Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the coverage of BBC World Service to enhance the UK's soft power.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent and decides the most effective and efficient way of delivering the World Service. Expanding coverage would be a decision for the BBC in line with its operational and editorial independence although if this were to involve the creation (or closing) of a full language service, the Foreign Secretary would need to approve, as per Framework Agreement requirements.
The Government highly values the BBC World Service, which provides impartial accurate news to a global audience of 320 million. HMG is providing an uplift of £32.6million (or 31 per cent) for 2025/26 taking our total funding to £137million. This is a large funding uplift in a tough fiscal situation.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of Turkey following the comments from President Erdogan that those who vote no in the April referendum will be siding with supporters of terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We regularly raise the importance of the rule of law and fundamental rights with Turkish counterparts. We urge Turkey to hold a free and fair referendum, held in line with international norms, including respect for freedom of expression.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about the new law on civic associations and its implications for civic society in that country, including non-governmental organisations.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Following the Egyptian Parliament's passing of the draft Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) Law for the second time on 29 November, we have frequently raised our concerns with the Egyptian authorities. The Parliamentary Under Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) expressed our concern with the draft law in a statement he made on 1 December.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the implementation of the Peruvian Law on the Right of Consultation of Indigenous Peoples 2011.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
This law was a notable step forward in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in Peru.
Our Ambassador to Peru discussed the issue with the Peruvian Minister for Culture on 11 August. The Minister confirmed his intention to strengthen the Indigenous People's Department in his ministry to facilitate implementation of the law. We will continue to work with the Peruvian Government on this important area of activity.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of oil spills on the environment and the livelihoods of indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon; and what contact the UK Ambassador to Peru has had with those communities.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our Ambassador to Peru discussed this with the Peruvian Environment Minister on 15 August and the Energy Minister on 2 September. The Peruvian Ministry of Environment believe affected areas will take a year to recover, whereas independent scientists are of the opinion that this will take much longer and damage may be irreversible, with a direct impact on livelihoods and local economies.
The Ambassador last met indigenous communities during an official visit to Iquitos in late 2015.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken to implement the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in Peru.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Embassy in Lima works closely with the European Union Delegation and the Embassies of other EU countries to support the implementation of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. This includes regular dialogue with human rights defenders on issues of concern, engagement with them on visits outside the capital, and participation in the EU's annual human rights defenders event.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports (1) that since July Turkey has hit PKK targets in northern Iraq more frequently than ISIS targets; (2) that Turkish police have arrested more members of the Kurdish political opposition than suspected ISIS members within Turkey; and (3) that Turkey is shelling Kobane, despite it being under the control of Kurdish forces who are cooperating with the coalition against ISIS.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) continues to kill Turkish police and security forces. The PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism.
We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made, if any, to the government of Turkey about the use of curfews, martial law, and the deployment of the military in mainly Kurdish towns, including Cizre and Silvan.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We welcome the visit on 15-16 October of Turkey’s national human rights body to Cizre and Sirnak to conduct analysis and research on the recent events there.
We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Turkey closely and raise concerns regularly with the Turkish authorities.