Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of further diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Arab nations.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK warmly welcomed the normalisation agreements between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. These are historic steps which see the normalisation of relations between friends of the UK. We also welcome the suspension of plans for Israeli annexation of the West Bank - a move the UK has opposed - as it would have been counterproductive to securing peace in the region.
Restoring cooperation is an important and constructive step towards peace, and shows both sides are willing to put the needs and security of both Israelis and Palestinians first. We need to build on this momentum through further dialogue and compromise to move towards a two state solution and a lasting solution to the conflict. The United Kingdom will continue to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the research study undertaken for the Department for International Development entitled, Value for money investment in people to people programming in Israel and Palestine, whether his Department has taken steps to conduct the further research using programme budgets and evaluations recommended on page 27 of that report.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are taking forward relevant recommendations in the research study undertaken by the Department for International Development "Value for Money Investment in People to People Programming in Israel and Palestine". We firmly believe a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. That is why we support steps to increase understanding and dialogue between the parties that can help create the conditions for meaningful negotiations. We will continue to fund peacebuilding projects focused on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and have increased our focus on monitoring and evaluation within these projects.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the election of Ebrahim Raisi as president of Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary most recently engaged with his Israeli counterpart Minister of Foreign Affairs and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid on 29 July. We regularly discuss regional issues with international partners, and continue to support the security of our allies. Following the Iranian Presidential elections in June, we have called on the new President to set Iran on a different course, including putting an end to its destabilising activity in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 106362 and with reference to his Department’s management of the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) from 2016-18, how many projects delivered through the IAF) (a) were and (b) were not subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment in each of the (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18 financial years.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable Member to my response to question 113154 on 12 November 2020.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the spending of the Gulf Strategy Fund was for financial year 2020-21, broken down by state.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
In 2020/21 the Gulf Strategy Fund was allocated £8.4 million to support programmes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and a number of regional programmes including Alumni Network, Cyber Ambassador, Science and Innovation Partnership Programme, Tax Reform and UK-Gulf Marine Environment Partnership. Summaries of 2021-22 projects will be published in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the meeting between HM Ambassador to Bahrain and the Bahraini Minister of Interior on 9 June 2021, whether HM Ambassador was aware that Husain Bakarat had died of covid-19 prior to that meeting; and whether that meeting was held to discuss Husain Bakarat.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly discuss the challenges of managing Covid-19 in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government and continue to raise specific cases with senior interlocutors, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the risk posed by covid-19 to prisoners in Bahrain, if he will make urgent representations to his Bahraini counterpart for the immediate release of vulnerable political prisoners with pre-existing medical conditions in that country, including (a) Hasan Mushaima, (b) Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, (c) Sheikh Ali Salman, (d) Dr Abduljalil AlSingace, (e) Abduljalil AlMuqdad and (f) Abdulwahab Husain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly discuss the challenges of managing Covid-19 in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government, which we assess to be dealing with it effectively and in line with international norms via vaccination and other protocols. Nevertheless we continue to raise the cases of specific individuals with senior interlocutors, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies. We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to raise the matter with these oversight bodies.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2021 to Question 10405, whether the Government has taken steps to verify the Government of Bahrain’s assurances that medical care is provided to inmates of Jau Prison in accordance with the constitution of Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We welcome the assurances that any prisoner who falls ill has the same free access to treatment and care as any other citizen or resident in the Kingdom, and assess that that is reinforced by, for example, the absence - with one exception - of Covid-related deaths in prison. The British Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau prison on 3 May to see the medical facilities available. We continue to monitor conditions including through our regular contact with the oversight bodies, with which we discuss health and covid-19 in prisons and which actively monitor the Covid-19 situation through inspection visits (NIHR and PDRC) and investigations into prison conditions (Ombudsman). We encourage anyone with concerns about medical treatment in prison to get in touch with the oversight bodies directly
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 (a) counterparts in the Indian Government (b) counterparts in the Pakistani Government and (c) United Nations officials on the implementation of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan resolution of 5 January 1949 on the self-determination of the people of Kashmir.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK's long-standing position is that it is for India and Pakistan to identify a lasting political resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as mediator.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications over £1 million were made to the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) in financial year 2018-19; which Department's submitted those applications; how many of those applications were approved; and which (a) Minister or (b) Director approved those applications.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 27 October to questions 106364 and 106365. In 2018-19 the Integrated Activity Fund approved 5 applications over £1 million.