Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the "Leaked Memo, Ethiopia’s Destabilizing Policy Against Eritrea" issued by the Permanent Mission of Eritrea to the United Nations on 2 July 2014.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain concerned about relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia. We have called on both sides to engage in dialogue and to respect the commitment they made in the December 2000 Algiers peace agreement to refrain from using force against each other. We will continue to encourage both Eritrea and Ethiopia to engage bilaterally and internationally to resolve their differences, particularly on the ongoing border dispute. We hope progress can be made towards demarcation in accordance with the decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 February (HL4795), whether there have been any instances where such surveillance equipment has been used by any foreign government to monitor opposition parties.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government does not disclose the detail of operational cooperation with foreign partners
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the statement by His Excellency Mr Girma Asmerom, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations, on agenda item 68 (b,c): Promotion and Protection of Human Rights during the Interactive Dialogue of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea at the Third Committee of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Eritrea, including shortcomings in the rule of law, reports of arbitrary detention, and limits on the freedom of speech. We have made clear to the Eritrean government that they should invite the Special Rapporteur to the country and engage constructively with the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.
We have also asked Eritrea to clarify its plans to implement the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the importance of which the Eritrean Permanent Representative highlighted in his statement.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether surveillance equipment has been provided by the United Kingdom to the government of Panama; and if so, for what purpose.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The United Kingdom provides bilateral assistance on tackling organised crime to a range of international partners in line with the UK’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. It does so to tackle international organised crime and minimise the threat it poses to the UK. In order to maintain operational security the UK does not disclose the detail of such operational cooperation.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 17 June 2014 (HL126), with regard to the use of Diego Garcia for rendition flights, what is the latest situation in relation to such flights.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
I can confirm that the answer given by the former Senior Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my noble Friend, the right hon. Baroness Warsi on 17 June 2014 still stands.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with the government of Kenya about the requirement for United Kingdom citizens to have a visa to enter Kenya; and what steps they take within (1) the European Union, and (2) the Commonwealth, to encourage consistency in visa requirements for citizens of countries within those organisations.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government has not recently discussed visa requirements for UK citizens visiting Kenya with the Kenyan government. British nationals require a visa to enter Kenya, which can be purchased on arrival. Within the EU, the European Commission only seeks coherence in visa requirements for Member States party to the Schengen Visa Code. The UK is not party to this code. Within the Commonwealth the UK is taking part in discussions which seek to facilitate the movement of Commonwealth citizens between member states.Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the International Democrat Union on the People's Democratic Republic of Korea issued on 24 November.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We welcome the statement by the International Democrat Union (IDU) on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee has sent an important signal that systematic and widespread human rights violations will no longer be ignored by the international community. We join the IDU in urging all members of the UN to vote for the final adoption of this resolution, which strikes an appropriate balance between pursuing accountability for human rights violations and encouraging the DPRK to address international concerns through engagement and concrete actions.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the International Democrat Union on Trade issued on 24 November.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government is not aware of a statement by the International Democrat Union on Trade issued on 24 November.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the International Democrat Union on Slovenia issued on 24 November.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of the statement adopted by the International Democrat Union on 21 November 2014, concerning the imprisonment of former Slovenia Prime Minister Janez Janša. Our Embassy in Ljubljana understands that Mr Janša is continuing to appeal the conviction that lead to his imprisonment on 20 June, and will continue to monitor the ongoing judicial proceedings of this case.
Asked by: Lord Ashcroft (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 28 July (HL1063) whether Mr Belhaj was the subject of the discussion with the government of the United States referred to in the answer.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
I refer the noble Lord to my response of 26 September, Official Report, Column WA427.
The United States is our most important bilateral ally and we have regular discussions on a range of sensitive issues. It is our longstanding position not to comment on discussions of that nature.