Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the ruling of the International Criminal Court on 22 February that the government of Azerbaijan must end the blockage of the Lachin corridor, what representations they are making to the government of Azerbaijan to open the Lachin corridor.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has noted the International Court of Justice's judgments, and continues to call for immediate action to re-open the Lachin Corridor and restore the flow of goods and people into Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on 2 March, our Ambassador stated that the parties to the conflict must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the conflict and to resolve all outstanding tensions. This followed engagements by the Minister for Europe with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments over January and February this year.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan in respect of reports of open fire from Azerbaijani combat positions on Armenian civilians completing agricultural work in the villages of Sos, Tagavard, and Machkalashen on 23, 24 and 26 March.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government has not made representations to the Azerbaijani government on this specific matter. However, during his visit to Baku on 22 February, the Minister for Europe met with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister and other government officials, and called for the immediate re-opening of the Lachin Corridor and urgent re-engagement with international efforts aimed at securing stability and peace in the region. The UK Government will continue to emphasise this message in further official engagement with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to lift sanctions on Syria, given the recent earthquake.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will continue to play a leading role in the humanitarian response in Syria, particularly following the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. On 8 February, the Government announced a substantial package of life saving support to affected areas.
Sanctions play an indispensable role holding the Asad regime to account for their most egregious actions. We will not lift them until the regime has changed its behaviour. UK and UN trade sanctions do not target humanitarian activity, medical supplies or food: they provide for a range of humanitarian exceptions and licensing grounds specifically to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid. Russia and the regime have previously hindered cross-border aid access, which could compound the humanitarian impact of this earthquake.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to (1) the government of China, and (2) the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, about Jimmy Lai, including (a) securing consular access, (b) ensuring his right to a defence counsel of his choice, (c) ensuring he receives a fair trial, and (c) securing his release on bail while awaiting trial.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are actively monitoring the targeting of pro-democracy figures, journalists and publishers in Hong Kong, and are following these cases, including Mr Lai's carefully.
Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings. We have requested consular access to Mr Lai. Mr Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months for a charge of fraud on 10 December and is not currently eligible for bail.
Foreign Lawyers are permitted to practice in Hong Kong, provided they complete the relevant registration and entrance requirements. We are watching closely how the Chief Executive and Hong Kong authorities act to implement the 30 December interpretation of the National Security Law. As we have said, the National Security Law is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, and we consider it to represent a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to reports of (1) the death of a patient due to a lack of medical treatment, and (2) the reduction of essential supplies for civilians, in Nagorno-Karabakh, what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan regarding the closure of the road from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has made clear that the closure of the Lachin corridor risks severe humanitarian consequences. Our Embassies in Baku and Yerevan continue to urge the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to abide by all commitments in relation to the Lachin corridor in good faith, and to settle the remaining conflict issues as soon as possible. The UK has spoken at the Organization for Security Co-operation in Europe and at the United Nations Security Council, as well as in Baku, to urge the immediate reopening of the corridor given the risk of severe humanitarian consequences.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Myanmar regarding the release of the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, who was reportedly arrested at Mandalay International Airport on 5 December.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is concerned by reports that Reverend Hkalam Samson has been arrested. British Embassy staff in Yangon are monitoring the situation closely.
Although the UK has had no political engagement with the military regime since the coup, it continues to call publicly for the military regime to release all those arbitrarily detained. On 27 July 2022, the UK secured a UN Security Council (UNSC) Press Statement calling for the release of all those in arbitrary detention. On 17 November 2022, the Foreign Secretary stated that all those unjustly imprisoned in Myanmar should be released. We will continue to use all available fora, including the UN Security Council (UNSC), to raise these concerns.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the role of the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports the UN Special Envoy (UNSE) for Myanmar. It is vital the UNSE is able to fulfil her mandate and engage with all stakeholders, including the democratic opposition. We regularly work with the UNSE, most recently on 30 November by co-chairing a Women, Peace and Security roundtable to amplify the voices of Myanmar Civil Society Organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to ensure that British accreditation and verification companies operating in Burma are not providing services to Burmese military-owned companies.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for International Trade publishes guidance setting out what UK businesses can do, this was last updated in February 2022. The guidance makes it clear the UK businesses should conduct thorough due diligence to avoid inadvertently supporting military-linked businesses in Myanmar.
We have a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar, as well as multiple targeted sanctions on the military and its associated businesses. We have clear penalties for breaches of sanctions. We will continue to closely monitor how the military finances and equips itself and we will continue to use sanctions as a lever to put pressure on those who support the military.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) airstrikes carried out by Turkey in Northern Syria, (2) the impact the airstrikes have had on civilians, (3) the best way to restore peace in that region, and (4) how to ensure Syrian sovereignty is observed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK recognises Turkey's legitimate security interests in Syria and Iraq and is closely monitoring the situation. It is important that the risks to civilians and to the security and stability of the region are minimised. FCDO Ministers and senior officials engage with Turkey regularly on issues of regional security. The Foreign Secretary last met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on 30 November.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to lift all unilateral sanctions on Syria as requested by the UN’s Special Rapporteur for Sanctions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will not consider lifting sanctions in Syria until the Assad regime ceases brutalising its own people and regularly committing atrocities and violations of international law, evidenced by the UN Commission of Inquiry ongoing reports. UK sanctions are designed to hold the regime to account, and encourage Assad to engage in the UN-facilitated political process. Our designations are carefully targeted, and applied only where there is ample evidence to demonstrate culpability. To guard against unintentional impact on civilians, UK sanctions include humanitarian provisions, such as licensing grounds and exceptions. We also engage with international NGOs to minimise over-compliance.