Tag: Baroness Helic

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 4 November (HL2982), what were the reasons for the decision not to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative, and what differences exist between the mandate of the Middle East Quartet Representative and the new Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The reasons for the decision not to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative are a matter for the Quartet Principals (UN Secretary General, US Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Russia and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy).

The “Office of the Quartet Representative” (OQR) has been renamed the “Office of the Quartet” (OQ). It will be led by two highly-regarded individuals: Kito de Boer, who joined in January 2015, will serve as Head of Mission and Sandra Wijnberg, who joined in July 2014, will serve as Deputy Head of Mission.

The Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet (OQ) is charged with delivering the OQ’s mandate. The mandate remains unchanged, and was set out in a June 2015 statement by the Quartet Principals. It is to “focus on economic and institutional development in the Palestinian Territory, addressing issues related to strengthening investment in the Palestinian private sector, rule of law, and movement and access. The OQ shall work in coordination and complementarity (sic) with bilateral and multilateral partners that implement technical assistance programs in the Palestinian Territory. As such, OQ will play an important role in advancing tangible steps on the ground to advance the Palestinian economy, and preserve the possibility of a two state solution.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical support they have offered to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro as transit and recipient states of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

On September 23, the Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), pledged £3.1 million of aid to Western Balkans countries affected by the migration crisis, to cover both humanitarian and border management assistance. The funds form part of a wider UK pledge of nearly £115 million, most of which is being put towards lifesaving aid in Syria and its neighbouring countries. The funds will go through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to support projects in transit countries most affected, chiefly Serbia and Macedonia, and to support the UN agency’s regional office in Sarajevo. The £3.1 million will also support activities of the International Organisation of Migration in both Western Balkans transit countries, to further strengthen the response of host governments to the migration crisis. In addition, on 13 October, the UK despatched blankets, sleeping bags, and roll mats to Serbia for up to 11,000 vulnerable people as winter approaches.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the success of the Dayton Peace accords, and of the current political and security situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Dayton Peace Agreement ended a brutal war and remains the basis for the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), its constitution and our engagement. We are disappointed that twenty years on BiH has not made greater progress on its Euro-Atlantic path and we remain concerned about the political and security situation on the ground. Last year, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and his German counterpart launched an initiative (now endorsed by the EU) to inject momentum into BiH’s EU accession path and to prioritise reforms that will build prosperity and security for all. We continue to press the BiH governments to implement those reforms and to refrain from divisive, nationalist politicking that undermines progress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Middle East Quartet Representative on the prospects for peace between Israel and Palestine; what the identified successes and failures are; and what was the cost to the public purse of supporting the office of the Representative in each of the last eight financial years.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government supports the aims and objectives of the Quartet, which has an important role in the Middle East Peace Process through its mandate to mobilise international assistance to the Palestinians and develop plans to promote Palestinian economic development.

Since its inception in 2007, the Office of the Quartet Representative (OQR) has been funded by donations from Quartet members, including the European Commission, EU Member States and the US. Donations are pooled in a trust fund which is managed and administered by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

In November 2007 the then Secretary for State for International Development approved a one-off payment of £400,000 from the UK to UNDP to help with the costs of setting up the OQR. Other countries also contributed to the set up costs: Norway gave $1 million; the European Commission $2 million; and the US provided IT equipment.

The UK does not currently provide financial support to cover the costs of the OQR. The Department for International Development has seconded staff to the OQR since 2007. Their costs are as follows 2007: £62,850; 2008: £165,313; 2009: £204,830; 2010: £214,440; 2011: £247,213; 2012: £183,462; 2013: £266,088; 2014: £115,738; and 2015: £26,875. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also seconded two full-time members of staff to the OQR from 2007 until 2013. We do not hold a record of the costs of these secondments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans there are for the appointment of a new Middle East Quartet Representative; and what the timeline is for any such appointment.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There are no current plans to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative. The Office of the Quartet Representative has been renamed the Office of the Quartet. It is now being led by a Head of Mission, supported by a Deputy Head of Mission. The Quartet Principals (EU, US, UN and Russia) are responsible for taking decisions about the structure of the Quartet, including its staffing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of access to Yemen by the UNHCR and non-governmental organisations looking after the most vulnerable in that country.

Baroness Verma

Intense fighting on the ground is making it increasingly hard for UNHCR and other non-governmental organisations to reach those in need within Yemen. This is compounded by restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies into the country, including fuel. This in turn is hampering the distribution of humanitarian supplies within country, including essential food and medicines.Of the 2.3 million internally displaced people in Yemen, to date UNHCR has provided emergency relief items to 147,386 of them since the end of March.

The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has announced £75m to respond to the crisis in Yemen. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, working with trusted and impartial actors who have a strong track record in delivering assistance in difficult and dangerous places. We also support a UN-led process on access negotiations and the establishment of the Access Working Group where partners report cases of obstruction and accessible routes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the promotion of human rights is part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office mission statement, and what are their top five priorities in that area.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Annual Report and Accounts set out the FCO’s purpose for 2014–15. This listed eight separate commitments, two of which mentioned promoting human rights explicitly:

– Strengthen the Commonwealth as a focus for promoting democratic values, human rights, climate resilient development, conflict prevention and trade.

– Use soft power as a tool of UK foreign policy; promote British values and respect for human rights; build capacity to tackle terrorism in line with UK security requirements; and contribute to the welfare of developing countries and their citizens.

In addition, human rights are an integral part of the FCO’s work, linked with many aspects of our national interest including the stability and prosperity of our international partners. We set out in the 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report the actions we have taken to mainstream human rights across the FCO network, including ramping up our internal communications and training.

We are currently reconfiguring our work on human rights around three pillars to reflect the Government’s manifesto commitments, play to our strengths, boost our impact, and increase our ability to respond to international developments. These pillars are:

i) Democratic values and the rule of law;

ii) The rules-based international system and,

iii) Human rights for a stable world