Tag: Lord Chidgey

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.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue to recognise EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and food safety approvals for imports of agricultural products from the African, Caribbean and Pacific group countries once the UK’s exit from the EU is complete, or whether they plan to require exporters from those countries to secure separate SPS and food safety approvals for exports to the UK.

Lord Price

A new Department for Exiting the European Union has been established by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, to oversee arrangements for the UK’s exit from the EU after we have triggered Article 50. Until then the UK remains a full member of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of any inconsistencies in deadlines for the ratification of concluded and signed EU trade agreements established by the European Commission under the auspices of Economic Partnership Agreements.

Lord Price

I am not aware of inconsistencies in deadlines for the ratification of Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific partners. EU Regulation 1528/2007 of 20 December 2007 states that ratification of the agreements should take place “within a reasonable period of time.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the normal functioning of parliamentary ratification processes in developing countries of the EU bringing forward the deadlines for ratification of EU Economic Partnership Agreements.

Lord Price

The EU has not brought forward the deadlines for ratification of Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) partners. EU Regulation 1528/2007 of 20 December 2007 states that ratification of the agreements should take place “within a reasonable period of time.” I expect the parliamentary ratification processes in developing countries to function as normal in relation to these agreements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to discuss with the European Commission the effect of the deadlines placed on the ratification of trade agreements with developing countries where such deadlines could undermine the normal functioning of parliamentary engagement of these ratification processes.

Lord Price

EU Regulation 1528/2007 of 20 December 2007 states that ratification of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific partners should take place “within a reasonable period of time.” UK officials are in regular contact with the European Commission about the EPAs and we do not expect Regulation 1528/2007 to undermine the normal functioning of parliamentary engagement in the ratification processes for these agreements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communication the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has had with the South Sudanese Transitional Government of National Unity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), wrote to President Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President Dr Riek Machar Teny and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Deng Alor Kwol on 6 May. He welcomed the formation of the transitional government and urged them to secure peace, tackle the economic crisis and address the humanitarian situation. Our Embassy in Juba is also in direct contact with members of the transitional government and will continue to press for the full implementation of the peace agreement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 12 February (HL5949), based on the UNHCR assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions, what is their estimate of (1) the number, and (2) the needs, of unaccompanied children from Sudan and South Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is not in a position to comment on the number or needs of unaccompanied children in particular countries. All asylum seeking children who arrive in the UK and are unaccompanied are referred to a local authority. Those local authorities hold responsibility for assessing their needs and providing services based on the outcome of the assessment.

The Government is clear about our moral responsibility to assist those who are suffering as a result of conflict and recognises that those fleeing persecution have a legal entitlement to protection. We worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to design and launch the ‘Children at Risk’ resettlement scheme. On the UNHCR’s recommendation, the scheme will not target unaccompanied children alone, but will be extended to all ‘Children at Risk’ as defined by the UNHCR who are in the Middle East and North Africa. We have committed to resettling several hundred individuals in the first year with a view to resettling up to 3,000 individuals over the lifetime of this Parliament, the majority of whom will be children.

As stated above, we cannot comment on the number of children in other countries. However, figures on asylum applications for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the UK are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015.

There were 142 applications for asylum from UASCs, excluding dependants, for nationals of Sudan during 2015. No such applications were received from nationals of South Sudan in 2015. UNHCR have published statistics on estimated numbers of children in countries, including South Sudan. These can be found at: http://data.unhcr.org/SouthSudan/regional.php.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has commissioned any research into migration to the EU from Horn of Africa nations, in the UK’s role as the Chair of the Khartoum Process.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In response to the migration crisis, the Government is building its evidence base on the drivers and trends in migration flows. We are working with partners, including through the Khartoum Process, to obtain a more systematic quantitative and qualitative data on flows and drivers of migration in source, transit and destination countries.

The UK is funding data analysis and evidence review work by the International Organization for Migration and the Open Data Institute on migration into the EU through the central Mediterranean route. The UK has also funded work for research into criminal networks facilitating human trafficking and smuggling in the Horn of Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Office has commissioned any research into migration to the EU from Horn of Africa nations, in line with the UK’s role as the Chair of the Khartoum Process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

As Chair of the Khartoum Process, the UK supports enhanced work in the Horn of Africa, working with EU and African partners to deliver concrete actions to combat people smuggling and human trafficking. Helping the countries of the Horn of Africa cope with migratory flows and tackling the root causes of migration is firmly in the UK’s interests, but we remain mindful of the broader humanitarian and political concerns regarding countries in that region and our position on that point has not changed.

The Home Office conducted research in the Horn of Africa to understand drivers of irregular migration to Europe and the UK, in line with our work under the Khartoum Process.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which African countries or regions the BBC World Service has switched from short wave transmission of their radio programmes from London via intermediate transmitters to in-country onward transmission from local FM stations, in each year from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The BBC World Service has advised that they maintained short wave broadcasts to Africa in all languages broadcast since 1999 except: •2010 – Swahili in Kenya •2011 – Portuguese in Southern Africa, primarily Mozambique.