Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Joint Statement by the UK and Mauritius, published on 3 October 2024, what the (a) annual and (b) total projected cost is of the indexed annual payment.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Agreement between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October will, for the first time in 50 years, secure the important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. The base plays a crucial role in regional and international security. It is not normal practice for the UK to reveal the value of its payments for military bases anywhere across the globe. To do so could put at risk their future secure operation. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the underpinning Treaty as part of the ratification process.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Joint Statement by the UK and Mauritius, published on 3 October 2024, what the transformational infrastructure partnership covers; and how much funding he has allocated to that partnership.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Agreement between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October will, for the first time in 50 years, secure the important UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. The base plays a crucial role in regional and international security. It is not normal practice for the UK to reveal the value of its payments for military bases anywhere across the globe. To do so could put at risk their future secure operation. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the underpinning Treaty as part of the ratification process.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he was made aware that nine staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) may have been involved in the attack on Israel of 7 October 2023 (a) during his discussion with UN Secretary-General Guterres and (b) prior to his decision to reinstate funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In January, the UK paused funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following allegations that 19 staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas attack.
Catherine Colonna conducted an independent review that found the existing UNRWA framework was "robust", but neutrality issues persisted. UNRWA committed to implementing all recommendations. The Foreign Secretary was subsequently reassured that UNRWA is committed to the highest standards of neutrality. The Foreign Secretary called the UN Secretary-General on 18 July to discuss funding to UNRWA. He then announced resumption of funding to UNRWA on 19 July. The UN's Office of Internal Services Oversight (OIOS) led an investigation into the specific allegations against individual staff members. On 5 August, OIOS findings concluded that nine members of UNRWA may have been involved in the atrocities. We welcome UNRWA's action to terminate the contracts of these individuals.