Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the success of Commonwealth Day.
Answered by Lord Swire
Commonwealth Day was marked successfully by a range of activities in the UK and other Commonwealth countries. There were celebratory messages from Her Majesty The Queen, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). I represented Her Majesty's Government at the multi-faith Observance at Westminster Abbey attended by Her Majesty The Queen, members of the Royal family, and over 2,000 participants including High Commissioners, dignitaries from around the Commonwealth and 1,000 young people from schools across the UK. Our High Commissions across the world also actively promoted and celebrated Commonwealth Week.
The Commonwealth theme for 2015 ‘A Young Commonwealth’ was promoted across the Commonwealth with an increased use of social media. The hashtag #commonwealthday reached over 2.5 million followers on twitter accounts with over 1,400 tweets published to date.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking in conjunction with its international partners to defeat ISIS.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are part of a Global Coalition with over sixty members committed to defeating ISIL. We are supporting inclusive governance in Iraq and Syria, jointly leading the coalition’s efforts to counter ISIL’s narrative, working to disrupt its access to finance and foreign fighters, and providing military support to Iraqi forces fighting ISIL. The UK is also providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by ISIL’s brutality and will contribute to the Syrian Opposition Train and Equip Programme. We are providing £800 million worth of humanitarian aid in response to the crisis in Syria, which is the largest UK response to a humanitarian crisis.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - 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 the government of the Republic of Congo as to the safety and protection of the British missionary, Ms Maud Kells.
Answered by James Duddridge
I was very concerned to hear about the shooting of a British national in the Democratic Republic of Congo. FCO officials in London and the Democratic Republic of Congo are providing consular assistance. We will continue to provide assistance and seek updates from the local authorities who are investigating.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of when negotiations on the future of Iran's nuclear programme, including enrichment capacity, will be completed.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The E3+3 and Iran have extended negotiations until the end of June 2015, with the aim of concluding an outline agreement by the end of March. We did this because we believe that a deal is possible but more time is needed to bridge differences – particularly on the core issue of Iran’s enrichment capacity.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - 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 the Ukrainian government since that country's recent parliamentary elections.
Answered by David Lidington
I refer the Hon Member to Question 211380 of 28 October which details the British Government’s latest contact with the Ukrainian government.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of girls and young women abducted by Islamic extremists in north east Nigeria in the last three months.
Answered by David Lidington
Boko Haram continue to abduct both males and females across north east Nigeria. The security situation in this region makes it difficult to obtain verifiable information on the precise number of abductions that have taken place or the gender of those involved. However, we estimate that since the abduction of the 270 Chibok schoolgirls in April over 350 other people have been abducted by Boko Haram. We continue to engage with Nigerian officials at both Federal and state level on their efforts to secure the release of those abducted and to provide better protection from Boko Haram attacks.Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with Chinese authorities about the recent unrest in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Swire
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 October 2014 (PQ 210244).
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - 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 President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil since her re-election.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Prime Minister has written to President Rousseff congratulating her on her re-election, and hopes to be able to do so in person at the G20 Summit in Brisbane. Neither the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), nor I, have had any discussions with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff since her re-election on 26 October 2014.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese government concerning the treatment of protestors in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have consistently called on all sides to ensure that the demonstrations are peaceful and in accordance with the law. This month, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I met the Chinese Ambassador to discuss developments in Hong Kong and to set out the UK position on constitutional reform. On 14 October I met the Hong Kong Government’s Secretary of Justice to discuss the importance of the introduction of universal suffrage.
I issued a Written Ministerial Statement on the situation in Hong Kong on 13 October, calling on all sides to ensure that demonstrations remain peaceful. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also issued statements on the situation on 2 October, 29 September and 4 September. As we have made clear, we hope that all parties engage constructively in dialogue.