Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research into COVID-19 by the MIGAL Research Institute in Israel and the potential effectiveness of their orally-administered vaccine Migvax.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Vaccines Taskforce is working with experts, as appointed by Kate Bingham as Chair, to assess the range of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates being developed around the world. As part of this assessment, Government will evaluate the MIGAL Research Institute’s orally-administered, viral vector-based vaccine.
Companies and research institutes are welcome to submit proposals to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) research calls. Government support is available to prioritise, coordinate and deliver studies which qualify as urgent public health research.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with the government of Turkey about providing personal protective equipment to refugee camps on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We are speaking regularly to Turkey about our shared concerns relating to the significant risks posed by COVID-19 in Syria, including in camps for internally displaced persons. We are supporting our UN and NGO partners to lead the response in camps and across Syria. This support includes personal protective equipment for health workers, as well as provision of IPC (infection prevention and control) supplies, cleaning supplies and hand sanitiser. This is part of the UK's global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 and help the most vulnerable. This includes a global contribution of £65 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on 22 April, condemning the execution of two prisoners under the age of 18 by the Iranian authorities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned by the reports of the executions of these two juvenile offenders. In her statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated these executions are prohibited under international human rights law and has violated the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran had signed up to. It remains a long-standing policy of the United Kingdom to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. The UK regularly raises human rights with the Iranian authorities at all levels and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (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 Iran about the reported detention without trial of (1) Nabi Tardust, (2) Ramtin Movaseghi, (3) Ashkan Valizadeh, and (4) Milad Ghorban Nezhad.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports that a number of university students were arrested by Iranian security forces and detained without trial during the protests in January over the Iranian military's shooting down of a Ukrainian plane. We unreservedly support the right to peaceful protest and call on Iran to uphold its commitments under international law to protect freedom of assembly and speech, and treat all detainees in line with international standards. The UK regularly raises human rights with the Iranian authorities at all levels and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues and to guarantee procedural fairness in legal cases, including most recently at the UN Human Rights Council in March this year.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of school books published by the Palestinian Authority containing incitement to hatred and violence.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks. The UK secured EU agreement to lead an independent review of the textbooks which is underway. We expect interim findings by June 2020 and full findings later in the year.
The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of journalists currently held without trial by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold this information. The British Government is committed to the promotion of media freedom and the protection of journalists, as an essential element of democracy and an important attribute of human rights. The UK supports calls for greater media freedoms in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We continue to reiterate the importance of a free and open press, and freedom of expression to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Officials from our Consulate-General in Jerusalem regularly raise the issue of freedom of expression, including the revision of relevant legislation, with the Palestinian Authority. We welcome Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh's comments committing to freedom of press and expression, and policies and legislation that will protect journalists. We continue to urge the PA to respect human rights, ensure complaints of mistreatment or arbitrary detention are properly investigated and to continue to improve the performance of the security sector.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority about any rewards they make to families of Palestinians involved in acts of terror against Israeli civilians.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Whilst prisoners and their families have a right to support in line with their social needs as they would in the UK, we use our strong partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to lobby them to reform the prisoner payments system to become more needs-based, transparent and affordable. Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, has raised these concerns with the Palestinian Foreign Minister, and British Government officials regularly do likewise. No UK aid is used for prisoner payments to Palestinian prisoners or their families.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL12583), what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority about (1) its responsibility to pay for the medical care of patients from Gaza treated in Israel, and (2) the limitations it has placed on exit permits for patients from Gaza to receive medical treatment in Israel.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK continually monitors the humanitarian context in Gaza, including in the health sector, and we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on movement and access and the impact that this is having on the wounded and critically ill. Officials raised Palestinian Authority (PA) funding of health referrals for patients from Gaza to Israel in a meeting with the Minister for Health in June 2018 and continue to do as part of broader engagement with the PA on their obligations in Gaza. We have not received reports of the PA restricting Gazan exit permits but are looking into this issue.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL12583), what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the World Health Organisation Monthly Report December 2017: Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip, published on 7 February 2018, that more than 13,000 Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for medical treatment in 2017 in Israel.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID continually assesses the humanitarian context in Gaza, including the health sector, which remains under significant strain. Movement restrictions on patients seeking medical treatment outside Gaza remain a critical concern, particularly since the number of patients requesting access to medical care outside Gaza on a monthly basis increased significantly in 2018 compared to 2017. Recent information from the World Health Organisation Monthly Report November 2018: Health Access for Referral Patients from the Gaza Strip, published on 30 December 2018, showed that there is a positive trend over the prior 12 months for medical permits granted by the Government of Israel. However, access to some medical services, such as cancer treatment, remains constrained. The UK hopes to see this positive trend continue and for the wounded and critically ill in Gaza to be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made representations to the Palestinian Authority about the restrictions that have been imposed on the healthcare budget for the population of Gaza.
Answered by Lord Bates
A senior UK Government official discussed a range of challenges facing the Palestinian healthcare system with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Minister of Health in June last year, including the PA’s healthcare budget, the quality of healthcare available, and shortages of drugs and medical supplies in Gaza. Restrictions in Gaza were most recently raised with the PA earlier this month by a UK Government official.