Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports of infighting between illegal armed groups attributed to illegal mining activity in Rio Quito, Chocó, Colombia, and (2) the impact of such infighting on the lives of the local population and the environment.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
We remain extremely concerned about the continued presence of illegal armed groups in Colombia, and the impact their competition for control of illicit economies has on local people and environments, particularly during this challenging time. The UK Embassy in Bogota is closely monitoring the situation.
President Duque's Government has publicly committed to implementing the Peace Accords of 2016 in their entirety, and we remain steadfast in our support of the Colombian authorities - including the National Security Guarantees Commission - as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia. We are proud to be the penholder on the issue at the United Nations Security Council - most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on presence of illegal armed groups in Colombia at the UN Security Council on 14 April.
We have committed almost £53 million over 5 years through the United Kingdom Conflict Stability and Security Fund for Colombia to support the implementation of the peace process, including across conflict-affected regions such as Chocó and Uruba. We regularly raise this with the Colombian authorities.
Furthermore, HMG provides overseas development assistance (ODA) to climate change initiatives in the region of Chocó in Colombia through two programmes delivered through the UK's International Climate Finance (ICF), UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and Partnerships for Forests (P4F). These projects aim to tackle deforestation in Colombia by fostering sustainable alternative livelihoods and the development of the bioeconomy in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the compliance of British mining companies operating in Peru with the health and safety regulations set up by the government of Peru to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 to their workers, families and the wider community.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK Government does not specifically undertake work with UK mining companies operating in Peru to assess their compliance with local health and safety regulations. We expect them to comply fully with all measures put in place by the Government of Peru to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK's investment of funding to support the biodiversity hotspot on the Pacific coast of Colombia, of the (1) activities of paramilitary groups in the region, and (2) threat of displacement to the indigenous communities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom recognises the unique biodiversity of Colombia's Pacific coast and is committed to helping Colombia safeguard its environmental assets. Although this region is not the focus of our programming, the United Kingdom has implemented some climate change-related projects in the region, as well as some Newton Fund research projects on biodiversity and sustainability.
We are aware of reports of violence affecting certain areas in this region, and of the continuing presence of organised armed groups competing for control of illicit economies.
The British Government takes into careful consideration such factors when designing projects and deciding which to fund, and we continually monitor the effect of such risks on our programme work in consultation with colleagues working in Colombia. We also make a thorough assessment of the impact of all of our projects, including on the human rights of local communities.
We are steadfast in our support of the Colombian peace process, and UK-funded programmes across a range of issues from biodiversity to climate change help to improve the socio-economic conditions in rural areas and tackle the root causes of insecurity, building towards a sustainable peace.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of collusion between the Colombian security forces and illegal armed groups.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware that organised armed groups operate in parts of Colombia, and of occasional reports that some members of the security forces are complicit in these groups' activities. We support the Colombian government's efforts to root out any such collaboration, including via our specific programme work to foster good governance and tackle corruption in security forces.
Colombia has made significant progress in its efforts to end the influence of paramilitary groups. We have seen little recent evidence of any widespread collusion between security forces and organised armed groups.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat to the security of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, especially the Embera–Wounaan, on the Pacific coast of Colombia, following reports of armed skirmishes between paramilitaries, the Army of National Liberation and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for control of the land.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of violence on Colombia's Pacific coast. The presence of organised armed groups, fighting for control of illicit economies, disproportionately affects a number of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. Our Embassy regularly raises concerns about specific communities with the relevant state actors in Colombia. We support the Colombian government's deployment of further security forces to attempt to guarantee security. More widely, long-term security depends on socioeconomic development of the region and vice versa, key reasons why Her Majesty's Government remains steadfast in its support for the 2016 peace process and why the United Kingdom maintains significant development programming in Colombia.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants from each department have taken language courses at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Language Centre over the past 12 months, and in which languages.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold data capturing the total number of officers who have participated in developmental language classes at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on an annual basis, but we can provide the number of officers per department, per language who have enrolled in classes this term (Autumn 2019). These overall numbers are similar for the previous two terms this year, although some officers have continued from one term to the next while others have left and been replaced.
The information is captured in the table which is attached due to its size.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken, or plan to take, to ensure that the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, made on 31 October 2000, on the involvement of women in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction are being fully complied with in the Stockholm Agreement process on ending the war in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government has lobbied the conflict parties for greater inclusion of women in formal peace talks and have raised the importance of doing so. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), we support UN Women initiatives, such as the Yemeni Women Pact, to increase women’s participation in and leadership of official peace processes.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking following the declaration by the paramilitary group Aguilas Negras that the non-governmental organisations Sisma Mujer and Somos Defensores are regarded as military targets, given that those two NGOs are in receipt of funds from the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the list of 'military targets' announced by the group that calls itself the Aguilas Negras, or 'Black Eagles'. As well as NGOs, the list also includes prominent politicians, journalists and other human rights defenders. The British Embassy in Bogota has publicly denounced these threats.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Colombia about the humanitarian crisis in Chocó, specifically in relation to the reports of sexual violence being used by armed actors.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our Embassy in Bogota has raised the situation in Choco with the Colombian authorities.
In September 2017, members of our Embassy in Bogota accompanied a UK delegation including the honourable Lady, on a visit to Choco, organised by the NGO ABColombia. Since then, Embassy staff have visited the region twice.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office worked closely with NGOs in preparation for Colombia's Universal Periodic Review at Geneva in May, raising concerns about violence against human rights defenders and conflict related sexual violence.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their assessment that Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world; and why, at the 38th session of the Human Rights Council, they did not include Colombia in the references made to countries where there are large numbers of internally displaced persons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Colombia's 52 year conflict has claimed over 8 million victims including more than 7 million displaced persons. In recent years, only the conflict in Syria has seen a larger number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) caused by internal conflict.
Speaking times at the Human Rights Council are limited, so it is impossible to cover every country of concern in the UK intervention. On this occasion, the UK chose to prioritise raising Iraq, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the situation for IDPs had deteriorated significantly during recent months.
Concerns about major displacements in Colombia were also included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2017 Human Rights report, published on 16 July.