Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what land or buildings owned by, leased by, or under the control of, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office they are seeking to dispose of, and for what purposes.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) constantly reviews its global estate in the light of changing operational needs in order to optimise its use and ensure it remains safe, secure, fit for purpose and value for money. As a consequence, the FCO regularly acquires and disposes of property assets. In order to maximise the price received for the sale of our assets and keep our negotiations with landlords confidential, it is not our policy to release details of our disposals programme in advance.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British territories have special tax regimes and what action they are taking to address this.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Overseas Territories (OTs) are responsible for setting their own rates of taxation, and the Government respects their right to compete in this area. All relevant OTs have committed to greater tax transparency by adopting the new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information, which will combat tax evasion. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have begun to receive information on the accounts held in OTs by UK taxpayers, one year earlier than from the rest of the world.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Kenya.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK recognises Kenya's commitment to human rights as set out in Kenya's 2010 Constitution and Bill of Rights, and demonstrated through its implementation of recommendations from its United Nations Universal Periodic Review in 2015.
We welcome recent reforms such as the announcement by President Kenyatta on 24 October that all death sentences have been commuted to life terms. We encourage the government to take steps formally to end the death penalty in Kenya.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in The Gambia.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in The Gambia. Although the Gambian Government has taken some steps to address human rights concerns, including a ban on female genital mutilation and child marriage, much more needs to be done. We are following closely the cases of opposition members who have received severe custodial sentences and the deaths in custody of two members. We have voiced these concerns directly with the Gambian Government and in UN and EU fora and continue to apply pressure alongside other countries.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Turkmenistan.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Turkmenistan is featured as a Human Rights Priority Country in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Report – a clear indication of our continuing concern about the human rights situation in the country. We continue to call for the Turkmen Government to move forward with its reform programme, to secure full the implementation of the national human rights action plan, and to create an effective human rights ombudsman in order to give effect to the individual rights and freedoms set out in the newly adopted Constitution.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government set out an assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia in the UK statement to the UN’s Human Rights Council’s 33rd Session on 28 September 2016. In summary, Somalia has committed to upholding human rights, but implementation has been slow. Some progress has been made but overall the human rights situation in Somalia remains severe
We will urge the Federal Government of Somalia to uphold human rights and respect its international obligations. Key human rights legislation should be implemented swiftly and effectively.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in North Korea.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UN Commission of Inquiry report, published in 2014, highlighted the severe and systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the regime on its own people. These include summary executions, torture, lack of judicial process, forced labour and prevention of freedom of expression and religion. There is no evidence that the situation is improving. The UK Government will continue to work closely with partners and through international fora to raise its significant concerns about human rights in the DPRK and press for substantial reforms to improve the lives of North Korean citizens. The UK regularly raises our concerns about human rights violations directly with the regime through our Embassy in Pyongyang. The UK will support the annual resolution on DPRK human rights at the forthcoming UN General Assembly to maintain international attention on that country’s dire human rights record. I include with this answer a copy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report 2015 which includes a fuller assessment of the human rights situation in the DPRK.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - 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 Philippines concerning drug trafficking.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK has a regular and productive law enforcement dialogue with the Philippine authorities relating to serious crime, including drug trafficking, though we have no intelligence to suggest that drugs are being trafficked from the Philippines to the UK or vice versa. All of our engagement in this area is subject to scrutiny under the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment process.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Indonesia concerning the death penalty.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We raise our concerns at the highest level and will continue to do so. The former Prime Minister (the Right Hon. Mr David Cameron) reiterated our position to Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in April. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) has expressed his concerns about the executions that took place in July.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government's view is that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has worsened in recent weeks. We have been particularly concerned by police violence in response to recent protests and demonstrations. As set out in the EU Statement of 30 August, the freedom to demonstrate and present petitions is enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution, along with other fundamental human rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly and association.
This Government made a 2015 manifesto commitment to stand up for the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe remains one of the 30 UK Human Rights Priority Countries, where we monitor and report regularly on human rights and support programmes designed to make abuses less likely. We regularly call, both bilaterally and in partnership with others, for an end to human rights abuses and the restoration of internationally accepted standards.