Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their policy as chair of the Council of Europe to seek to boost grass roots democracy and political stability at local levels, what plans they have to encourage their international partners to establish partnerships with different communities and areas within Council of Europe member states.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK places great value on the role of the Council of Europe (CoE) in advancing work on human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe. As set out in the Integrated Review our plans to encourage our international partners to establish partnerships with different communities and areas go much wider than the CoE member states. The UK will work with allies, including CoE member states and civil society worldwide, to protect democratic values as part of our force for good agenda. In many instances, this will involve working bilaterally with countries to strengthen their domestic governance. In doing so, the UK government will focus its efforts primarily in the wider European neighbourhood, East Africa and the Indo-Pacific, tailoring our approach to meet local needs and combining our diplomacy, development, trade, security and other tools accordingly. To promote robust democratic institutions, the UK will support strong, transparent and accountable political processes and institutions overseas (including parliaments and political parties) through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and other institutions. This work will be bolstered by a new UK capability to support election observation and activity to strengthen existing multilateral efforts.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which sanctions have harmed humanitarian efforts to help civilian populations in countries such as Iraq and Syria; and whether they intend to report to Parliament on that matter on a regular basis.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government pursues a policy of targeted sanctions aimed at maximising the desired political effect while minimising unintended consequences. This includes working with international and domestic partners to protect humanitarian efforts as far as possible from the impact of EU sanctions against Syria, UN sanctions against Iraq, and UN sanctions against Daesh and Al'Qaida. We engage regularly with charities and other implementing partners to minimise the impact of sanctions on these humanitarian efforts, for example through the guidance published on 19 October by Her Majesty's Treasury's Official of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The EU carries out regular reviews of its sanctions and the UN Security Council receives monitoring reports from panels of experts. The UK participates actively in these review processes and reports to Parliament on the EU's regular reviews of its sanctions regimes through the agreed scrutiny process for EU legislation.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any issues holding back the acceptance of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a candidate country to join the EU, including relating to constitutional and legal reform; and what assistance they are giving as a result.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government remains committed to driving reform, embedding stability and addressing shared challenges, such as security and migration, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). At the 20 September 2016 General Affairs Council, the EU agreed that the Commission should issue a questionnaire to BiH authorities to assess the country's readiness to be granted candidate country status. That process is continuing. We will continue to support the reforms required through our bilateral engagement (including approximately £6.63 million in programme assistance in financial year 2016-17), in order to ensure BiH becomes a more stable, secure and prosperous country.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are giving to give Bosnia and Herzegovina to prepare for its acceptance as a candidate country to join the EU.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government remains committed to driving reform, embedding stability and addressing shared challenges, such as security and migration, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). At the 20 September 2016 General Affairs Council, the EU agreed that the Commission should issue a questionnaire to BiH authorities to assess the country's readiness to be granted candidate country status. That process is continuing. We will continue to support the reforms required through our bilateral engagement (including approximately £6.63 million in programme assistance in financial year 2016-17), in order to ensure BiH becomes a more stable, secure and prosperous country.
Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist economic regeneration in Bosnia Herzegovina.
Answered by Baroness Warsi
The UK remains unequivocally committed to supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) as it develops its economy, so as to deliver on its potential and establish itself as a stable and sovereign country within the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The UK is working closely with the EU, the UN, and other international organisations to support BiH's people and institutions, so that they can address the issues at the heart of February's protests – economy, employment and anti-corruption. This includes work through the EU Forum for Prosperity and Jobs, an informed National Economic Programme, encouraging BiH's commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), efforts to tackle corruption through an expanded EU Structured Dialogue on Justice, and re-programming of the EU's Instrument of Pre-Accession funds. The recovery from May's devastating floods highlight the need for politicians in BiH to work together to regenerate the country's economy and progress towards EU accession.