Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on atrocities committed by Daesh.

Mr Philip Hammond

My officials have regular contact with the Joint Office of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Their discussions cover a range of issues related to preventing genocide and mass atrocities, including the actions of Daesh.

The UK provides funding for the Office, including for its work with religious leaders and faith-based organisations in the Middle East and North Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has (a) drafted a motion for or (b) discussed a draft of a motion with other members of the UN Security Council since 20 April 2016 that would refer the perpetrators of suspected (i) genocide and (ii) war crimes in Syria or Iraq to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Philip Hammond

In August 2014, the UK sponsored UN Security Council resolution 2170 which reaffirmed the call for those who have committed or are responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in Iraq and Syria to be held accountable. UN Security Council resolution 2249, passed in November 2015, again confirmed the importance of holding the Islamic State in the Levant (also known as Da’esh) to account. These resolutions follow an attempt in May 2014 to have the Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the ICC which was vetoed by Russia and China. We continue to discuss with partners on the UN Security Council further ways to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes committed in Syria and Iraq are held to account and face justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK has released all the information it has in its possession relating to the death of Dag Hammarskjold to the Independent Panel of Experts.

Mr Philip Hammond

The vast majority of UK material relevant to the death of Dag Hammarskjold has already been released to The National Archives at Kew, where it is accessible to the public. In response to a request from the UN Independent Panel established in 2015 to examine the value of new information related to the death of former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) coordinated a search across all relevant UK Government departments. None of these departments identified any pertinent material. In addition, the FCO also reviewed again a small number of file extracts that had previously been withheld. The review concluded that, although these file extracts did not contain any substantive information likely to be of interest to the Panel, they should continue to be withheld under Section 3(4) of the UK Public Records Act, for security-related reasons. The FCO wrote to the Panel, assuring it that the redactions consist of short individual pieces of text and that the FCO had not retained whole documents or files. Our assessment continues to be that all the information of value to the Panel has already been released to The National Archives and that release of the redacted material would not provide anything of additional value for the Panel’s work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Bahrain on the suspension of the main Shia opposition group in that country.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned by the decision to suspend the activities of the Bahraini opposition group, Al Wefaq, and freeze its assets. I raised this issue with my Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on 14 June 2016. We encourage Bahrain to respect the rights of political groups to operate and to seek an inclusive political dialogue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings he has had to date with HM Government of Gibraltar on exiting the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union met with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar this week and is committed to continued close working with the Government of Gibraltar.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the UK of the UK withdrawing from the European Banking Authority.

Simon Kirby

On 23 June the British people voted to leave the EU and the Government will deliver on their verdict. We will continue to undertake the policy work to support the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and to establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK. However, we are not going to give a running commentary on every twist and turn of our exit negotiations. It is in all our interests for UK and EU to work together on both our withdrawal and a new relationship and for us to be able to deliver a successful outcome through a constructive negotiation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contact his Department has had with the US Atrocity Prevention Board.

Mr Philip Hammond

FCO officials regularly meet members of the board in the course of normal business, for example at Responsibility to Protect (R2P) meetings during this year’s United Nations General Assembly. The UK is also an active participant in the US-led informal grouping on atrocity prevention which meets every few months to discuss developments and policy priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s counter-extremism budget was for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and how much has been budgeted for (i) 2015-16 and (ii) future financial years.

Mr Philip Hammond

Counter-extremism is an integral part of the FCO’s counter-terrorism work. It is also a core element of activities funded through the cross-Whitehall Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund. Disaggregating FCO-specific spend on counter-extremism activities from wider counter-terrorism work would incur disproportionate cost.

Future counter-terrorism and counter-extremism spending is subject to the outcome of the Spending Review and SDSR.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to publish the next quarterly progress report to the House on Syria.

Mr Philip Hammond

I updated the House on 16 December 2015. The next progress report on Syria will be made by my Right Hon Friend, member for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, the Development Secretary, Ms Justine Greening following the 4 February Syria Conference in London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance (a) has been issued and (b) his Department plans to issue in 2016 to UK diplomats in states with the death penalty on representing the Government’s position on the use of that penalty.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle but I have no plans to issue prescriptive guidance to posts on how they represent the Government’s position on the death penalty. UK Heads of Mission are best placed to judge what the most effective course of action will be, according to local circumstances.