Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect Christians from persecution by Islamic State.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are working closely with our international partners, including the UN and EU, to try to assist and protect civilians, including Christians and other minority groups, from ISIL. We are also in contact with senior political and religious leaders, including Canon Andrew White when he was in Baghdad, who played a key role in forming the High Council of Religious Leaders in Iraq and works closely with the Foundation for Relief & Reconciliation in the Middle East.
Ultimately the only way to stop the suffering caused by ISIL, as well as countering the real and significant threat to the UK and our allies, is by defeating ISIL and establishing peace and stability in the region. We are working closely with our Coalition allies to achieve this.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - 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 international counterparts on reports that Islamic State has taken over the city of Quaragosh in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have been deeply concerned about developments in Qaraqosh, since its capture by ISIL in August 2014. We frequently talk to our international partners about the threat from ISIL, including in June when the Foreign Secretary and I attended the Small Group meeting of the Global Coalition against ISIL in Paris. I had extensive discussions about ISIL and the territory it holds with all my interlocutors during my trip to Baghdad at the end of June.
The threat of ISIL remains a top priority for both the Foreign Secretary and myself.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the killing of Christians by Islamic State in the city of Quaragosh, Iraq.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I am deeply concerned for the safety of Christians in parts of Iraq controlled by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). ISIL captured Qaraqosh in August 2014. Since then there have been reports of barbaric treatment of Christians in Qaraqosh and of ISIL committing atrocities against Muslims, Christians, Yezidis, Turkmen and other communities throughout the areas under their control. We condemn all such atrocities and violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The UK Government has been working closely with our international partners on countering the threat of ISIL. We have been at the forefront of efforts at the UN and the EU and we are playing a key role in the Global Coalition to counter ISIL. We are taking military and political action, as well as discrediting ISIL’s poisonous ideology, cutting off its finances, tackling foreign fighters and by providing nearly £60 million of aid to Iraqis displaced by the fighting.Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that a nuclear agreement with Iran includes military site inspections.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are working intensely with our E3+3 partners and Iran to conclude a nuclear agreement that will address our proliferation concerns. It is essential that the International Atomic Energy Agency, as part of this agreement, is able to verify all of Iran's nuclear-related commitments, including through access to relevant locations. We will not do a bad deal. |
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in the demilitarisation of Gaza.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have not made a formal assessment of demilitarisation of Gaza.
We have been clear that we believe that a durable ceasefire agreement should ensure that: Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket fire and other attacks against Israel and that all terrorist groups in Gaza should disarm.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, want his policy is on promoting the demilitarisation of Gaza.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The organisations involved in the process of clearing home-owners' applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) are the UN agencies doing the damage assessment, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Government of Israel.
No individuals have been rejected to date, but a number of the assessments submitted require review ahead of further processing. These were mostly caused by repetition of names of individuals or where the assessments were recorded under the names of owners who are deceased for example. The GRM does not allow for the disqualification of individuals assessed for shelter repair on grounds of political association or geographic location in Gaza.
The Government of Israel, like all participants in the mechanism, is able to object to individuals participating in the GRM.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Palestinian leadership about human rights violations and measures to tackle extremism in the Gaza Strip.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We remain deeply concerned by reports of extremism and possible human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. We discuss these issues regularly with Palestinian political leaders and civil society representatives. Since the formation of the interim technocratic government, we have supported Prime Minister Hamdallah’s efforts to return the Palestinian Authority (PA) to effective control of the Gaza Strip, which would allow the PA to take action to address such reports.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Hamas's ability to fire long-range ballistic missiles.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
During the recent Gaza conflict Hamas fired rockets that regularly reached Tel Aviv and beyond. Some towns were hit that were in excess of 130km from Gaza. We believe that Hamas’ military wing retains the capability to fire long range rockets into Israel, despite a significantly depleted stockpile of weaponry.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Hamas's ability to develop and produce rockets.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We assess that Hamas’ military wing maintains the expertise to produce crude weaponry, including rockets, within Gaza. However, their ability to source raw materials has been affected by Operation Protective Edge, and effective Egyptian operations to destroy tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Hamas's ability to smuggle explosive material into the Gaza Strip.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We believe that due to the Egyptian authorities' destruction of the smuggling tunnels, the ability of Hamas’ military wing to smuggle explosive material into Gaza has been dramatically reduced.