Tag: Lord Hylton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the repeated bombing of facilities of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are in regular dialogue with the Government of Saudi Arabia regarding the conflict in Yemen. We are very concerned and saddened by an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) centre in Yemen on 10 January and offer our condolences to the families of those affected. It is important to establish the cause of this incident. We welcome the public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz on 2 December. It is important that Saudi Arabia conducts investigations into incidents which have raised concerns. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of eyewitness accounts of starvation from across Syria; what action they have taken following that assessment; and in particular whether they will discuss with the government of Russia the provision of supplies by land and by air.

Baroness Verma

No one who has seen the images coming out of Madaya and other besieged towns can say this situation is anything other than utterly appalling. Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. It is unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. We are deeply concerned about the 4.6 million people who live in hard to reach areas, including almost 486,700 who live under siege conditions.

We have given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas. On 11 January, the UN, Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed aid convoys had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived. These convoys are expected to enable 40,000 people inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya, to survive. UK funding to UN agencies directly supported these convoys with food parcels and medicine.

However, humanitarian access to those in need continues to shrink. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard-to-reach areas have been approved and delivered. That’s why it is vital we keep up the pressure on the regime and other conflict parties to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access. Russia, in particular, has a special obligation to confront and condemn the atrocities being carried out against Syrian civilians.

When it comes to helping Syrians in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, we do not rule anything out but, right now, air drops are not a viable way of getting help to those in need. Use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Critically, the UN is not currently calling for their use.

We are aware of reports of Russian airdrops into Deir Ez Zour. We are working to verify these claims and understand the nature and impact of any such airdrops, including the extent to which they may be effectively addressing needs. Unlike Madaya, Deir Ez Zour city is under regime control and is surrounded by Daesh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Final Resolution of the 12th International Conference on the European Union, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds, held at the European Parliament in January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

While we do not agree with all points made in the Final Resolution of the 12th International Conference on the EU, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds, held at the European Parliament in January, we too call for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party to cease its attacks and share the participants’ desire to see a return to the peace process.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage families in the UK to sponsor, foster or adopt unaccompanied refugee children who reach this country.

Lord Bates

In response to the many generous offers of help, the Home Secretary has announced that we will be establishing a register of people and organisations that can provide support for the settlement of refugees.

We have asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make an assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK. The UNHCR has already been clear that these are likely to be exceptional cases. This is because it is not uncommon in an emergency situation for children to be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members who may be looking for them. Efforts to reunite children with relatives or extended family members, who may be looking for them in the region, should be preferred to premature attempts to organise adoption. Some lone refugee children may come to the UK for temporary care, but overall our support is for them to be reunited with parents or other relatives wherever possible.

More information on what the public can do to help Syrian refugees can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/syria-refugees-what-you-can-do-to-help–2

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 23 February (HL6333), whether they have had specific discussions with the government of Bahrain on past and pending deprivations of citizenship, and on potential discrimination against the Shia Scholars Council and the Al Wefaq Party; and if so, with what results.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed human rights and political reform with the Bahraini Ambassador on 8 March. We use the strength of our relationship and engagement to encourage reform. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meets its human rights obligations and honour all conventions to which it is a party – including on citizenship rights. We also urge all sides to engage in constructive political dialogue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ask that unrecognised entities such as Gaza, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Cantons of Northern Syria be invited, at least as observers, to the UN World Humanitarian Summit in May.

Baroness Verma

The World Humanitarian Summit has been convened by the UN Secretary-General. Whilst it is for him to decide on participants, he has been clear in his intention to make the Summit an open and participative process. Over 5,000 participants are expected in Istanbul, including leaders from crisis-affected communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are making representations to the government of Saudi Arabia for full payment of arrears of wages to employees of the Saudi Binladin Group.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has not made representations to the Government of Saudi Arabia for full payment of arrears of wages to employees of the Saudi Bin Laden Group. We are not aware of any British nationals that have been affected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call on the government of Israel to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on torture to visit places of arrest and holding of suspects in the West Bank, together with prisons and detention centres in Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have no plans to call on the Israeli authorities to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on torture to visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they have of rocket and mortar attacks on civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud area of Aleppo by the Fatah Halat coalition of Islamist militants or other groups; and whether they have received any reports that chemical weapons were used in that area in early April or since then.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are aware of reports of rocket and mortar attacks in civilian areas in the Sheikh Maqsood area of Aleppo in early April. These attacks were a result of clashes between the Kurdish People’s Protection Units and a range of armed opposition groups. There have also been allegations of chemical weapons use by armed groups in the area. We have been unable to verify these reports. The ongoing violence in Syria continues to put civilians at risk. Only a political settlement, with transition away from Asad, can bring an end to their suffering.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied child refugees have so far been officially identified in Europe, aside from the UK, and how many of those have reached the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, as underpinned by the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of whom have already arrived in the UK.

We are in active discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and Non-Governmental Organisations in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to the UK where this in their best interests.

As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.