government and the FARC are currently discussing end of conflict issues, which include prisoner rights. It would not be appropriate for the United Kingdom to interfere in matters under negotiation, not least as we near the 23 March deadline for talks to conclude.

    The hon. Member will recall that our Embassy in Bogotá has closely followed the cases of specific Colombian prisoners, such as David Ravelo and Húber Ballesteros, discussing concerns with the Presidential advisor for human rights and the prisons authority.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Palestinian Authority on recent comments related to the practice of honouring terrorists by Rami Hamdallah.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We condemn the glorification of terrorism and all incitement to commit violence, whichever side it comes from. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, urging them to use their influence to de-escalate the tensions. We regularly raise incitement with the Palestinian Authority, and have urged key figures to encourage calm and condemn violence. We continue to support the reinstatement of the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of incitement from either side.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the Middle East peace process of recent attacks against Israeli citizens.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The current violence makes the environment in Israel and the Occupied Territories less conducive to peace. It also underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. We are urging all parties to de-escalate current tensions.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will hold discussions with the UN on the alleged misappropriation of reconstruction building materials to Hamas in Gaza.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID has provided £0.7 million to the Materials Monitoring Unit (MMU) which monitors the import, storage, supply and use of construction materials into Gaza under the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) in order to help ensure that materials are used for civilian purposes. The MMU has identified certain cases of resale or misappropriation of materials and taken appropriate remedial action, keeping donors including the UK closely informed. We take seriously allegations of misappropriation of building materials and have regular and regular discussions with the UN to raise these concerns.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which countries were invited to the Syria Donors Conference; and which of those countries she expects to attend.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Prime Minister is co-hosting the conference on “Supporting Syria and the Region (London 2016)” along with the Amir of Kuwait, the Federal German Chancellor, the Prime Minister of Norway and the United Nations Secretary-General.

    Over 70 countries have been invited to the conference to raise significant new humanitarian and development funding, and address the longer-term needs of those affected by the Syria crisis. This includes current and potential donors as well as countries hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees, Representatives from Non-Government Organisations and the private sector. We are still receiving responses but expect strong attendance at the highest levels.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether there will be discussion of long-term support for the countries bordering Syria at the Syria Donors Conference 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We and our co-hosts (Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations) are inviting leaders from countries around the world, NGOs and civil society to come together next month to raise significant new funding to meet the needs of all those affected by the Syria crisis within the country itself and by supporting neighbouring countries. The conference will identify long term funding solutions for Syria and the region, covering 2016 and subsequent years. It will address the longer term needs of all those affected by the crisis, inside and outside Syria, by identifying ways to create jobs and provide education, offering all those that have been forced to flee their homes greater hope for the future. The conference will also pave the way for a broader discussion about how the international community responds to protracted crises, in advance of the UK, UN and World Bank High-Level Forum on Forced Displacement in Protracted Crises later in 2016 and the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20989, what information his Department holds on how many cases of murder of (a) human rights defenders, (b) trades unionists and (c) political activists there have been in the last three years in Colombia for which someone has been brought to trial.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Although we do not compile statistics on these cases, the British Government receives regular updates from non-government organisations (NGOs) such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Peace Brigades International, highlighting the reported cases outlined by the Honourable Member. For example, Somos Defensores’ 2015 report on the number of murders and threats made against human rights defenders: http://somosdefensores.org/attachments/article/134/los-nadie-informe-semestral-siaddhh2015.pdf