Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government,  further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039) and 12 February (HL5911), whether they are now able to confirm that the stated aims of the application recently approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 had never included increasing knowledge about the causes of miscarriages”; and which of the purposes as set out in the previous Written Answer were instead deemed to be fulfilled by the project.”

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s role in granting a research licence is to ensure that any project fulfils one of the purposes set out in the legislation. The Person Responsible applied for the same purposes as those which were granted. These are set out in paragraph 1.18 of the minutes of the Licence Committee meeting held on 14 January 2016; a copy of the minutes is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Disasters Emergency Committee about when it will publish its summary of how money donated by the public to the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake was spent.

Baroness Verma

Funds raised by the British public for the DEC appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. UK Government representatives in Nepal’s meet regularly with Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members to discuss the ongoing earthquake response, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The DEC publishes regular updates on the Nepal response on their website and through social media. Information on how funds are being used is also shared directly to donors via email and post. The DEC has also commissioned and published an independent evaluation of the work, which I have attached for ease, of members in Nepal which particularly focuses on the emergency response phase.

The DEC is planning on producing a ‘one year on’ report which will be published on the anniversary of the earthquake. This will give details of how funds were raised, how they were disbursed to member agencies, how they have been spent and what has been achieved.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether it is their position that no non-state party is capable of committing genocide under the 1949 United Nations Genocide Convention.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Under Article IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III of the Convention shall be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. Any member of Daesh who has committed an act of genocide is therefore liable to prosecution. Individual criminal responsibility, rather than by organisations or groups, is determined by courts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will apply the principles of the Responsibility to Protect to the situation in Iraq and Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) imposes an obligation on all states to protect their populations, and for the international community to assist. The Asad regime has consistently ignored this obligation, using extreme violence against its own people and preventing access to humanitarian aid. The British Government is also appalled at the brutality of Daesh abuses against all communities. In line with R2P, we continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and we are working with the international community to find ways of providing justice to those who have suffered. Ultimately, the only way of safeguarding people is by defeating Daesh and establishing a lasting peace in both Syria and Iraq.

The UK is working through the International Syria Support Group to support and facilitate UN brokered intra-Syrian negotiations to end the conflict through political transition to a government that represents and protects its people, and are a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh. Our counter-Daesh strategy is working. Daesh have lost about 40 per cent of the territory it once held in Iraq – and significant territory in Syria. Thousands of people have been freed from Daesh’s abusive rule and have been able to return safely to their homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the legal advice given by the Attorney General in Northern Ireland that genocide is being committed against Christian and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

This Government condemns Daesh atrocities against Christians, other minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. As the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has said, the Government’s position remains that although there is a very strong case to answer, ultimately it should be a matter for judicial authorities.

We are supporting the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account. And we continue to deliver our comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh, and thereby stop them from preventing more atrocities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the aerial bombing of the Heiban locality in the South Khordofan and Blue Nile regions on 1 May, what representations they have made to the government of Sudan about reducing conflict and bringing about a ceasefire.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The reported aerial bombardment of civilians in the Heiban locality of South Kordofan is appalling. Targeting of civilians would be a clear breach of International Humanitarian Law. We continue to make clear to the Government of Sudan that they have a responsibility to protect citizens, distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and uphold International Humanitarian Law.

We consistently raise the importance of ending the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile directly with both the Government of Sudan and the Opposition; most recently, the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan raised this issue during his visit to Khartoum earlier this month. We continue to call on all sides to end the violence and believe that the Roadmap proposed by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel represents a viable way forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the British Embassy in North Korea has presented a copy of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to North Korean officials; and whether the UK Ambassador to North Korea has held discussions on that report with his North Korean counterparts.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Embassy in Pyongyang continues to raise the Commission of Inquiry report in bilateral discussions with the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and urges them to engage with the international community on the human rights situation in the DPRK. Our Embassy has not specifically presented a copy of the report to North Korean officials, but we have presented North Korean officials with a supporting Written Statement by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 1 June (HC38011 and HC38012), why the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel had to be provided in confidence to the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority if wider disclosure of such unredacted information would not breach patient confidentiality; and why the relevant information in question was not sought from Professor Grifo until sometime after the third Scientific Review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease in 2014.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As the noble Lord is aware, the email exchange between Professor Grifo and the Expert Panel member was private and provided in confidence. That email will not, therefore, be made public. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that the information in question was not sought in the previous reviews because the abstract published by Professor Grifo was not submitted to the Authority as part of any formal calls for evidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles on 5 September.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) ballistic missile launches of 5 September are a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). The DPRK’s repeated provocations in 2016 are a threat to regional stability and international security. The UN Security Council statement of 6 September, which the UK fully supports, clearly demonstrates that the international community is united and will not tolerate this destabilising behaviour. We urge the DPRK to abide by UNSCRs and return to credible and authentic discussions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sudan about the arrest and continuing detention of Reverend Hasan Kodi Taour, Reverend Kuwa Shamal Kori, Abdelmonim Abdelmawla and Petr Jasek.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware that the four men in question remain in detention. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum were present in court to observe the most recent hearing on 26 September, and are in close contact with the lawyers representing the defendants. We regularly raise our concerns over this case with the government of Sudan, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan to Khartoum in September. We will continue to monitor this case closely.

More widely, freedom of religion or belief remains a consistent theme in our ongoing human rights dialogue with the government of Sudan. We consistently call on them to ensure all legislation is consistent with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005, within which religious freedom is enshrined.