Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Mauritius will have any input into whether or where kinetic weapon strikes which are launched from Diego Garcia are targeted.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Agreement reached on 3 October will ensure the continued full, long-term, secure and effective operation of the Joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia. The Agreement is subject to the finalisation of a treaty, which will address the specific issues raised by the Noble Lord. The UK and Mauritius have committed to finalising and signing such a treaty as quickly as possible following Mauritian elections. After signature, the treaty is required to be ratified by both the UK and Mauritius before entry into force. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the detail of the Treaty prior to ratification, in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government who will be responsible for civil law on Diego Garcia after any agreement with Mauritius.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Agreement reached on 3 October will ensure the continued full, long-term, secure and effective operation of the Joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia. The Agreement is subject to the finalisation of a treaty, which will address the specific issues raised by the Noble Lord. The UK and Mauritius have committed to finalising and signing such a treaty as quickly as possible following Mauritian elections. After signature, the treaty is required to be ratified by both the UK and Mauritius before entry into force. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the detail of the Treaty prior to ratification, in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what flag will fly over Diego Garcia after any agreement with Mauritius.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Agreement reached on 3 October will ensure the continued full, long-term, secure and effective operation of the Joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia. The Agreement is subject to the finalisation of a treaty, which will address the specific issues raised by the Noble Lord. The UK and Mauritius have committed to finalising and signing such a treaty as quickly as possible following Mauritian elections. After signature, the treaty is required to be ratified by both the UK and Mauritius before entry into force. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the detail of the Treaty prior to ratification, in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether recent attacks by Hezbollah on Haifa and Northern Israel and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have led to reconsideration of the proscription of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We keep the list of proscribed terrorist organisations under constant review. Iran's destabilisation of the Middle East, human rights violations, nuclear escalation and threats against people in the UK are abhorrent. We will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Recently, we imposed sanctions against four IRGC individuals responsible for facilitating the work of Iran's proxies and partners in the region. Overall, the UK has more than 400 sanctions designations in place on Iranian individuals and entities in response to the regime's malign influence internationally.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have identified further ships in the "shadow fleet", in addition to the 10 already identified and sanctioned, which are breaking sanctions on trade of Russian oil.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since gaining the power to 'specify' individual vessels in May 2024, the UK has sanctioned 43 tankers transporting Russian oil as part of Putin's shadow fleet; a far higher number than that undertaken by partners over the same period. The majority of these vessels have been disrupted by our action, and a significant number have struggled to re-enter the Russian oil trade. This disrupts Russia's efforts to undermine our oil sanctions and intensifies the pressure we have placed on Russian revenues. We have also sanctioned 9 vessels involved in the Russian Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sector. We will continue to focus on this area, working closely with partners to ensure effectiveness and impact.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with Russian oil and gas exploration entities operating in the British Antarctic Territory, and what agreements have been made.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection prohibits the commercial exploitation of minerals. The Antarctic Treaty Parties, which includes Russia, reaffirmed their ongoing commitment to this prohibition in a Declaration on Climate Change and the Antarctic, agreed by consensus in June 2023. Russia has a long-standing programme of surveying and mapping the geology of Antarctica, but has repeatedly assured the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting that these activities are for scientific purposes, and of their commitment to sharing data through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research's Seismic Data Library System. There is no evidence of any drilling or extraction activities. We will continue to monitor that situation and Russia's activities.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation between Venezuela and Guyana.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is concerned by the recent steps taken by Venezuela with respect to the Essequibo region of Guyana. We consider the unilateral actions of Venezuela unjustified and have said they should cease. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Americas, Caribbean and Overseas Territories) visited Guyana on 18 December to show UK support for its territorial integrity.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of semiconductors from manufacturers such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Instruments and others still reaching Russia despite the bans imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, and of the routes they have taken there.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government has prohibited the export from the UK to Russia of goods and technology, including semiconductors, that are critical to Russia's military-industrial complex.
The Government recognises that Russia is circumventing sanctions measures, including smuggling goods through back channels to restock supplies. We are working with partners, including the US and EU, to tackle routes that Russia is potentially using to circumvent our sanctions.
On 20 April the Government laid further legislation containing a new package of trade measures, including export prohibitions on items Russia has been found using on the battlefield to date.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government at what level discussions by the Partners in the Blue Pacific in Washington on 23 June were held; and whether the EU were present at that meeting as observers.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The governments of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States dispatched high-level officials to Washington, D.C. on June 23 and 24 for consultations with the Pacific Heads of Mission and other partners, including France. The European Union were present as observers. The meeting followed consultations with Pacific Island Countries, and the Pacific Islands Forum. The Partners of the Blue Pacific (PBP) was launched at the meeting as an inclusive, informal mechanism to support Pacific priorities more effectively and efficiently. The countries will continue to work together in partnership as plans for the PBP develop.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to use their membership of the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) to support UK priorities; and what the reaction of the government of China has been to the formation of the PBP.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) is a new initiative between Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and our Pacific partners. It builds on our longstanding commitment to the region to help better coordinate our approach and support the Pacific Island Countries line with the Pacific Islands Forum's upcoming 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. This will ensure our support is properly informed by what Pacific Islands Countries themselves need, and that our governments have stronger and regular engagement on Pacific issues and priorities.
Many countries have expressed interest in the PBP since its launch, including China.