Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
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 implication for his policies of the steps the Canadian government has taken in imposing Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for the unlawful arrest and detention of a British citizen in Russia, Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
British Embassy officials have attended Vladimir Kara-Murza's court hearings with other international partners, the last hearing being 24 October. We remain vigilant to attempts by the Russian government to exclude diplomats from future court hearings following Mr Kara-Murza's additional treason charge. HMA Moscow raised the issue of consular access with the Russian MFA. In May, the Foreign Secretary met Mr Kara-Murza's wife, in his previous role as Minister for Europe, and emphasised his determination to continue raising Mr Kara-Murza's case at multilateral fora, including the OSCE. We note the Canadian government's sanctions relating to Mr Kara-Murza. We do not comment on future sanctions designations.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
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 safety of Afghan refugees in Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO officials have engaged with regional governments to allow Afghan nationals to cross borders from Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds. Regional countries are vital to the response. Iran is reviewing its position, but has a register of all Afghans in Iran and recognises the Afghan population as legitimate migrant labour. The UK has provided £4.5 million to the UN Refugee Agency, £1 million to the World Food Programme, and £1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, for life-saving assistance, including shelter, sanitation, protection, food security and health services, for vulnerable Afghan refugees in Iran.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much aid the UK has provided to Iran to support Afghan refugees in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO officials have engaged with regional governments to allow Afghan nationals to cross borders from Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds. Regional countries are vital to the response. Iran is reviewing its position, but has a register of all Afghans in Iran and recognises the Afghan population as legitimate migrant labour. The UK has provided £4.5 million to the UN Refugee Agency, £1 million to the World Food Programme, and £1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, for life-saving assistance, including shelter, sanitation, protection, food security and health services, for vulnerable Afghan refugees in Iran.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
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 level of threats from IS-K towards religious minorities in Afghanistan in winter 2022-23.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK monitors the terrorist threat from Afghanistan, including from ISKP, and regularly presses the Taliban to protect religious minority groups. We are working closely with international partners to ensure credible monitoring and accountability mechanisms are in place. The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) mandate was renewed in March 2022 and strengthens these mechanisms through direct engagement with religious minority groups. On 7 October, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution to extend the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate for another year. His recent report to the Human Rights Council included an assessment of the situation for religious minority groups.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to flooding in Pakistan in summer and autumn 2022, what steps his Department took to help ensure that religious minority communities in Pakistan had equal access to UK-funded humanitarian aid in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is working with partners to ensure that humanitarian aid is targeted towards vulnerable and marginalised communities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, the Minister for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, met with Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rahman, on 14 October to discuss the impacts of flooding and how the UK can best help long-term recovery efforts. During his October visit, Lord Ahmad raised human rights, including those of religious minorities, with both Pakistan's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Human Rights.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much aid funding the UK has provided to Pakistan to support Afghan refugees in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK has provided £6.5 million to support refugee preparedness in Pakistan through multilateral organisations (World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, the UN Refugee Agency and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent). UK funds have been used to support communities in refugee-hosting areas to boost health services and provide additional nutritional support.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the International Bar Association entitled Crackdown on Human Rights Defenders, Opposition, and the Right to a Fair Trial in Myanmar, published in August 2022; and what steps his Department is taking to help promote (a) the right to a fair trial and (b) the rule of law in Myanmar.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Myanmar and have made the UK position very clear. We are continually pushing for a political resolution to the crisis and calling for the release of all those arbitrarily detained. On 27 July, we agreed a UN Security Council Statement condemning the military's execution of pro-democracy activists and expressing deep concern over the state of emergency and arbitrary detention of members of those elected in November 2020.
We will consider all the tools at our disposal to maintain pressure on the regime and respond to serious human rights violations, including further targeted sanctions and keeping Myanmar on the UN Security Council's agenda.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court in accordance with Article 14 of the Rome Statute, in the context of the National Unity Government of Myanmar issuing a declaration in 2021 to the International Criminal Court accepting the Court’s jurisdiction.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. The UK is supportive, in principle, of any attempts to bring these issues before the International Criminal Court (ICC), where they can be scrutinised.
The ICC, however, does not have jurisdiction over the situation in Myanmar and so a referral by the UK under article 14 of the Rome Statute would have no practical impact.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the findings of the Yazidi Justice Committee in its report on State Responsibility and the Yazidi Genocide, published on 6 July 2022, on the lack of Iraqi domestic legislation giving effect to the Genocide Convention, if she will take steps to urge Iraq to enact legislation on that matter.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We note the findings of the Yazidi Justice Committee's report. The UK advocated strongly for the passing of the Yazidi Survivors' Law in March 2021 and UK Ministers continue to raise the importance of full implementation of this law regularly with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government. In parallel, we have also provided £2 million to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNITAD). We will continue to support the Yazidi community in Iraq and champion UNITAD's work in gathering evidence of Daesh crimes, including against minority communities.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Yazidi Justice Committee report on State Responsibility and the Yazidi Genocide, published on 6 July 2022, if she will take steps to help secure the relocation and return of kidnapped Yazidi women and children from Iraq by (a) requesting that Iraq take necessary steps and (b) providing appropriate assistance through her Department to secure this outcome.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We note the findings of the Yazidi Justice Committee's report. The UK advocated strongly for the passing of the Yazidi Survivors' Law in March 2021 and UK Ministers continue to raise the importance of full implementation of this law regularly with the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government. In parallel, we have also provided £2 million to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNITAD). We will continue to support the Yazidi community in Iraq and champion UNITAD's work in gathering evidence of Daesh crimes, including against minority communities.