Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individual cases they have been involved in in the past three years concerning (1) the arrest of UK nationals or their immediate family in Eritrea, (2) deaths of UK nationals or their immediate family in Eritrea, and (3) the imprisonment of UK nationals or their immediate family in Eritrea.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The British Embassy in Asmara provides consular support to British Nationals in Eritrea, alongside neighbouring countries providing remote support. As such, our case management system does not enable us to isolate all consular assistance cases from within Eritrea. However, we can isolate some cases managed in Eritrea, and the number of these is less than five. When a figure is five or less, we do not publish a breakdown which may risk identifying individuals involved. British Nationals planning to visit or already in Eritrea can visit the FCDO travel advice pages for Eritrea and sign up to email alerts.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Eritrea about human rights in that country over the past three years.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We consistently raise human rights with the Eritrean Government through our Embassy in Asmara and during senior official visits including in June 2024 by the UK's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and The Red Sea. We also engage with the Government at the multilateral level, including at the Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the UN Human Rights Council about the situation of Tamil communities in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK, alongside our partners in the Core Group, have led international efforts to promote human rights for all communities in Sri Lanka, including through resolution 51/1 at the UN Human Rights Council. The resolution renewed the mandate of the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on Sri Lanka and to protect and preserve evidence of past human rights abuses to use in future accountability processes. We have made our stance clear in statements to the Council, most recently on 7 March. The UK also made recommendations including on the need to address issues around the expropriation of land in the North and East during Sri Lanka's Universal Periodic Review in February.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) local staff, and (2) UK nationals, have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in (a) the UK embassy in Tel Aviv, and (b) the UK consulate in Jerusalem.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Vaccinations received locally by staff in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will have been arranged on a personal basis.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has for UK participation in non-European country election monitoring after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mark Field
UK officials and private citizens take part in electoral observation missions organised by international organisations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Commonwealth and the EU. The Government does not organise such missions unilaterally. After the UK has left the EU, UK officials and private citizens will continue to take part in electoral observation missions organised by international organisations of which the UK is a member or is otherwise eligible to participate.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the advice available to mountaineers and explorers visiting remote areas overseas.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Our foreign travel advice covers 225 countries and territories. For many countries or regions that are popular with mountaineers and explorers, such as the Arctic, we include specific information on travel to remote areas. Travellers can use this alongside specialist advice from other sources to plan a safe and healthy trip, and we always recommend travellers take out appropriate insurance.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will take steps to seek the release of Osman Kavala from prison in Turkey.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not taken action directly relating to Osman Kavala's case. We regularly raise human rights concerns both in public and privately and have long encouraged Turkey to work towards the full protection of human rights, particularly on freedom of expression. Whilst we have recognised the Turkish government's right to act against the perpetrators of the coup attempt in 2016 and those involved in terrorism, we have always stressed that this must be done in a proportionate, justified manner and in line with Turkey's democratic principles and international human rights obligations. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I have all raised these concerns with the Turkish government.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with their German counterparts on antisemitism and on implementing the conclusions of the recent report by the Second Independent Expert Group on Antisemitism.
Answered by Alan Duncan
In October 2017, Foreign and Commonwealth officials attended a briefing given by the authors of the report commissioned by the German parliament on Antisemitism. On 18 January, the German parliament voted to establish the position of Antisemitism Commissioner, which is the first recommendation of the report. We continue to cooperate with Germany in international work to combat antisemitism.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on alleged disappearances, threats, harassment and intimidations exerted against the political opposition, journalists and activists in Rwanda ahead of the presidential elections due to take place in August 2017.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The British High Commission in Kigali and the Central Africa Team in London have received reports from opposition candidates themselves, Non Governmental Organisations, and the EU Delegation in Kigali. We take any such reports very seriously.
We remain concerned about the limited democratic space in Rwanda. The number of opposition candidates standing in the Presidential elections on 4 August is an example of these limitations.
Although we support the Government of Rwanda's Vision 2020 development programme, that programme clearly sets out their commitment to "the rule of law and the protection of human rights". We continue to speak candidly with Rwanda, raising concerns about Human Rights, freedom of expression, media freedoms and the lack of political space.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will support adoption of UN sanctions against those who impede implementation of the 31 December agreement on the Democratic Republic of Congo and who commit human rights violations in (a) that country and (b) the Kasai region of that country.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The political and human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is deeply concerning. The UK has supported the adoption of EU sanctions against individuals responsible for obstructing the democratic process in the DRC and who have committed human rights violations in the Kasai region and elsewhere. Should there continue to be no progress towards full implementation of the 31 December agreement and a continuation of the human rights violations taking place across that country, including in the Kasais, the UK would support further pressure on those responsible. While action by the UN Security Council is one option, we would also consider further EU sanctions, if required.