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Tag: Douglas Alexander

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what occasions he has met the First Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, since Mr Picardo became First Minister.

    Mr William Hague

    I have met Mr Fabian Picardo three times since December 2011. I had discussions with him in the margins of the reception for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee on 5 June 2012 and during the Conservative Party Conference in October 2012. We also had a substantive meeting in London on 28 August 2013. In addition to those meetings, the Chief Minister and I have spoken on a number of occasions by telephone about various policy issues concerning Gibraltar.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government expects the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inquiry into the military dimension of the Iranian nuclear programme to be complete before the deadline for agreeing a comprehensive nuclear deal set by the P5+1.

    Mr William Hague

    It is unlikely that the complex questions surrounding the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programme (PMD) will be resolved by 20 July. We call on Iran to grant immediately access to all sites, equipment, persons and documents requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran must demonstrate real progress on PMD in order to reassure the international community that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings the Minister for Europe has held with the European Commission to discuss incursions by Spanish government vessels into British-Gibraltar territorial waters in the last two years.

    Mr William Hague

    We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), the Minister responsible for Europe, has not had any meetings with them in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.

    However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.

    The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish government.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of allegations of repressive measures taken towards civil society activists in China related to commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown; and whether the Government has made representations to the Chinese government on that matter.

    Mr William Hague

    We are concerned at reports of detentions in relation to the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, and we raised our concerns about this with the Chinese authorities during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in London on 20 May 2014. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), also raised this issue with the Chinese authorities on 19 May and made a statement on 21 May. We also fully support the EU statement of 28 May calling for the release of all those imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their views.

    We were pleased to see that on 5 June the Chinese authorities released a number of those who had been arrested after attending an event to commemorate the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings the Minister of State for Europe has held with the European Commission with the sole purpose of discussing incursions by Spanish government vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters.

    Mr William Hague

    We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), the Minister responsible for Europe, has not had any meetings with the EC in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.

    However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.

    The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish government.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Sudanese counterpart on the case of Meriam Ibrahim and the persecution of Christians in that country.

    Mr William Hague

    I am appalled at the death sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and her continued imprisonment. At my request, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Sudanese Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign Office on 19 May. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms Featherstone), also raised our deep concerns with the Sudanese Foreign Minister when she met him on 20 May. Our Embassy in Khartoum continues to press the Sudanese authorities for Meriam Ibrahim’s release, and is in close contact with her legal team.

    Along with our international partners, we regularly raise the persecution of Christians and other minorities with the Sudanese government. We have called on it to respect the right to freedom of religion and international human rights laws as enshrined in its own constitution.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further steps his Department is taking to ensure that the international investigation into the human rights situation in Sri Lanka is carried out transparently, robustly and swiftly.

    Mr William Hague

    On 27 March, the UN Human Rights Council passed a renewed resolution on Sri Lanka which establishes an international investigation into allegations of violations of international law on both sides of Sri Lanka’s military conflict, and calls upon the Sri Lankan government to make progress on human rights and reconciliation.

    The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will now begin the process of establishing an investigation and assessing the evidence. It is expected that the investigation will draw on expertise from a range of fields and examine a broad range of information and evidence. The High Commissioner will provide an oral update to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this September, and will provide a comprehensive report to the UNHRC in March 2015.

    The British Government fully supports the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. We will continue to work with them and international partners, and continue to encourage the Sri Lankan government to ensure proper implementation of the resolution.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the new Egyptian President about freedom of religion.

    Mr William Hague

    The Government has been clear throughout recent events in Egypt, that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. I have not yet met President el-Sisi, but will look to work with him and the Egyptian Government to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution, which includes protections for freedom of religious belief.

    Hugh Robertson, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, discussed the situation faced by Coptic Christians and implications of the new constitution in a meeting with Bishop Yulios during his visit to Cairo in December.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Cabinet Secretary was tasked with assessing whether there were gounds for a further inquiry into the events surrounding the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

    Mr William Hague

    The Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood’s investigation looked at why the UK provided advice to the Indian authorities, the nature of the UK assistance and the impact of that assistance in Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple. As I told Parliament in my statement to the House on 4 February 2014, Official Report, columns 139-142, the report and the documents we published clearly show the limited nature of UK advice on Operation Blue Star, and that there were no grounds for a further inquiry.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role he sees for the EU in helping to facilitate Libyan parliamentary elections in July 2014.

    Mr William Hague

    The UK is firmly committed to supporting the Libyan people and Government, and I welcome the elections for the Libyan House of Representatives due on 25 June. I hope it will be conducted in a fair, transparent and accountable way which is respected by all parties. I believe that the EU, along with our international partners, can play a crucial role in supporting these elections. An EU Election Experts’ Mission monitored the Constitutional Assembly elections in February, and set out recommendations for improvements which were shared with the Libyan authorities in a report. We believe this, along with other EU programmes related to democratic transition in Libya, has laid a solid foundation to facilitate the June elections.