Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Commonwealth Secretariat on the issue of readmitting the Maldives into the Commonwealth.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
There have been no recent discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat on the issue of readmitting the Maldives into the Commonwealth. The Maldives is free to reapply for membership should it wish to do so.
The UK is disappointed that the Maldives Government decided to withdraw from the Commonwealth. We believe in the Commonwealth and its commitment to improving the lives of people across all its member states. It is an organisation dedicated to developing free and democratic societies, and to promoting peace and prosperity.
We remain extremely concerned about governance and human rights in the Maldives, not least freedom of expression and association, judicial independence, the arbitrary detention of political figures and the possible re-introduction of the death penalty. I raised these concerns with Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr Asim at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 28 February.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance he plans to offer to the Government of Burma to help it investigate the murder of Ko Ni.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government was deeply troubled by the murder of U Ko Ni. He was killed at the airport while returning from a UK-funded study trip to Indonesia. He was a leading advocate for democratic reform, and the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Boris Johnson), met him at a reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in Rangoon during his visit to Burma on 21 January. Our Ambassador attended his funeral on 31 January. An official police investigation into U Ko Ni's death is now under way. We await its outcome. The Burmese authorities have not requested our assistance in the investigation and neither have we offered it.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Burma on the murder of Ko Ni.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government was deeply troubled by the murder of U Ko Ni. He was killed at the airport while returning from a UK-funded study trip to Indonesia. He was a leading advocate for democratic reform, and the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Boris Johnson), met him at a reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in Rangoon during his visit to Burma on 21 January. Our Ambassador attended his funeral on 31 January. An official police investigation into U Ko Ni's death is now under way. We await its outcome. The Burmese authorities have not requested our assistance in the investigation and neither have we offered it.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Japan, (b) South Korea and (c) China on the political and human rights situation in North Korea.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, My Rt Hon Friend the member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Boris Johnson) has spoken with his counterparts from Japan, the Republic of Korea and China about the political and human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We hold regular discussions with partners on DPRK political and human rights issues, including discussions on the implementation and enforcement of UN Security Council Resolutions 2270 and 2321. We also worked closely together on the recent UN General Assembly Third Committee Resolution on DPRK human rights. During conversations with the Chinese government, the Foreign Secretary has reiterated the UK’s concerns about the DPRK’s pursuit of its nuclear and ballistic missile programme and has pressed China to exert its influence on the regime. I also raised our concerns about DPRK security and human rights issues with my Chinese counterpart Liu Haixing during my recent visit to Beijing. In addition, the UK government has asked the Chinese authorities to respect the fundamental principle of non-refoulement and raised the matter at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 27 and 28 October 2016.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to discuss the political and human rights situation in North Korea with the incoming US administration.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The British Government looks forward to working with the incoming US administration on a number of areas, including issues related to the political and human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of North Korea's nuclear programme.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
In my written Ministerial statement of 14 December 2016 I updated the House on recent developments regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the international response and what actions the Government is taking. The UN Security Council in resolution 2321 expressed its gravest concern that the DPRK's ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities have further generated increased tension in the region and beyond, and determined that there continues to exist a clear threat to international peace and security. The Government shares that assessment.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat posed to the international community by North Korea's nuclear programme.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
In my written Ministerial statement of 14 December 2016 I updated the House on recent developments regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the international response and what actions the Government is taking. The UN Security Council in resolution 2321, adopted on 30 November, expressed its gravest concern that the DPRK's ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities have further generated increased tension in the region and beyond, and determined that there continues to exist a clear threat to international peace and security. The Government shares that assessment.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to increase the number of officials of his Department who work on issues related to the Commonwealth.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have already begun building up an enlarged Commonwealth team to deliver an ambitious, UK-hosted Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018, both in policy and event management terms. We will continue to use our network of High Commissioners overseas in the other 51 Member States, bilateral desks in London, together with close cross-Departmental working to further our efforts on issues related to the Commonwealth.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support officials of his Department are providing for the Commonwealth Trade Ministers' meeting in London in 2017.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK will co-host this meeting with Malta in London next March. Officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department for International Trade and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council on the practical arrangements and how the meeting can be used to increase cooperation, break down trade barriers and improve trading environments.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Commonwealth Secretary-General on the Maldives leaving the Commonwealth.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) said on 13 October, the UK is disappointed that the Maldives Government has decided to withdraw from the Commonwealth. We believe in the Commonwealth and its commitment to improving the lives of people across all its member states. It is an organisation dedicated to developing free and democratic societies, and to promoting peace and prosperity.
There are no current plans for Ministers to discuss the Maldives with the Commonwealth Secretary-General. Officials are in regular contact with the Commonwealth Secretariat.