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  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Mr David Lidington

    Responsibility for stationery is devolved to all posts and directorates and procured as required. Data on levels of stationery is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    Stationery in the UK is procured through the Crown Commercial Services frameworks, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance.

  • John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Norway, (b) Finland and (c) Sweden about the security situation in the Scandinavian region.

    Mr David Lidington

    We have a strong and regular dialogue with Norway, Finland and Sweden on security and defence issues at both ministerial and official level, bilaterally and in the context of regional groupings such as the EU and NATO. In the past year, I have met with my counterparts, and a number of government officials, from each of Norway, Finland and Sweden, as well as the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister and Finnish Prime Minister.

  • John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Latvia, (b) Lithuania and (c) Estonia about strengthening defence and security relationships with those countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    On 24-25 March 2014, I travelled to both Latvia and Lithuania and met with the Latvian Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Foreign Minister, and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister and Vice-Minister of Defence. The focus of this visit was the situation in Ukraine. I will visit Estonia on 28-29 April and hope to meet the Estonian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, with whom I will discuss security and defence issues. Our defence relationship, led by the Ministry of Defence, with all three Baltic countries is strong and we cooperate on a wide range of areas.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his German and US counterparts on securing the unconditional release of Pastor Saeed Abedini from prison in Iran.

    Hugh Robertson

    We remain deeply concerned about the detention and treatment of Pastor Saeed Abedini. We have called publicly for the Iranian government to release him and to end all persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith. We have not discussed this particular case with German or US officials, but discuss regularly with them action we can take to improve human rights in Iran.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Iranian authorities about the persecution and detention of members of the Bahá’í faith in that country.

    Hugh Robertson

    We have repeatedly expressed our concern at the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran, including the sentencing of seven Baha’i leaders in Iran to 20 years imprisonment and the regular harassment the community suffers from. We raised the treatment of Baha’is with the UN Special Rapporteur at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014, and in our contacts with the Iranian authorities. We will continue to call on the Iranian government to ensure that all its citizens are able to exercise their right to freedom of religion, free from persecution and harassment.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in North Korea on freedom of religion.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has never met his Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) counterpart.

    However, the UK takes every opportunity to raise with the DPRK authorities our concerns about their appalling human rights record, not least with regard to freedom of religion or belief. The British Embassy in Pyongyang last raised our concerns with the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2013. A senior official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised this issue with the North Korean Embassy in February 2014.

    We have also raised concerns specifically about recent reports that 33 people have been sentenced to death for alleged contact with Kim Jung-wook (aka Kim Jong-uk), a South Korean arrested by the DPRK authorities last year on suspicion of trying to establish underground churches. We have requested official confirmation of what has happened to the individuals concerned and called on the DPRK to respect the provision in its constitution guaranteeing “freedom of belief in religion”. We also played a leading role in securing a strong resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, calling for accountability for the range of human rights violations documented in the DPRK.

    The annual FCO Human rights report, published on 10 April 2014 includes the DPRK as a country of concern. The full report can be found at http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk

    “

  • Sir Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sir Menzies Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Menzies Campbell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Burma on protecting Burmese soldiers who refuse orders which could result in human rights abuses.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During my second visit to Burma in January, I personally pressed the Burmese government and members of the Burmese military, including the Burmese Commander in Chief, to address our human rights concerns. I was also fortunate to visit Kachin State in January – the first British Minister to do so since Burma gained independence. I made clear to the government and the military that conflict should end and that there should be unhindered humanitarian access to the areas affected. I also raised our concerns about very serious allegations of sexual violence in conflict and the forced conscription of child soldiers.

    Whilst I did not discuss the issue of soldiers refusing orders which could result in human rights abuses, a discussion of the nature of illegal orders featured during the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context course, delivered by the UK Defence Academy in Burma in January. The 30 course participants were a mix of mid-ranking military officers, members of the police and officials from Burma’s foreign ministry.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK of international sanctions against Russia.

    Mr David Lidington

    The effect of sanctions so far imposed by the EU is on individuals from Crimea and Russia most closely involved in violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The EU has been clear that it would move to impose a package of wider economic sanctions if there is a lack of progress on the diplomatic front and further moves by Russia against Ukraine. Such measures would have consequences for the UK’s commercial relationship with Russia, and for those of other EU Member States, but the clear aim would be to demonstrate to Russia that there are wider consequences for its actions in Ukraine, while minimising the impact on the EU.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the situation in Ukraine.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed the situation in Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on 23 April. The Foreign Secretary pressed for the immediate implementation of the 17 April Geneva agreement. He urged Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives from the European Commission on European sanctions on Russia.

    Mr David Lidington

    As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) told the House on 8 April, we are gravely concerned about the situation in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine. We have consistently condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea including in public statements, international fora, and in bilateral contacts with the Russian Federation.

    The UK has played a key role in ensuring a tough and united response from the international community. We have reviewed all bilateral engagement with Russia and have frozen military cooperation, refused export licence requests which may be used by the Russian military, and postponed a number of planned Ministerial Summits. Along with other G7 members, the UK has withdrawn participation in the planned G8 Summit in Sochi in June, and will instead take part in a G7 meeting in Brussels.

    The Foreign Secretary has taken part in a number of discussions on sanctions at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in which the European Commission has also been involved. On 14 April, the FAC agreed to expand the second tier of sanctions and to add further names to the list of individuals subject to those sanctions. The FAC agreed on the urgency of completing work on a possible third tier of more far reaching sanctions, which might be implemented in the absence of meaningful diplomatic engagement by Russia or further provocation against Ukraine. The European Commission was tasked to identify such economic measures.

    As the Foreign Secretary has made clear to the Russian Foreign Minister, the EU remains prepared to impose additional sanctions should that become necessary. Russia should be clear that any deliberate escalation of this crisis may bring serious political and economic consequences.