Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the involvement of North Korea in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Russia's increasing reliance on support from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to help wage its illegal invasion of Ukraine demonstrates its underlying weakness. As we have said publicly, the DPRK is believed to have supplied hundreds of ballistic missiles and 20,000 containers of munitions to Russia. This includes millions of artillery and mortar rounds, accounting for around half of those Russia has fired against Ukraine. In addition the DPRK deployed approximately 11,000 combat troops to the Russian oblast of Kursk, sustaining 6000 casualties in offensive combat operations against Ukraine according to our latest estimates.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proposals they have for additional sanctions to further deter North Korea from its involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Russia's increasing reliance on support from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to help wage its illegal invasion of Ukraine demonstrates its underlying weakness. As we have said publicly, the DPRK is believed to have supplied 20,000 containers of munitions to Russia, and its artillery and mortar shells account for 60 per cent of those used in Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The DPRK must immediately withdraw its troops and stop its provision of thousands of munitions, arms and other materiel. The DPRK is subject to an extensive range of UN sanctions and the UK will continue to work with our partners to influence and to hold the DPRK to account for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. On 24 February 2025 the UK announced its largest sanctions package against Russia since 2022, including DPRK officials involved in supporting Russian military action against Ukraine. We do not comment on future or potential expansions of our DPRK sanctions as this could affect their impact.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the international response to the involvement of North Korea in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK and international partners remain deeply concerned about the implications of the deepening Russia-DPRK military cooperation. The G7 has consistently condemned the military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, most recently at the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting on 14 March at Charlevoix. In February, together with our G7 partners, the UK imposed its largest sanctions packages against Russia since 2022 which included DPRK officials. We have continually raised the issue in other multilateral fora, including at the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and NATO, as well as through our regular engagement with likeminded partners. We will continue to impose costs on Russia and DPRK.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic efforts they have made to highlight the involvement of North Korea in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The direct participation of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) troops in combat operations and supplies to Russia is another dangerous expansion of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, with serious consequences for European and Indo-Pacific security. We have repeatedly raised the issue on diplomatic channels, in multilateral fora, and through our regular engagement with likeminded partners. As part of the G7, we also designated several DPRK individuals involved in supporting the Russian military-industrial complex. Most recently, on 17 June, the Prime Minister met with President Lee Jae Myung where they discussed Ukraine and the challenges posed by the DPRK. On 16 December, the Foreign Secretary, along with G7 Foreign Ministers, condemned the increasing military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of implications for international law of the decision of the United States of America to bomb Iran.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is not for the UK to comment on the US' legal position and the UK did not participate in these strikes. We expect all parties to abide by international law. Our priority is stability in the Middle East and we have been clear with all sides that restarting the conflict is in nobody's interest.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government has no current plans to propose a review of the provisions of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The international frameworks governing refugee response have been discussed periodically in the United Nations - most recently between 2015 and 2018. Member States decided against reopening the legal regime at that time, focusing instead on improving implementation of existing frameworks.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the UK–EU reset agreement for Gibraltar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The strengthening of the UK-EU relationship is an important development, as we work with the Government of Gibraltar to conclude a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar which protects sovereignty and UK military autonomy, and which secures future prosperity for Gibraltar. All parties involved agree on the importance of finalising an agreement as soon as possible. The UK Government is steadfast in its support for Gibraltar and will only agree to terms with which the Government of Gibraltar is content.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be obliged to consult with the EU in advance of any foreign or defence policy or operation as a result of the UK–EU reset agreement.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
At the UK-EU Summit, the UK and the EU adopted a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). The SDP creates a strong basis to strengthen our foreign, security, and defence dialogue and cooperation. It does not oblige either party to consult the other on their respective foreign, security, or defence operations.
However, the SDP will enhance our cooperation across a broad range of areas including: maritime security; space security; hybrid threats; resilience of our critical infrastructure; irregular migration; global health; illicit finance; defence industry; and military mobility. It will complement our relationships through NATO - the bedrock of our Euro-Atlantic security, and other mechanisms such as the JEF.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they use to determine the number of diplomatic staff for a country that are permitted to work in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Appointments to diplomatic missions are governed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, which states that States may freely appoint members of staff to their missions, and, in the absence of specific agreement, the receiving state may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits. His Majesty's Government does not set objective criteria for limiting the number of diplomatic staff for a country in the UK, but, as set out in the 1985 Government Report on the Review of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, His Majesty's Government may limit the size of a mission in cases where there are issues relating to the nature of the mission's activities or to take account of the size of UK missions in the country concerned. Such considerations are made on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Israel permitted funds to flow to the Hamas terrorist organisation from third party countries via Israel.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is not appropriate for the Government to comment on unverified reports. The UK continues to work closely with our partners to identify opportunities to disrupt Hamas financial networks, including cutting off access to funding being used to carry out atrocities. Counter Terrorist Financing remains one of the UK's priorities under the National Security objectives set out in the UK's National Security Strategy. This work is ongoing alongside UK efforts to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.