Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of International Development, they plan to fund projects to help combat sexual violence in Colombia on a longer-term basis than the annual funding cycle has permitted to date.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which the FCO has designated a Human Rights Priority Country. Since 2016, UK support to a network of survivors of sexual violence has helped document 1200 new cases which are now before the transitional justice system. The UK has also funded work to train rural medical professionals in how to attend cases of sexual violence, including with a view to preserving evidence to facilitate convictions. More broadly, the UK has led efforts to strengthen action on conflict-related sexual violence through UN Security Council Peacekeeping Mandates and Resolutions. In April 2019, we advocated and voted for UN Security Council Resolution 2467 on sexual violence in conflict. This specified the importance of a survivor-centric approach in response to conflict-related sexual violence, which is the approach that underpins our programme work in Colombia. The UK remains committed to providing support to help Colombia tackle the legacy of sexual violence from its long conflict, and, as part of the FCO-DFID merger discussions, we will take the opportunity to review, refresh, and build on all existing strategies, as well as developing new approaches where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include greater involvement of survivors of sexual violence in the programme design of funded projects in Colombia.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which the FCO has designated a Human Rights Priority Country. Since 2016, UK support to a network of survivors of sexual violence has helped document 1200 new cases which are now before the transitional justice system. The UK has also funded work to train rural medical professionals in how to attend cases of sexual violence, including with a view to preserving evidence to facilitate convictions. More broadly, the UK has led efforts to strengthen action on conflict-related sexual violence through UN Security Council Peacekeeping Mandates and Resolutions. In April 2019, we advocated and voted for UN Security Council Resolution 2467 on sexual violence in conflict. This specified the importance of a survivor-centric approach in response to conflict-related sexual violence, which is the approach that underpins our programme work in Colombia. The UK remains committed to providing support to help Colombia tackle the legacy of sexual violence from its long conflict, and, as part of the FCO-DFID merger discussions, we will take the opportunity to review, refresh, and build on all existing strategies, as well as developing new approaches where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made, or plan to make, to the government of Colombia about the prevention of sexual violence reportedly perpetrated by members of that country’s armed forces.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are deeply concerned by reports of sexual violence by military actors in Colombia. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and are glad that the Colombian authorities have taken swift action to investigate these allegations and hold those responsible to account.
The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which the FCO has designated a Human Rights Priority Country. The UK has continued to provide support to help Colombia tackle the legacy of sexual violence from its long conflict. Since 2016, UK support to a network of survivors of sexual violence has helped document 1200 new cases which are now before the transitional justice system. The UK has also funded work to train rural medical professionals in how to attend cases of sexual violence, including with a view to preserving evidence to facilitate convictions. We are also supporting civil society organisations to work with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace on sexual violence cases through our contribution to the UN Trust Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia in respect of cases of sexual violence in conflict.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are deeply concerned by reports of sexual violence by military actors in Colombia. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and are glad that the Colombian authorities have taken swift action to investigate these allegations and hold those responsible to account.
The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which the FCO has designated a Human Rights Priority Country. The UK has continued to provide support to help Colombia tackle the legacy of sexual violence from its long conflict. Since 2016, UK support to a network of survivors of sexual violence has helped document 1200 new cases which are now before the transitional justice system. The UK has also funded work to train rural medical professionals in how to attend cases of sexual violence, including with a view to preserving evidence to facilitate convictions. We are also supporting civil society organisations to work with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace on sexual violence cases through our contribution to the UN Trust Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the illegal collation of secret files on civil society organisations, including human rights defenders, the press and others in Colombia.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of allegations that Colombian state actors have been illegally gathering surveillance on civil society organisations. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and our Embassy in Bogotá regularly raises human rights issues. The United Kingdom is committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which is a Human Rights Priority Country.
We work with the Colombian Government, civil society and multilateral partners to support full compliance with human rights obligations in Colombia. Neither the UN nor the IACHR has invited us to support the creation of a commission.
The British Government undertakes extensive risk assessments when designing projects in Colombia and deciding which to fund, including any potential negative impact on human rights. This includes the overseas security and justice assistance (OSJA) process, which is intended to ensure any United Kingdom projects meet our human rights obligations and our values. We continually monitor the effects of our programme work in consultation with colleagues working in Colombia, and make thorough assessments of the impact of our projects.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their Embassy in Colombia will monitor investigations into the alleged collation of secret files on civil society organisations there.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of allegations that Colombian state actors have been illegally gathering surveillance on civil society organisations. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and our Embassy in Bogotá regularly raises human rights issues. The United Kingdom is committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which is a Human Rights Priority Country.
