Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to smaller Commonwealth nations to access COVID-19 (1) tests, and (2) vaccines.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to rapid, equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, treatments and tests globally as demonstrated by our strong support for the Access for COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, to which the UK has contributed up to £813 million of new funds. This includes up to £23 million committed to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), to drive innovation in the development and delivery of tests to combat major diseases affecting the poorest populations. Our contribution also includes the UK's commitment of up to £500 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines. On top of our existing contribution of £48 million re-programmed from existing Gavi programming, this makes the UK the COVAX AMC's largest bilateral donor. Our commitment will support access to COVID-19 vaccines for up to 92 developing countries, including in the Commonwealth, by contributing to the supply of 1 billion doses in 2021, and vaccinations for up to 500 million people (subject to vaccines successfully securing stringent regulatory approvals).
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the terms of reference for the role of Special representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism will be announced.
Answered by Mark Field
The appointment of William Shawcross as the Special Representative on UK victims of Qadhafi-sponsored IRA terrorism forms part of the UK's commitment to supporting the victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism. The precise terms of reference are currently being developed by those Government departments with an interest, and will be announced upon the completion of this work.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (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 plans to take to protest the Tanzanian government’s recent steps against gay citizens; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I am concerned by reports of threats against the LGBT community in Tanzania. The British High Commission, alongside international partners, carried out a demarche on the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 2 November, urging the authorities to respect human rights and protect all citizens from discrimination. I welcome the Government of Tanzania's statement on 4 November making clear that such threats do not represent government policy, and that it will protect human rights as enshrined in the country's constitution. We must all reject language that invites violence against any group in society.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (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 his Chinese counterpart on reports of the internment of Muslims in Xinjiang province; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including credible reports of re-education camps and widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities.
The UK supports the statement of 26 October by the European External Action Service highlighting concerns about Xinjiang.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018. The UK raised our concerns about Xinjiang in our Item 4 statement at the September UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (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 his Chinese counterpart on reports of the internment of Muslims in Xinjiang province; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and reports of the Chinese Government’s deepening crackdown, including credible reports of re-education camps and widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at ethnic minorities.
The UK supports the statement of 26 October by the European External Action Service highlighting concerns about Xinjiang.
I raised our concerns about Xinjiang with Vice Minister Guo Yezhou during my visit to China on 22 July 2018. The Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, also raised our concerns about the region with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China on 30 July 2018. The UK raised our concerns about Xinjiang in our Item 4 statement at the September UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2018 to Question 138353 on Western Sahara: Business, whether commercial activity is illegal if it does not have the consent of the Saharawi people.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I refer my honorable friend to my previous answer (PQ138353) and reiterate that HMG does not provide legal advice to private companies in relation to their commercial activities. It is for companies to take their own decisions on whether to do business in Western Sahara.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans the Government has to help ensure that elections due to be held in Zimbabwe in 2018 are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK has consistently called for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, in line with the country’s constitution. We have engaged regularly with actors from across the political spectrum to discuss how the international community can best support Zimbabwe’s democratisation process. Most recently, our Ambassador in Harare met President Mnangagwa on 5 May and the Foreign Secretary met MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa on 9 May to discuss these points.
The UK will participate in the EU Electoral Observation Mission which will be deployed to Zimbabwe to monitor the electoral process. Between 2014 and 2019 we are spending £24 million on civil society support for transparency, accountability, human rights and citizen engagement in Zimbabwe, much of which will help support democratisation. This includes an increase of £5 million announced in February specifically to support election-related work.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consular protections are at present available to British visitors to Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad and other 2018 Football World Cup venues in Russia; and whether he has any plans to increase those protections in time for the World Cup.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government's number one priority for the World Cup is the safety and security of British fans planning to travel to Russia. We have been preparing for this tournament for two years, working closely with the police, the FA and the fans themselves. Officials have visited all host cities and met with Russian officials to see first-hand the challenges that travelling supporters may face. We have published specialist travel advice online (Be on the Ball), which is regularly updated. The UK has representation at our Embassy in Moscow and the British Consulates-General in Ekaterinburg and St Petersburg. British nationals needing help or advice will be able to contact consular officers by telephone 24/7. A mobile embassy with consular support will be present on match days in all of the cities where England play.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will he conduct an urgent review of the advice given by his Department to England football supporters planning to travel to the World Cup in Russia.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government's number one priority for the World Cup is the safety and security of British fans planning to travel to Russia. We have published specialist travel advice online (Be on the Ball) which is regularly updated and promoted to British fans planning to travel to Russia for the tournament. And the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Travel Advice for Russia, as with all travel advice, is under constant review and was last updated on 2 May. We will continue to work with the Russian authorities to ensure that any and all British fans travelling to the World Cup stay safe.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how his Department determines the interests and wishes of the people of the Western Sahara in establishing whether commercial activity there is legal or otherwise.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK's position is that we do not consider commercial activity to be illegal in Western Sahara, providing it respects the interests of the Sahrawi people.
It is for companies to take their own decisions whether to do business in Western Sahara, but the UK recommends they take legal advice before doing so. Further information can be found in the Overseas Business Risk guidance, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-business-risk-morocco/overseas-business-risk-morocco#western-sahara