Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made a recent assessment of reports that the Palestinian Authority is making monthly payments to Hamas fighters imprisoned in Israel.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave on 26 September to Question HL10094.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 18 September (HL Deb col 2400), whether they will approach the relevant international court to seek a determination as to whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
As I told the House of Lords on 18 September, the International Court of Justice is currently considering a case brought under the Genocide Convention in respect of Israel's conduct in Gaza. This case is currently ongoing, and the UK fully respects the independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the meantime, as I also made clear, our approach to genocide determination does not prevent us from taking action on the situation in the State of Palestine. We have been clear that we strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's operations in Gaza, that Israel must do much more to protect civilians, that Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change and that Israel must immediately lift its restrictions on aid.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had, or are currently holding, discussions with allies about reviewing the terms of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government keeps all aspects of the asylum and immigration system under review, and set out its plans for reform of that system in the Immigration White paper, published in May 2025.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what role UK diplomatic posts in the Gulf region will play in monitoring and supporting implementation of the enhanced partnership with the United Arab Emirates on illicit finance.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-UAE Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows, chaired by the Home Office, is a cross-governmental effort to strengthen operational cooperation and disrupt financial crime. A senior UAE delegation visited the UK on 2 and 3 September to advance this work. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets and evaluates countries against global standards, which is a separate and technical process. Our bilateral engagement complements implementation of the FATF standards and supports international financial integrity.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of how the UK-UAE partnership on illicit finance will interact with multilateral initiatives such as the Financial Action Task Force.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-UAE Partnership to Tackle Illicit Financial Flows, chaired by the Home Office, is a cross-governmental effort to strengthen operational cooperation and disrupt financial crime. A senior UAE delegation visited the UK on 2 and 3 September to advance this work. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets and evaluates countries against global standards, which is a separate and technical process. Our bilateral engagement complements implementation of the FATF standards and supports international financial integrity.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how international organisations of which the UK is a member are documenting and responding to allegations of attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gaza, such as schools and hospitals.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We are aware of a number of international organisations who are documenting and responding to allegations of violations during the conflict in Gaza, including agencies of the UN system. We consider all such reports seriously. We are clear that all parties to the conflict must comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, including to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to convene the talks to end the war in Sudan since the London Sudan Conference.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) confirmed that the UK will continue to use its leadership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to advocate for increased international efforts on Sudan, including pushing the warring parties to implement the humanitarian pause, the wider ceasefire and the political transition that the Sudanese people need.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the external actors to the war in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) confirmed that the UK will continue to use its leadership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to advocate for increased international efforts on Sudan, including pushing the warring parties to implement the humanitarian pause, the wider ceasefire and the political transition that the Sudanese people need.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Independent - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take at the UN General Assembly to support a ceasefire in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) confirmed that the UK will continue to use its leadership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to advocate for increased international efforts on Sudan, including pushing the warring parties to implement the humanitarian pause, the wider ceasefire and the political transition that the Sudanese people need.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterpart on the potential impact of the conflict in Gaza on older people's (a) mobility, (b) access to healthcare and (c) access to age-appropriate humanitarian assistance.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Marginalised groups such as people with disabilities and the elderly are disproportionately impacted by long standing conflicts including the war in Gaza, and by humanitarian provision which only allows those able to carry aid over long distances to secure food. We continue to work, alongside regional partners, including Egypt and Jordan, to enable the UN and non-governmental organisations to ensure aid reaches all those in Gaza, and we continue to urge the Israeli authorities to allow the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of older people, and others.