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  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24112, when he last raised concerns regarding protection of cultural property the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24112, if he will make an assessment of whether there have been contraventions of the (a) 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and (b) 1972 World Heritage Convention during the conflict in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24122, what damage to cultural property in Yemen he remains most concerned about.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24122, when his Department last made an assessment of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24112, if he will make an assessment of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Syrian opposition to encourage their participation in the Geneva peace talks; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are in regular contact with the Syrian opposition. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Riad Hijab, Chair of the Syrian Higher Negotiations Commission (HNC) on 29 January, expressing his support for the HNC and highlighting the importance of their participation in negotiations. Our Special Envoy for Syria and his team are currently in Geneva alongside other international partners, supporting the opposition and engaging with the UN.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with the Indian authorities on the use of section 7 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the last 12 months.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Power Act, 1990, has not been raised in bilateral discussions within the past 12 months. We are aware of concerns on the use of section 7 of the Act regarding immunity from prosecution. Any allegations of human rights abuses must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on compensation for thalidomide survivors in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    At a meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust on 11 January, I agreed to raise with the German Ambassador the Trust’s request for a further meeting with the German authorities. I wrote in these terms to the Ambassador on 4 February.

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the correlation between smuggling rings which bring people into the EU and human trafficking gangs which exploit migrants for sex and slavery.

    Karen Bradley

    Organised crime groups are known to be involved in smuggling and trafficking operations, and in some cases both. We are working closely with operational partners including the National Crime Agency, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, as well as partners across Europe and Africa, to develop the intelligence picture on both of these crime types.We will continue to monitor the development of links between these two crime types.

    We are working with partners across Europe and Africa, including through the Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce to identify and disrupt organised crime groups facilitating irregular migration in source and transit countries.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the number of drug traffickers who have been sentenced to death in (a) Iran and (b) Pakistan following conviction resulting from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK in those countries.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government provides counter-narcotics assistance to a range of international partners, including Pakistan. The Government does not provide counter-narcotics assistance to Iran. There is no evidence to suggest that any drug traffickers have been sentenced to death in Pakistan where the conviction has resulted from counter-narcotics activities supported by the UK government.

    All our work is the subject of comprehensive and ongoing assessments of human rights risks, in line with Overseas Security & Justice Assistance (OSJA) guidance. This helps ensure that counter-narcotics assistance provided to countries which retain the death penalty is congruent with UK human rights principles. The Government strongly opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. UK Ministers have and will continue to urge countries, including Iran and Pakistan, to repeal the death penalty and take action to ensure human rights are safeguarded.