Tag: Lord Alton of Liverpool

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Anelay of St Johns to the private notice question from Lord Alton of Liverpool on 21 April, which members of the United Nations Security Council they believe would veto a referral to the International Criminal Court of evidence of genocide against Christian, Yazidi and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. It is not possible to refer Daesh itself to the ICC. Any referral would cover ALL potential crimes against international humanitarian law within a specified geographic area, rather than a specified organisation or set of actors.

When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 25 April (HL7391), whether the single stem cell line from the research project R0152 that was in preparation for depositing with the UK Stem Cell bank was derived following any form of nuclear transfer or pronuclear transfer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the single stem cell line from the research project R0152, that was in preparation for depositing with the UK Stem Cell bank, was not derived following any form of nuclear transfer or pronuclear transfer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any vessels of the Royal Navy fleet have been built or serviced at the Nauta shipyard in Poland; and whether the Government is aware of the use of North Korean labour at that shipyard.

Earl Howe

I can confirm that no Royal Navy vessels have been built or serviced at the Nauta shipyard in Poland. We are aware of reports, however, that North Korean labour has been used at the shipyard.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan has adequate supplies of electricity; what assessment they have made of the effect of power cuts and power rationing on that hospital’s ability to provide treatment; whether they have raised the issue of the lack of electricity at the Juba Teaching Hospital with the government of South Sudan; and what steps they will take to ensure that that government takes action.

Baroness Verma

The Government of South Sudan has provided one year’s supply of fuel to the Juba Teaching Hospital. The fuel was delivered and electricity was restored to the hospital at the end of May 2016. The Government has also recently signed a contract with a private company to undertake general renovation of the hospital.

The South Sudan Government’s annual budget allocations for health and education are amongst the lowest in the region averaging 6% for education and 4% for health, compared to an average of 17% and 15% respectively in other East African countries. The UK has consistently lobbied for increased budget allocations to these sectors. The UK is pressing the Government of South Sudan to increase funding for health in the 2016-17 annual budget which will be set in July, particularly for medicines, hospital infrastructure, recurrent running costs including fuel, and personnel for hospitals and clinics. This issue was most recently raised in a meeting with the Minister of Health, Riek Gai Kok on 21 June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to participate in the conference about the attacks on Yazidis, Christians and others by ISIS organised by the US State Department in Washington DC on 29 July; if so, who will represent them and whether whilst attending that conference they will explain why they have not supported the genocide declarations passed by the House of Commons and the US Congress.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK will attend the State Department Consultation on Threats to Religious and Ethnic Minorities under Daesh on 28 and 29 July. It will be represented by a senior official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The consultation will be used to discuss what countries are doing to protect minorities under Daesh and what more can be done. As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) made clear during his visit to Washington on 21 July, the Government is fully committed to working with international partners to ensure Daesh is held to account for its crimes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to engage in increased consultation with civil society and UK-based and international human rights NGOs around the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue, including increasing transparency and accountability.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Ministers and officials meet civil society representatives on a regular basis to hear their views and benefit from their expertise on the human rights situation in China. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) met Chinese NGOs during his recent visit to China. He plans to host a round table with UK-based NGOs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the near future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money they have allocated this financial year towards peace-building and reconciliation initiatives and towards the restoration of plurality and diversity in Iraq and post-war Syria; and how much has been allocated for each of the next five years.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

For the 2016/17 financial year the UK Government allocated £3.7 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) towards promoting reconciliation in Iraq. These funds contribute to addressing the long-term factors that led to Daesh’s rise. In Iraq the funding supports efforts to encourage political reform and reconciliation through the passage and implementation of legislation, building the capacity of decision makers to craft a strategic vision for reconciliation, and creating a space for dialogue between the government and all of Iraq’s communities. In Syria, we have committed over £7 million from the CSSF for the 2016/17 financial year towards the promotion of reconciliation, specifically in supporting local councils, moderate voices and civil society groups who work to increase community engagement in local conflicts. We are also supporting Track II political dialogue and peace building work, through education, interfaith coexistence and reconciliation training.

For financial year 2017/18, and subsequent years, the final allocation of funding for promoting reconciliation in both Iraq and Syria is yet to be decided. However, this will remain a critical area for our programme funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the indictment of Omar al Bashir for genocide and human rights abuses in Sudan, what is the current level of engagement with the Sudanese regime and whether that level of engagement has increased, or is planned to increase.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In order to maximise our ability to persuade all parties to the conflicts in Sudan to end the fighting and allow the Sudanese people the security and development they deserve, we need to have a greater level of direct engagement with the government of Sudan. For that reason, we have started a Strategic Dialogue with the government of Sudan, which provides a necessary platform for us to raise issues of concern, including human rights, and at the same time explore possibilities for cooperation on a wide range of UK interests. The Strategic Dialogue process does not change our position of maintaining only‘essential contact’ with President Bashir, given his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The UK remains a firm supporter of the ICC and encourages all States to act on its indictment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the call by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea for the Kim regime in North Korea to be referred to the International Criminal Court, and whether they intend to discuss that recommendation with each of the other members of the UN Security Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We remain concerned by the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We have recently worked with the EU and Japan to co-author a UN resolution on the human rights situation in the DPRK which calls for accountability. We are now working to achieve strong support for this resolution.

We hold regular meetings with other UN Security Council member states to identify ways in which we can improve the DPRK’s human rights record. Our most recent meeting was at the UN in New York during October. We will continue to engage with key partners and allies to ensure the need for accountability remains at the heart of the international community’s work to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports from the Shan Human Rights Foundation that between 9 and 12 November the Burmese Army carried out shelling and aerial bombing of Mong Nawng and that those attacks constitute war crimes.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are concerned by reports of continued fighting in Shan State, including around Mong Nawng and Wanhai, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates has displaced approximately 6,000 people since 6 October. Our Ambassador in Rangoon raised our concerns about the conflict in Shan with the Burmese military on 20 November. The UK has played a leading role in supporting efforts to broker ceasefire agreements, funding expert advice to both sides in support of dialogue and peacemaking.

We welcomed the signing of a ceasefire agreement on 15 October and we continue to urge armed groups who did not sign the ceasefire and the Burmese government to engage in ceasefire talks to bring the conflict to an end.

The UK has made no assessment of whether these allegations amount to war crimes. Any determination as to whether specific international crimes have occurred is a matter for an international judicial decision rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.