Tag: Lord Chidgey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to commit to include safe and legal routes of passage from the Horn of Africa into the Khartoum Process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is continuing its Chairmanship of the Khartoum Process, and remains committed in its support for human rights. Our focus remains on the implementation of the actions agreed at last year’s EU-Africa Valletta Summit on migration.

We are working with EU and international partners to ensure that EU funding underlying the Khartoum Process is properly monitored and overseen, including compliance with the EU Treaties which includes respect for human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the changes in audience sizes in African countries or regions following the switch from short wave to FM transmission of BBC World Service programmes between 1999 and 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The BBC World Service has advised that they make the following assessment of the changes in audience sizes in African countries or regions:

Sub -Saharan Africa –

Total audience across all platforms has risen from 52.7 million in 2005 to 81.8 million in 2015 (55 per cent increase).

In 2005, Short Wave and Medium Wave delivered 63 per cent of total audiences; by 2015 Short Wave and Medium Wave delivered 39.3 per cent of total audiences.

Short Wave and Medium Wave audiences in the region have dropped 3.9 per cent, while BBC’s direct FM audiences have grown by 125 per cent.

Middle East and North Africa –

Total audience across all platforms has risen from 15.3 million in 2005 to 48.2 million in 2015 (215 per cent increase).

In 2005, Short Wave and Medium Wave delivered 78 per cent of total audiences; by 2015 Short Wave and Medium Wave delivered 8.5 per cent of total audiences.

In this period, Short Wave and Medium Wave audiences in the region have dropped by 62 per cent, while the BBC’s direct FM audiences have dropped by 59 per cent.

BBC Arabic TV reaches 30.3 million people across Middle East & North Africa.

The World Service use Global Audience Measurement (GAM) data to track performance by platform and by market. This data provides clear records from 2005 onwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they plan to take in the design of an international migration policy, based on respect for human rights, when they no longer chair the Khartoum Process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is continuing its Chairmanship of the Khartoum Process, and remains committed in its support for human rights. Our focus remains on the implementation of the actions agreed at last year’s EU-Africa Valletta Summit on migration.

We are working with EU and international partners to ensure that EU funding underlying the Khartoum Process is properly monitored and overseen, including compliance with the EU Treaties which includes respect for human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the change in the size of the audience for BBC World Service programmes broadcast via the internet in African countries or regions from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The BBC World Service has advised that:

The current weekly audience for the BBC on the Internet in sub Saharan Africa has grown from 520,000 in 2006 to 4.3 million (726 per cent increase).

The current weekly audience for the BBC on the Internet in the Middle East and North Africa grew from 530,000 in 2006 to 2.2 million (315 per cent increase).

The World Service use Global Audience Measurement (GAM) data to track performance by platform and by market. This data provides clear records from 2005 onwards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports from Human Rights Watch of collusion between Sudanese police forces and people smugglers trafficking people in the region.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of, and deeply troubled by, reports of collusion between Sudanese police forces and people smugglers. We have raised our concerns over these reports with both the Ministry of Interior and the Commissioner for Refugees. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Sudan as part of our wider engagement on migration issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of political instability, human rights violations, poor governance and rule of law, and economic collapse, on migration flows from Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are concerned by migration flows from across the region, including Sudan. There are a range of political, economic and security factors that impact migration flows and we are undertaking further research on the drivers of migration from Sudan. We continue to raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Sudan and urge the government and opposition groups to work together to secure a political settlement that addresses Sudan’s internal conflicts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the monitoring and oversight mechanisms in place in respect of the use of EU funds to ensure that the Khartoum Process complies with human rights norms.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is continuing its Chairmanship of the Khartoum Process, and remains committed in its support for human rights. Our focus remains on the implementation of the actions agreed at last year’s EU-Africa Valletta Summit on migration.

We are working with EU and international partners to ensure that EU funding underlying the Khartoum Process is properly monitored and overseen, including compliance with the EU Treaties which includes respect for human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Verma on 29 February (HL Deb, cols 573–5), whether the UK Mission to the UN, following receipt of a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan, has called for the immediate imposition of an arms embargo; and if so, why such an embargo should not also be applied to Sudan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK has made clear our strong support for a UN arms embargo in South Sudan. We welcome that the UN Security Council will return to this issue by 15 April and we will continue to make the case to other Council members in the interim. We fully support the existing UN arms embargo for Darfur and the EU arms embargo that applies to Sudan as a whole. We remain deeply concerned by the impact of the devastating conflicts in Sudan and will continue to press all sides to engage in the African Union-led peace talks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the potential effects on investment of uncertainty around issues of future market access, whether they plan to commit to (1) extending bilaterally the duty- and quota-free access that the least developed countries have had to the UK market since 2001 once the UK’s exit from the EU is completed; (2) honouring the duty- and quota-free market access granted to Caribbean countries since 2008 until new bilateral trade agreements have been concluded; and (3) unilaterally extending the duty- and quota-free access granted to sub-Saharan countries under the transitional arrangements established since 2008 until new bilateral trade agreements have been concluded.

Lord Price

While the UK is still a member of the EU, all rights and obligations will apply. There will be no initial change in the way we trade with developing countries. The new Department for International Trade will work with the Department for International Development on the structure and access to the UK’s markets to be offered to developing countries. This will reflect the UK’s longstanding support for Least Developed Countries and other developing country trading partners including through preferential trade agreements. This recognises that trade can be an effective way of growing economies and reducing poverty internationally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Sudan concerning the recent raid by Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services on civil society actors at the Tracks offices in Khartoum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

An official based at our Embassy in Khartoum raised this specific case directly with the Director for Human Rights at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week. More broadly, we continue to highlight our concerns about the freedom of civil society organisations as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue with the Government of Sudan.