Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - 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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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 (Non-affiliated - 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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Vaccinations received locally by staff in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will have been arranged on a personal basis.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - 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 (Non-affiliated - 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
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 (Non-affiliated - 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 (Non-affiliated - 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 (Non-affiliated - 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 (Non-affiliated - 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.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on plans to combat anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination at the 2018 World Cup in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We want UK fans to be able to enjoy a safe and secure visit to Russia for the World Cup next year. As part of the Be on the Ball campaign, the FCO has published specific travel advice for the World Cup (www.gov.uk/russia2018).
Regular meetings take place between UK officials and the Russian authorities to discuss preparations for major sporting events. For example, a UK delegation attended the Confederations Cup this month.
We also regularly raise our concerns with the Russian authorities on their human rights record.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations on antisemitism to his (a) Russian, (b) Polish, (c) Latvian, (d) Lithuanian, (e) Saudi Arabian and (f) Malaysian counterparts since he took office.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Combating all forms of discrimination, including anti-semitism, remains an important part of the Government's human rights work internationally. Through our membership of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), we actively supported the adoption of a Working Definition of Antisemitism in 2016. The UK is now encouraging individual states to adopt the definition domestically. Since 2010, the UK's Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues has played an important role in driving a more coherent and strategic approach to our work in this area, including on anti-semitism. The current Special Envoy Sir Eric Pickles raised antisemitism during his recent visits to Poland in October 2016 and March 2017.