Tag: Hilary Benn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of human rights workers being (a) summoned for questioning, (b) banned from travelling and (c) subject to attempts to freeze their personal funds and family assets by the Egyptian authorities.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt, including for Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Human rights defenders have been subject to measures including questioning, travel bans and judicial applications for asset freezing against individuals and their families. I refer you to the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Sate for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) on 22 March. UK officials have raised our concerns with representatives from the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of barriers to humanitarian agencies reaching people in need in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Conflict is making humanitarian access within Yemen extremely difficult. Humanitarian agencies report that they are constrained in reaching areas of greatest humanitarian need and delivering assistance for a number of reasons including bureaucratic requirements imposed by the authorities, access challenges for international staff, insecurity in a number of districts, and a proliferation of checkpoints across the country.

We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. We work with trusted and impartial partners such as UN agencies and NGOs who have good access and a strong track record of delivering and monitoring assistance in difficult and dangerous places.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 995, whether Daesh has committed crimes that should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Philip Hammond

The Government has condemned repeatedly Daesh’s atrocities against both minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. There is a growing body of evidence that terrible crimes have been committed by Daesh. The UK is supporting efforts to gather and preserve that evidence.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her statement of 8 April 2015. The Rome Statute provides for "situations" rather than organisations to be referred to the ICC. Therefore, referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than a specific organisation.

As neither Iraq nor Syria is a State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil.

In order for Daesh’s crimes in Iraq and Syria to be investigated by the ICC, Iraq and Syria would have to declare their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction, or the UN Security Council would have to refer the situation in those countries to the Court.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the British High Commission in Barbados to respond to the email of 10 September 2015 from the right hon. Member for Leeds Central regarding Mr Rawlins.

Mr Philip Hammond

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials transferred the letter from the hon. Member for Leeds Central to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), part of the Home Office, on 18 September 2015. UKVI responded to the letter on 1 October 2015. All government departments endeavour to provide comprehensive responses to all correspondence from Members of this House. However, I understand that on this occasion the response did not satisfactorily address all of the issues raised in your letter. Officials at the Home Office have assured me that they will be providing a further reply to your letter, addressing these points, by the end of this week.

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 re-arrest of Nabeel Rajab in that country.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are concerned about the recent re-arrest of Nabeel Rajab. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all its citizens. We call on the Bahraini Government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression. I raised his case with my Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 14 June 2016. We will continue to monitor his case as it develops.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many (a) consultants and (b) seconded staff (i) are working or (ii) have been recruited to work at his Department; and from which (A) companies, (B) departments and (C) other organisations such staff were recruited or seconded.

Mr Robin Walker

Consultants

The Department has drawn upon a number of offers of pro bono support from consultancy firms.

Secondments

There are currently five secondees to the Department from external bodies outside of the civil service. Due to the small numbers of secondments from individual organisations, it is not possible to give a breakdown of all the organisations from which they were seconded, without risking identification of individuals in breach of data protection rules.

Other Departments

The Department will be made up of staff and officials from various departments across Government. The Department has already started drawing together expertise with staff from around 20 Departments and organisations from across Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many jobs in the UK would be at risk if the (a) European Medicines Agency and (b) European Banking Authority relocated out of the UK.

Mr David Jones

No decisions have yet been made about the future of the European Medicines Agency or the European Banking Authority. The position of individual staff in the EU institutions will depend on their particular situation and will be determined at the appropriate time. We are clear on the need to get the best deal possible for the UK and its citizens in the negotiations with the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on invoking UN Resolution 337A, Uniting for Peace, in order to convene an emergency Special Session of the General Assembly on Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK regularly discusses with UN partners the appropriate forums to discuss this appalling and deteriorating situation in Syria. The UK has requested and co-sponsored a number of Emergency Sessions in the Security Council on different events in Syria, to ensure the Council is fully appraised of the intensity of violence and indiscriminate attacks in Aleppo and across Syria, as well as the consequences of Asad’s ‘starve and surrender’ tactics and use of chemical weapons. We will continue to consider UN General Assembly action, including an Emergency Session.

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.