Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to build international support for a UN mandated global arms embargo against Burma.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Regardless of broader international support, a UN arms embargo would require majority support in the Security Council and the absence of a veto from any Permanent Members. It is our assessment that there is insufficient support among Permanent Members for such a measure at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what emergency and longer-term action they are taking, if any, to assist (1) local authorities and agencies, and (2) the Welsh Government, with recovery from recent severe storm damage inflicted on infrastructure and sea vessels at Holyhead harbour in Anglesey.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
My thoughts are with the communities in Anglesey and across Wales adversely affected by the recent weather conditions.
Although responsibility for local authorities is devolved to the Welsh Government and therefore assistance to local government in Wales is for the Welsh Government, UK Government agencies stand ready to provide help to their devolved counterparts in supporting the local communities affected if requested.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to impose targeted sanctions against Major-General Maung Maung Soe in response to his role in the persecution and violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority, and other peoples, in Burma.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has been consistently clear in its condemnation of the terrible atrocities that have occurred in Rakhine State and the need to bring the perpetrators to justice. The UK has already suspended Burmese senior military visits and defence education. At the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 26 February Council conclusions were adopted on Burma. The UK was instrumental in securing agreement to begin the process of introducing targeted sanctions on individual senior military officers responsible for serious and systematic human rights violations.The UK supports the UNHRC Fact-Finding Mission to establish the facts and circumstances of the human rights violations and continues to urge the Burmese government to allow for unrestricted and unhindered access to the Mission.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to secure the (1) civil rights, (2) personal human rights, (3) land ownership rights, and (4) security, of any Rohingya people returned to Burma under the repatriation agreement made by the government of Burma with Bangladesh.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK proposed and secured the 6 November UN Security Council Presidential Statement, which called on the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to ensure the repatriation of refugees is safe, voluntary and in dignity. It also called on the Government of Burma to protect its population and promote and protect human rights, without discrimination and regardless of ethnicity or religion, including by allowing freedom of movement, equal access to basic services, and equal access to full citizenship for all individuals. The British Ambassador to Burma emphasised the importance of the implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations, which is central to progress on all of these issues, in his meeting with the Minister of the Office of the State Counsellor on 11 January.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the repatriation of any of the Rohingya people from Bangladesh is entirely voluntary.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has been clear throughout the current crisis that the Rohingya refugees who have fled into Bangladesh must be able to return to their homes in Burma voluntarily. The UK proposed and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which called for these conditions to be met and urged the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to invite the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to participate fully in the implementation of any returns process. The British Ambassador underlined the importance of the Government of Burma allowing UNHCR monitoring to ensure these conditions are met in his meeting with the Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor on 11 January.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to propose the introduction of specific legally enforceable provisions to maintain, following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, all rights and judicial remedies contained in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights that do not have equivalents in current or envisaged UK law, in particular those relating to (1) protections for personal data, (2) workers’ rights, (3) women, (4) elderly citizens, (5) disabled people, and (6) LGBTI people.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Charter did not create new rights, but reaffirmed rights which already existed in EU law. The EU (Withdrawal) Bill sets out that the Charter of Fundamental Rights will not form part of domestic law after exit. The Bill will retain the rights and principles which underpin the Charter and exist elsewhere in EU law or existing domestic law.
The Government’s intention, therefore, is that in itself the non-incorporation of the Charter into UK law should not affect the substantive rights that individuals already benefit from in the UK.
On 5 December 2017 the Government published a right-by-right analysis of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, setting out how each substantive right found in the Charter will be reflected in the domestic law of the UK. It looks at how the right will flow through retained EU law and how it will otherwise be protected by existing domestic law or international law after exit.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in deploying the FCO specialist team to gather and investigate evidence of sexual violence against Rohingya people in Burma, in line with their policy on combatting sexual violence in conflict zones which was introduced in 2012.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCO sent two Deployable Civilian Experts to Bangladesh on 14 November, with support from the cross-Whitehall Stabilisation Unit. They will carry out an assessment of the extent of reported sexual violence, the current response to the needs of victims of gender based violence (GBV) in Bangladesh, and identify gaps in service provision and provide recommendations for the UK. They will also conduct a thorough review of the investigation and documentation of sexual violence, through use of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict and make rapid recommendations on possible UK support in this area.
UK funding is supporting GBV response activities being delivered by international organisations including UNFPA, IOM, UNICEF and the NGO, Action Against Hunger, who are providing medical services, counselling and psychological support. The UK is also supporting UNICEF protection initiatives including 30 child-friendly spaces and referral pathways for GBV survivors. The UK is funding the deployment of a UNFPA expert to coordinate the interagency GBV response in Cox's Bazar and seeking ways to scale-up the GBV response, working in coordination with aid agencies and other partners.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their understanding and interpretation of the difference between genocide and ethnic cleansing, in the light of evidence of actions by the government of Burma and others in Rakhine state against the Rohingya people, particularly since August.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It would only be for a court to decide whether genocide has occurred in Rakhine State. The Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field MP, wrote in an article for Sky News on 14 November that "what is happening there looks like ethnic cleansing." This is why the UK continues to call for an end to all violence and for an early return of Rohingya refugees consistent with the UN principles of voluntary, safe and dignified return.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, what assessment they have made of the possibility of reinstating the EU's annual submission of a resolution at the UN General Assembly criticising Myanmar's human rights record.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The EU Foreign Affairs Council on 16 October, issued conclusions which, in addition to suspending all Burmese military visits to the EU, noted that Member States also agreed to consider additional measures if the situation in Rakhine does not improve.
We are currently focused on the resolution on Burma which the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has circulated at the General Assembly to ensure it is in line with the UK's position including on the protection of civilians, full humanitarian access, safe and voluntary return for refugees, swift implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission's report, and access for the UN Fact Finding Mission.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for an expansion of the EU arms embargo on Myanmar to include the supply of equipment to the Burmese army.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to support the EU's retention of its arms embargo, which prohibits the supply of equipment or the provision of any training that might strengthen the Burmese military's combat capability.