Tag: Baroness Tonge

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Israeli ministers over the prosecution of settlers for acts of violence against Palestinians.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We regularly raise the issue of settler violence with the Israeli authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv most recently raised our concerns on 26 October with the Israeli Commander of Government Activities in the Territories, General Mordechai. He pressed for a swift resolution of the investigation into the attack that occurred in Duma in July, as well raising wider concerns around increasing settler violence, including during the olive harvest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the retention by Israel of the bodies of suspected Palestinian combatants, rather than returning those bodies to their families.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Deputy Head of Mission at our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israel’s National Security Council Director on 18 November. We continue to urge both the Israelis and Palestinians to maintain calm and refrain from taking actions which could make peace more difficult to achieve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and in particular of Wasim Marouf at Ofer prison.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Although we have not raised Wasim Marouf’s particular case, we remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention and also have concerns about mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. We have raised these concerns with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning the welfare of children in prisons in Israel run by G4S.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities concerning the welfare of children in specific prisons in Israel run by G4S, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about the treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention with the Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor on 23 November 2015.

We continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of Palestinian children detained.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, currently on hunger strike, without charge or trial.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged.

We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with the UK members of parliament who are attending the forthcoming World Humanitarian Summit in May.

Baroness Verma

The UK is committed to making the World Humanitarian Summit a success and recognises that this requires coordination with a large number of interested parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning the imprisonment of Ibrahim Sharif for making speeches about democracy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels, and we understand that he has the right of appeal. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa , on 8 March.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisation is responsible for collecting air pollution data generated by monitoring in and around Heathrow airport.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Air quality monitoring data collected in and around Heathrow Airport is presented on the Heathrow AirWatch website which is funded via a joint working partnership consisting of Heathrow Airport Ltd, London Boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne Borough Councils and British Airways. It is managed by the consultant Ricardo Energy and Environment.

Two local monitoring sites are included in the Government’s national monitoring network (the Automatic Urban and Rural Network). All national air quality monitoring data is available on the Government’s UK-Air website.

The two monitoring sites are London Hillingdon which is located in a suburban residential area approximately 30 metres from the M4 motorway and London Harlington which is located close to a minor road to the east of Harlington village.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the remarks by the Foreign Secretary in 2010 that the window of opportunity for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have closed by 2016, they have plans to announce the end of the possibility of such a solution.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We believe a negotiated two-state solution remains the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. We continue to press both sides strongly on the need to refrain from taking action which make peace more difficult. We believe that if both parties show the bold leadership and political strength necessary to find a way forward, a two-state solution remains possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the inclusion of Universal Health Coverage as a target in the World Health Organization report Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, published on 8 April 2016.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government welcomes the report of the World Health Organisation, which highlights the integrated and indivisible nature of all the Goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the role of health among them, and presents Universal Health Coverage as a target in itself and a contributor to the other health targets