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  • 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 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the compliance of the in absentia death sentence handed down to Andy Tsege in Ethiopia with international human rights standards.

    James Duddridge

    The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We remain deeply concerned about the process by which Mr Andargachew Tsege was detained and his ongoing lack of access to legal counsel. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I have raised this case repeatedly with our Ethiopian counterparts, which has resulted in frequent consular access to Mr Tsege. We continue to press the Ethiopian government to provide a legal process through which Mr Tsege can challenge his detention, that is consistent with domestic and international law. We will continue to lobby the Ethiopian government until our concerns have been fully addressed.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Egyptian government on recent actions taken against Egyptian non-governmental organisations.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including a proposed asset freeze against investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat and human rights defender Gamal Eid. After issuing a statement on 22 March, I raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador on 23 March, and again on 11 April. Our Ambassador to Cairo raised our concerns over restrictions on civil society with the Minister of Health and with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2016.

    I encourage the Government of Egypt to work with civil society organisations to implement the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and allow non-government organisations to operate freely.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Bahraini counterpart the treatment of Hassan Mushiema.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the case of Hassan Mushaima and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. We also encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of democracy and human rights in Bahrain.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We welcome the progress made by Bahrain on their reform programme particularly in the areas of youth justice, the establishment and increasing effectiveness of the Ombudsman’s office, the Prisoner and Detainees’ Rights Commission and the reformed National Institute of Human Rights. Some challenges remain and we regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain. I did so most recently when I met the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, on 8 March 2016.

  • 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 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of its recent increases in financial support for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Egypt on the ability of those NGOs to operate effectively.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Our assessment is that programme effectiveness has not been compromised to date, despite growing restrictions on civil society. However, we continually review our programming to ensure it has maximum impact and represents value for money for the taxpayer.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US and Russian counterparts on ensuring the Syrian High Negotiations Committee is involved in drafting Syria’s new constitution.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has frequent discussions with his US counterpart about all aspects of the Syrian conflict including the involvement of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) in the political process. Most recently they spoke at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima on 10-11 April. The UK also continues to engage with Russia, including through visits of senior officials to Moscow. These countries are active members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) which is committed to achieving a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict. Working alongside ISSG counterparts, we are supporting the UN-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations currently underway in Geneva, where the HNC is representing the Opposition in negotiations on a political settlement. Discussions on a new Syrian constitution will need to take place in this forum.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will re-introduce its strategy for abolition of the death penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given by my noble friend Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 25 January 2016 in reply to The Marquess of Lothian’s question (HL5007). https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/28566

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what projects his Department has funded in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to promote abolition of the death penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    With regard to projects funded in 2015/16, I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 14 January 2016 to the Rt Hon. Member for Hendon (Dr Matthew Offord). (21301).

    https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/27418

    Decisions on the allocation of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy in 2016/17 have not yet been taken.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken through the Commonwealth to promote abolition of the death penalty in all Commonwealth States.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government supports a moratorium on use of the death penalty across the Commonwealth and works diplomatically and by means of projects to promote abolition in individual Commonwealth countries. Some Commonwealth member states are steadily moving towards abolition. Relatively few persist with carrying out executions and several are contemplating legislative reform. Fiji abolished the death penalty altogether in 2015.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there was any consultation with businesses in flood-risk areas before the decision was taken to cut funding to the Climate Ready programme delivered by the Environment Agency.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has not consulted on the Climate Ready Support Service delivered by the Environment Agency. The Service was originally envisaged as a three year programme that was extended to a fourth year in March 2015. This enabled completion of the majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the Service was contributing. Indeed the first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change – we continue to deliver on these actions and make sure adaptation is integrated across government policy making.

    The Environment Agency continues to play an important role in helping businesses adapt to climate change, in particular as part of its core role on flooding, coastal risks, water management, freshwater habitats, and as a statutory adviser in the land-use planning system. In addition, the EA will continue to provide advice to businesses and other organisations on using the UK climate projections and it will continue to contribute to a range of stakeholder groups. Over 70 online tools developed by the Climate Ready Support Service are available for use by businesses.