Tag: Baroness Helic

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Syria Donors Conference in London in February 2016 will address issues surrounding sexual violence in conflict.

Baroness Verma

The London Conference for Syria and the region will mark a qualitative shift in the way the international community responds to this protracted crisis – addressing both immediate and longer-term needs, particularly on jobs and education. The Conference will also focus on the protection of civilians from harm, including sexual and gender-based violence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of public threats made in Burma against the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government supports the Special Rapporteur, Professor Yanghee Lee, and deplores the hateful and threatening language that has been used against her by MaBaTha monk Wirathu. We have also called for Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to take action on the matter. I was able to convey my sympathy and concern to Professor Lee in person during her visit to London in March. Last week, we publicly reiterated our support for Professor Lee and her mandate at the UN General Assembly in New York, at a dedicated session discussing her most recent report on the Human rights situation in Burma.

Unfortunately, statements like those of Wirathu are symptomatic of a troubling rise in intolerance, discrimination and hate speech in Burma. We have repeatedly raised our concerns over this trend, both bilaterally and in company with our international partners. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with senior Burmese government ministers during his visit to Burma in July and, most recently, with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress the UK–German initiative for Bosnia–Herzegovina, announced in November 2014, has made; what recent discussions they have had with the government of Germany regarding that initiative; and what plans there are for continued UK engagement in that initiative.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK-German initiative was adopted by the EU at the December 2014 Foreign Affairs Council. Since then, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) party leaders have signed a written commitment to implement a package of reforms (Reform Agenda); BiH’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement has come into force (1 June 2015); and BiH submitted its application for EU membership on 15 February 2016. Whilst some progress has been made in implementing the Reform Agenda, more needs to be done. The Government is in regular contact with Germany, other Member States and the EU institutions to encourage BiH’s leaders to maintain progress on reform. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed implementation of the Reform Agenda with the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdić, when they met on 11 July.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations Ministers have made to the Burmese authorities regarding threats made in Burma against the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government supports the Special Rapporteur, Professor Yanghee Lee, and deplores the hateful and threatening language that has been used against her by MaBaTha monk Wirathu. We have also called for Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to take action on the matter. I was able to convey my sympathy and concern to Professor Lee in person during her visit to London in March. Last week, we publicly reiterated our support for Professor Lee and her mandate at the UN General Assembly in New York, at a dedicated session discussing her most recent report on the Human rights situation in Burma.

Unfortunately, statements like those of Wirathu are symptomatic of a troubling rise in intolerance, discrimination and hate speech in Burma. We have repeatedly raised our concerns over this trend, both bilaterally and in company with our international partners. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with senior Burmese government ministers during his visit to Burma in July and, most recently, with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, ahead of the referendum in the entity of Republika Srpska on 25 September, what support they have given High Representative Valentin Inzko to enable him to exercise his mandate under the Dayton Peace Accord to uphold the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As members of the Peace Implementation Council, the UK issued a statement on 30 August 2016 urging the Republika Srpska authorities not to hold the proposed referendum and making clear our support for the High Representative. The Government is in close contact with the High Representative and international partners about the proposed referendum and is committed to upholding the territorial integrity and structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as a single, sovereign state comprising two entities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made through the Permanent Mission to the United Nations regarding the incitement of violence in Burma against the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government supports the Special Rapporteur, Professor Yanghee Lee, and deplores the hateful and threatening language that has been used against her by MaBaTha monk Wirathu. We have also called for Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to take action on the matter. I was able to convey my sympathy and concern to Professor Lee in person during her visit to London in March. Last week, we publicly reiterated our support for Professor Lee and her mandate at the UN General Assembly in New York, at a dedicated session discussing her most recent report on the Human rights situation in Burma.

Unfortunately, statements like those of Wirathu are symptomatic of a troubling rise in intolerance, discrimination and hate speech in Burma. We have repeatedly raised our concerns over this trend, both bilaterally and in company with our international partners. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with senior Burmese government ministers during his visit to Burma in July and, most recently, with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the $6 billion of humanitarian aid pledged at the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February has been disbursed.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Syria Conference raised a record amount of more than $12 billion – the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. $6billion was pledged for 2016 and a further $6.1billion for 2017-20 to enable partners to plan ahead. According to the UN, as of 26 August, $4.8 billion has been committed by donors to implementing partners for humanitarian assistance in 2016.

The UK continues to urge donors to deliver on the commitments made in London including at the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York, where the Secretary of State for International Development will co-host a Conference follow-up event. The Department for International Development has set up a tracking mechanism that will report on the delivery of all the financial commitments made at the conference, including humanitarian and development funding and loans. The first report from the tracking mechanism will be published in September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they give to the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government supports the Special Rapporteur, Professor Yanghee Lee, and deplores the hateful and threatening language that has been used against her by MaBaTha monk Wirathu. We have also called for Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to take action on the matter. I was able to convey my sympathy and concern to Professor Lee in person during her visit to London in March. Last week, we publicly reiterated our support for Professor Lee and her mandate at the UN General Assembly in New York, at a dedicated session discussing her most recent report on the Human rights situation in Burma.

Unfortunately, statements like those of Wirathu are symptomatic of a troubling rise in intolerance, discrimination and hate speech in Burma. We have repeatedly raised our concerns over this trend, both bilaterally and in company with our international partners. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with senior Burmese government ministers during his visit to Burma in July and, most recently, with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made since the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February in implementing loans by multilateral development banks and bilateral donors to help vulnerable Syrians and host communities in the Middle East.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Syria Conference raised a record amount of more than $12 billion – the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. This was supported by Multilateral Development Banks and donors’ pledges of around $41 billion loans, including $1.7 billion on highly concessional terms.

The World Bank launched the MENA Finance Initiative to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan and Lebanon at the Spring Meetings in April. Donors pledged $140 million in grants and over $1 billion in concessional loans. Grant pledges have since increased to $225 million.

As part of this initiative, the UK is providing an £80 million concessional loan to the World Bank MENA Finance Facility to support employment opportunities for Syrian refugees in Jordan. In July, a successful first meeting of the Steering Committee saw two Jordan projects approved.

The UK continues to urge donors to deliver on the commitments made at the London Conference in London. The Department for International Development has set up a tracking mechanism that will report on the delivery of the financial commitments made at the London Conference, including humanitarian and development funding and loans. The first report from the tracking mechanism will be published in September.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the influx of refugees and migrants into the Western Balkans on the security situation in that region, and what discussions they have had with (1) NATO, and (2) the EU, about that issue.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government makes ongoing assessments of the impact of refugees and migrants on the security situation in the Western Balkans. There have been limited discussions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on migration as the issue is largely a national and EU competence. NATO can address some of the causes of migration by helping to improve the security and resilience of countries in the region through its partnership frameworks and Defence Capacity Building activity. We have been in regular contact with the EU on addressing all aspects of the crisis. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Teresa May), participated in an EU Conference with Western Balkans and other countries in Luxembourg on 8 October, which agreed a comprehensive package of measures for dealing with the challenges of migration through the Eastern Mediterranean route. We consider it important that the actions agreed at this Conference, and other actions agreed between the EU and the Western Balkans – notably the 17-point Plan of 25 October – are implemented as soon as possible.