Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that people in Afghanistan with refugee family reunion visas are able to travel to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We stand by our commitment to help all Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK, including those who hold refugee reunion visas, to travel by whatever routes are available. We are clear that the Taliban must ensure safe passage for these people out of Afghanistan, and any engagement with them will emphasise this first and foremost. We are also in frequent contact with neighbouring countries, and wider partners, to help secure safe routes.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the NGOs he discussed the Taliban upsurge in Afghanistan with, and the dates and times of those discussions, during the period 12 to 16 August 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has been overseeing the FCDO's response to the situation in Afghanistan throughout, including engaging with international partners and directing the FCDO's crisis response.Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will list the dates and times of internal departmental meetings he convened to discuss the Taliban upsurge in Afghanistan in the period 12 to 16 August 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been, and remain, vital partners for our work in Afghanistan. We are working closely with them to respond to the changing situation on the ground & consider how best we can respond collectively to the increasing humanitarian needs in the country.Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2021 to Question 3038, whether he plans to support representations for an independent UN body to monitor human rights in occupied Western Sahara.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined. The UK has consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to sustain their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf camps.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance consular services are providing to UK citizens abroad to help them access covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are closely following other countries' plans to roll out vaccines. We are providing bespoke information through Travel Advice pages and 'Living In' guides on gov.uk to inform British nationals of healthcare options available to them and how they can receive a vaccine in the country where they live. The UK is playing a leading international role to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines. For example, we have contributed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to ensure that the 92 most vulnerable economies have access to COVID-19 vaccines and I am delighted that this is starting to deliver.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is his Department's policy that the status of Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory, in accordance with the UN determination.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We note the UN's position on the status of Western Sahara, which is set out on its website: https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt/western-sahara. As the Foreign Secretary stated on 11 December 2020, the UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined: www.gov.uk/government/news/israel-and-morocco-uk-responds-to-announcement-of-normalisation.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Moroccan authorities on the response of the Moroccan police in Western Sahara to the non-violent protests organised by the family of Sultana Khaya.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of reports concerning Sultana Khaya and continue to monitor the case. Support for human rights and human rights defenders is a UK priority around the world, and we continue to raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK’s Instrument of Acceptance dated 31 March 1995 in respect of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) under Article XVII of the Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) has lapsed; whether membership under that Instrument is dependent on BIOT being an Indian Ocean coastal State.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The United Kingdom deposited instruments of acceptance to the IOTC Agreement on 31st March 1995 and 22nd December 2020 and has been a party to the Agreement since it entered into force. Both instruments remain extant. The Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission provides that IOTC membership shall be open, inter alia, to FAO members that are situated wholly or partly within the IOTC's Area of Competence. As BIOT is situated wholly within the IOTC's Area of Competence, the United Kingdom, as the State with sovereignty over BIOT as aforementioned, is entitled to be a member of IOTC.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the UN Security Council last discussed the human rights situation in Western Sahara.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Support for human rights is a priority around the world and we continue to raise such issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly.
The UN Security Council was briefed on the situation in Western Sahara in December 2020.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2021 to Question 149268 on Mohamed Lamin Haddi, when he last spoke to his Moroccan counterpart on the continuing human rights abuses in Western Sahara.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Support for human rights is a priority around the world and we continue to raise such issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly.
The UN Security Council was briefed on the situation in Western Sahara in December 2020.