Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the implementation of the UK Government’s Protection of Civilians policy; and whether that postholder has a counterpart in the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Ministerial responsibility for the Protection of Civilians (PoC) agenda is shared across Government departments. HMG's approach paper, published in August 2020, was drafted in collaboration between the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the former Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence. In line with the breadth and complexity of PoC issues, ranging from humanitarian access to urban warfare, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence continue to work closely on this agenda.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the relevance of (a) the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and (b) the UK Government’s Protection of Civilians policy to the ongoing situation in Tigray.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government has been at the forefront of the international response throughout the conflict in Tigray, engaging directly with the Government of Ethiopia, and that of Eritrea, to press for protection of civilians, unfettered humanitarian access and an end to the conflict, in line with our approach to protection of civilians and commitment to Responsibility to Protect. We have continued to engage core international partners and raise concerns in international fora, most recently through the G7 leaders' communique of 13 June. We have also raised the issue in UN Security Council open discussions on conflict and famine, the annual Open Debate on Protection of Civilians, in five 'AOB' items on the UNSC agenda, and the Interactive Dialogue of the UNSC of 16 June. The UK's longstanding position is that any determination of genocide is an issue for competent courts, rather than governments. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the US Administration's imposition of global Magnitsky sanctions and visa restrictions against Chen Quanguo in response to his role in perpetrating human rights violations against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang; and what plans he has to impose Magnisky sanctions on Chen Quanguo.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The situation in Xinjiang is one of the worst human rights crises of our time. On 22 March, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK has imposed, under the UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime, asset freezes and travel bans against four Chinese government officials, as well the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the organisation responsible for enforcing the repressive security policies across many areas of Xinjiang.
These measures were taken alongside the US, Canada and the EU. By acting with our partners we are sending the clearest message to the Chinese Government that the international community will not turn a blind eye to such serious and systematic violations of basic human rights. We continue to keep all evidence and potential listings under the Global Human Rights regime under close review.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) African Union and (b) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on joining the UK in imposing arms embargoes on Myanmar.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is a longstanding supporter of an arms embargo on Myanmar. We are clear that countries including those in the African Union and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should not sell arms to the Myanmar military. The UK autonomous Myanmar sanctions regulations prohibit the provision of military related services, including the provision of technical assistance, to or for the benefit of the Tatmadaw. We will work closely with partners to pressure those who sell arms to the military.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what advice the UK government is providing to UK companies in Myanmar involved in (a) oil, (b) gas, (c) timber, (d) gems and (e) other extractive industries on the payment of revenue and loyalties to the military-controlled government.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary and the International Trade Secretary have written to British Companies active in Myanmar to make clear our expectation that they do nothing to support the military. We are clear that the military must pay the price for their actions, that is why we are exploring all options to put pressure on their economic interests, this includes sanctions.
We remain committed to the principle of 'do no harm' with sanctions, and therefore wish to ensure that any measures balance the risk of disproportionately affecting poor people in Myanmar and imposing a cost on the military. In addition, as set out in the written ministerial statement of 25 February, we are reviewing our approach to Trade and Investment in Myanmar, and while that review takes place have suspended all trade promotion activity including the resources listed.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he plans to make to the Government of Bahrain regarding reports that at least 15 children have been detained in that country in recent weeks.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We understand that ten juveniles had been detained by the authorities in Bahrain for crimes ranging from obstructing traffic to preparing and possessing Molotov cocktails. The Government of Bahrain has since confirmed that seven 13 and 14-year-olds have since been released into the custody of their legal guardians. We understand that the remaining juveniles are awaiting legal proceedings, . We understand that they have access to medical care and that their cases are supervised by social work specialists. We will continue to monitor and raise these cases if and when appropriate. We encourage the Government of Bahrain to follow due process in all cases and meet its international and domestic human rights commitments, including in the case of juveniles.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the request for urgent action by Amnesty International dated 3 March 2021, which reports that Bahrain is in violation of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child following the arrest, interrogation and detention of four minors and due process violations in at least two of those minors' cases, and to 16-year old Sayed Hasan Ameen who is severely unwell and suffers from sickle cell anaemia, what urgent representations the Government plans to make to secure the immediate release of Sayed Hasan Ameen.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are following the detention of a number of juveniles including Sayed Hasan Ameen, who were arrested for arson, endangering the lives and property of others, and preparing and possessing Molotov cocktails. We understand these cases are pending legal proceedings, and are being supervised by social work specialists. We will continue to monitor and raise these cases if and when appropriate. The Government of Bahrain has been clear that access to medical care for those in detention is provided in line with the constitution of Bahrain.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on ensuring that Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory have (a) equitable, (b) comprehensive and (c) timely access to covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK regularly engages with both the Government of Israel and Palestinian Authority (PA) and will continue to raise timely and appropriate access to COVID-19 vaccines. We welcome steps both parties have taken so far to coordinate the response, including the recent delivery of 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Israeli Authorities to the PA for Palestinian health workers. We continue to encourage further cooperation between the two parties.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the capacity of the Palestinian Ministry of Health to sustain a response to the covid-19 pandemic in the long term.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We remain in regular, close contact with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to discuss their ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will work closely with key partners, including the PA to support a coherent strategy to support recovery. The UK has provided £20 million in funding for this financial year to support the salaries of teachers, nurses and doctors. This will help the PA support its health workers who have been on the frontline battling coronavirus and who deliver life-saving medical services.
We are pleased that the OPTs will be among the first to benefit from the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines, with delivery of a first batch of 37,000 doses of the of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine anticipated in mid-February. This is a positive step towards tackling COVID-19 in the OPTs.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Belarusian counterpart on the arrest of former FCDO Chevening alumnus and journalist Andrei Aliaksandrau and its wider implications for media freedom in Belarus.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government is deeply concerned by the continuing attacks on media freedom in Belarus. There have been more than 400 reported incidents of persecution of media figures in Belarus. In 2020, Belarusian journalists spent over 1200 days in prison for simply doing their job. The Government has repeatedly raised its concerns with the Belarusian authorities, including the case of Mr Aliaksandrau and condemned the actions of the Belarusian authorities in international fora. We have increased financial support to independent media organisations in Belarus and have recognised their courage by presenting the inaugural Canada-UK Media Freedom Award to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.