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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will raise with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK the death of Brahim Saika in Gulemin police station on 15 April 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Embassy in Rabat raised the case of Mr Brahim Saika with Morocco’s National Human Rights Commission, CNDH, on 18 April 2016. The Commission had been following the case closely and is preparing its report on his detention and death. We will consider any further action in the light of the Commission’s report.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Hungarian government about the sale of Hungarian residency bonds through off-shore companies.

    Mr David Lidington

    Neither I, nor the The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), have had any discussions with the Hungarian government on this issue.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the introduction of citizenship-for-investment schemes by EU member states.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 22 March to Questions 31324 and 31325 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) and the answers I gave on 9 March to Question 29833 from the Hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and to Question 29873 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst).

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the introduction of citizenship-for-investment schemes by EU member states; and what assessment she has made of the need for increased transparency of such schemes.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 22 March to Questions 31324 and 31325 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) and the answers I gave on 9 March to Question 29833 from the Hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and to Question 29873 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst).

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to Ministers: quarterly return October to December 2015, published on 24 March 2016, whom he met during the visit to Kuwait that began on 26 November 2015; and what the agenda was at those meetings.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I travelled to Kuwait on 26 November 2015 to co-chair the seventh UK-Kuwait Joint Steering Group meeting with my Kuwaiti counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah. This six-monthly discussion covers a range of bilateral issues, including migration, healthcare, defence, security, education, energy and trade. In addition to the Steering Group, I also had bilateral meetings with the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, which focussed on Gulf Strategy, Typhoon, COP21 and regional and humanitarian issues.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to Ministers: quarterly return October to December 2015, published on 24 March 2016, whom he met during the visit to Saudi Arabia that began on 27 October 2015; and what the agenda was at those meetings.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    During his visit to Saudi Arabia on 27 October 2015 the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met His Majesty King Salman, Crown Prince and Minister of the Interior His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defence His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Commander of the National Guard His Royal Highness Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, and Foreign Minister His Excellency Adel Al Jubeir. The agenda of these meetings covered regional issues, human rights, security cooperation and migration.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 995, whether Daesh has committed crimes that should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Government has condemned repeatedly Daesh’s atrocities against both minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. There is a growing body of evidence that terrible crimes have been committed by Daesh. The UK is supporting efforts to gather and preserve that evidence.

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her statement of 8 April 2015. The Rome Statute provides for "situations" rather than organisations to be referred to the ICC. Therefore, referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than a specific organisation.

    As neither Iraq nor Syria is a State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil.

    In order for Daesh’s crimes in Iraq and Syria to be investigated by the ICC, Iraq and Syria would have to declare their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction, or the UN Security Council would have to refer the situation in those countries to the Court.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to request that the UN Security Council refer crimes by Daesh to the International Criminal Court.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Rome statute provides for "situations" rather than organisations such as Daesh to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked.

    In the meantime, we are supporting the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Gambia on the arrest, alleged torture and deaths of Ousainou Darboe and other members of the Gambian Opposition United Democratic Party; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the government of Gambia release those other members of that party who are detained as soon as possible.

    James Duddridge

    The United Kingdom is deeply concerned over reports of excessive violence and allegations of ill treatment of those detained following peaceful demonstrations in The Gambia. I made a statement on 19 April calling on The Gambian authorities to investigate these allegations in a thorough and transparent manner, ensuring that anyone responsible for any wrongdoing is held accountable and brought to justice. Those in custody should either be charged or released immediately and be treated in accordance with internationally acceptable human rights standards. Our Ambassador in The Gambia formally raised our concerns with The Gambia’s Foreign Minister on 18 April and will continue to press The Gambian authorities on this issue.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the fairness of conduct of elections in Serbia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Elections took place in Serbia on 24 April. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed a 22 person election monitoring mission and we and other countries fielded additional observers. We await final reports and ODIHR’s full and thorough assessment of the fairness and conduct of yesterday’s elections.