We work with the Colombian Government, civil society and multilateral partners to support full compliance with human rights obligations in Colombia. Neither the UN nor the IACHR has invited us to support the creation of a commission.
The British Government undertakes extensive risk assessments when designing projects in Colombia and deciding which to fund, including any potential negative impact on human rights. This includes the overseas security and justice assistance (OSJA) process, which is intended to ensure any United Kingdom projects meet our human rights obligations and our values. We continually monitor the effects of our programme work in consultation with colleagues working in Colombia, and make thorough assessments of the impact of our projects.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any UK funding initiatives in Colombia are being used to support intelligence gathering activities there against civil society organisations.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of allegations that Colombian state actors have been illegally gathering surveillance on civil society organisations. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and our Embassy in Bogotá regularly raises human rights issues. The United Kingdom is committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which is a Human Rights Priority Country.
We work with the Colombian Government, civil society and multilateral partners to support full compliance with human rights obligations in Colombia. Neither the UN nor the IACHR has invited us to support the creation of a commission.
The British Government undertakes extensive risk assessments when designing projects in Colombia and deciding which to fund, including any potential negative impact on human rights. This includes the overseas security and justice assistance (OSJA) process, which is intended to ensure any United Kingdom projects meet our human rights obligations and our values. We continually monitor the effects of our programme work in consultation with colleagues working in Colombia, and make thorough assessments of the impact of our projects.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to support the creation of an international commission including the participation of the UN and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, to support and oversee investigations into alleged illegal intelligence gathering and misuse by Colombian state institutions.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of allegations that Colombian state actors have been illegally gathering surveillance on civil society organisations. We expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations, and our Embassy in Bogotá regularly raises human rights issues. The United Kingdom is committed to protecting and promoting human rights in Colombia, which is a Human Rights Priority Country.
We work with the Colombian Government, civil society and multilateral partners to support full compliance with human rights obligations in Colombia. Neither the UN nor the IACHR has invited us to support the creation of a commission.
The British Government undertakes extensive risk assessments when designing projects in Colombia and deciding which to fund, including any potential negative impact on human rights. This includes the overseas security and justice assistance (OSJA) process, which is intended to ensure any United Kingdom projects meet our human rights obligations and our values. We continually monitor the effects of our programme work in consultation with colleagues working in Colombia, and make thorough assessments of the impact of our projects.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Colombia about the safety and security of residents in Rio Quinto.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are aware of reports of violence by illegal armed groups in the Rio Quito. We remain extremely concerned about the continued presence of illegal armed groups in Colombia, and the impact their activity has on local people - even more so at this challenging time.
We regularly raise our concerns about these issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora. Most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on this at the UN Security Council on 14 April, and we consistently press the Colombian Government to focus on extending the rule of law to all parts of the country.
Colombia has made significant progress in its efforts to end the influence of such groups, and we remain steadfast in our support of the Colombian authorities as they work towards sustainable peace.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the British Embassy in Bogota is taking to monitor the progress of the peace process with regard to the dismantling of illegal neo-paramilitary groups in the regions of Chocó and Urabá in Colombia; and what support, if any, they are providing to the National Commission for Security Guarantees tasked with that responsibility.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We remain extremely concerned about the continued presence of illegal armed groups in Colombia, and the impact their competition for control of illicit economies has on local people and environments, particularly during this challenging time. The UK Embassy in Bogota is closely monitoring the situation.
President Duque's Government has publicly committed to implementing the Peace Accords of 2016 in their entirety, and we remain steadfast in our support of the Colombian authorities - including the National Security Guarantees Commission - as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia. We are proud to be the penholder on the issue at the United Nations Security Council - most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on presence of illegal armed groups in Colombia at the UN Security Council on 14 April.
We have committed almost £53 million over 5 years through the United Kingdom Conflict Stability and Security Fund for Colombia to support the implementation of the peace process, including across conflict-affected regions such as Chocó and Uruba. We regularly raise this with the Colombian authorities.
Furthermore, HMG provides overseas development assistance (ODA) to climate change initiatives in the region of Chocó in Colombia through two programmes delivered through the UK's International Climate Finance (ICF), UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and Partnerships for Forests (P4F). These projects aim to tackle deforestation in Colombia by fostering sustainable alternative livelihoods and the development of the bioeconomy in order to reduce CO2 emissions.