Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - 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 13 July (HL957), what responses they have received to date from the government of Eritrea to their call for it to follow through on its commitments with concrete action to strengthen the rule of law and to improve the human rights situation on the ground, by (1) correspondence, (2) meetings with officials of the Eritrean embassy, (3) representatives of the government of Eritrea in Eritrea or the United Kingdom, and (4) at the UN; and if no responses have yet been received, what they consider to be a reasonable delay in responding, and what action they plan to take in the absence of any response after that time.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Eritrea has made some limited progress against its international commitments on human rights in 2015. This included the publication in May of new Civil, Penal, Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure Codes. The Government of Eritrea also hosted a visit by representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider potential project work in the field of human rights in Eritrea. Government officials regularly meet with the Eritrean ministers and officials in London and Asmara to press the Government of Eritrea to address shortcomings on civil and political rights. Following the Universal Period Review (UPR) in 2014 Eritrea accepted 92 of the recommendations and has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. We continue to push for implementation of the remaining UPR recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - 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 13 July (HL957), in the light of the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea, what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with (1) countries neighbouring Eritrea, (2) the African Union, (3) the European Union, and (4) the UN, about the impact of the number of Eritreans fleeing through the region; and what measures are being investigated jointly to alleviate the suffering of those refugees.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have an ongoing dialogue with regional partners on the impact of irregular migration from Eritrea and the Horn of Africa. Through the EU/African Union “Khartoum Process”, the Government is working to develop, implement and resource concrete projects to reduce irregular migration as well as tackle human trafficking and smuggling from the Horn of Africa. The Department for International Development provides support for almost 600,000 refugees in Ethiopia, through a multi-year programme with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
EU and African partners will discuss further opportunities for cooperation ahead of the Valletta Summit on migration in November.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reliability of the process for overseeing and reporting arms and ammunition recovered by UN and African Union peacekeepers from armed groups in their mission areas in Sudan, South Sudan and Darfur; and what is their assessment of the measures in place to prevent such arms and ammunition being recirculated or returned to the groups from which they were taken, or otherwise used inappropriately.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We understand from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations that the UN missions in Sudan, South Sudan and Darfur all have processes in place for the recovery and destruction of arms, ammunition and land mines. Many of these activities are carried out by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Details of their progress in destroying such arms and ammunitions are included in regular UN mission reporting.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan have been attacked between 2005 and 2014, excluding carjackings and household robberies; and how many of those incidents resulted in a significant loss of weapons and ammunition from United Nations and African Union Peace operations in Darfur and South Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We do not keep a record of the number of specific incidents, but there is no reason for us to doubt the findings of the Small Arms Survey report that there have been over 100 attacks on peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan between 2005 and 2014, the vast majority in Darfur. We are unable to independently estimate how many of these incidents resulted in a significant loss of weapons and ammunition.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent report by Small Arms Survey<i>, Under Attack and Above Scrutiny? Arms and Ammunition Diversion from Peacekeepers in Sudan and South Sudan, 2002–14</i><i>, </i>and in particular the conclusion that "the losses of arms and ammunition by peacekeepers are larger and more frequent than previously appreciated, and can be reduced".
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials are currently reviewing the Small Arms Survey report. We encourage the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to do more to tackle the losses of arms and ammunition.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recommendations they have for measures and actions that could be taken to reduce the losses of arms and ammunition by peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan and South Sudan; whether they have presented these to UN and African Union agencies; and if so, what was the response.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are currently reviewing the Small Arms Survey report. However, we would advocate similar rules and regulations as used by UK Armed Forces, namely that arms and ammunition should always be secured, in different locations and by different trained personnel, when not being used for their primary purpose on operations. We will seek the views of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on how they propose to tackle the losses of arms and ammunition.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the call from Human Rights Watch for an exhumation of the mass grave at Maluka by an international team.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
British Government officials have called upon Congolese judicial officials to properly investigate the mass grave containing over 400 bodies uncovered in Maluku in March.
We urge the Congolese authorities to work closely with international experts, including from the UN Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and call on them to ensure that a transparent and credible investigation is urgently undertaken. Officials have also encouraged the Congolese government to ensure a thorough response to the public compliant filed on 5 June by the families of 34 victims of disappeared persons.
On 10 April the EU delegation in Kinshasa made a press statement on behalf of all EU Heads of Mission in Kinshasa reiterating this call for justice.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic Congo pressing for an independent, credible, and transparent investigation of the mass grave found in March in Maluka, supported by international investigators and experts.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
British Government officials have called upon Congolese judicial officials to properly investigate the mass grave containing over 400 bodies uncovered in Maluku in March.
We urge the Congolese authorities to work closely with international experts, including from the UN Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and call on them to ensure that a transparent and credible investigation is urgently undertaken. Officials have also encouraged the Congolese government to ensure a thorough response to the public compliant filed on 5 June by the families of 34 victims of disappeared persons.
On 10 April the EU delegation in Kinshasa made a press statement on behalf of all EU Heads of Mission in Kinshasa reiterating this call for justice.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding allegations of unlawful detention and acts of torture by the Congolese intelligence services against activists, political leaders and human rights campaigners following protests in January against the revision of the electoral law and demonstrations in March organised by LUCHA.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We remain deeply concerned by the Congolese authorities’ response to the civil unrest that affected Kinshasa and the wider Democratic Republic of Congo in January, and subsequent peaceful political activity. It is unacceptable to hold the arrested participants in detention for long periods without charge or due legal assistance. We are concerned by reports that their testimony was obtained under duress and that this may be used in legal proceedings against the activists.
In response, and together with other EU Missions, officials from our Embassy in Kinshasa twice lobbied the Congolese government to voice our concern at the arrest and detention without charge of the activists. Officials also joined other international observers in monitoring court hearings in this case and those of a number of other activists detained in recent months. Officials have stressed to the Congolese authorities that civil society organisations must be allowed to hold workshops on the democratic process without fear of arrest or reprisal, that all legal proceedings must fully respect the international standards of due process and that the right to peaceful demonstration and assembly must be upheld. Our concerns were set out in an EU Heads of Mission press statement issued on 11 February.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo calling for the release of Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Officials from our Embassy in Kinshasa have twice lobbied the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) alongside other EU missions to raise our concerns about the ongoing detentions of Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala. We continue to urge the DRC government to act on the recommendations of its Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the arrests.