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 Iraq and punishment of genocide, if she will make it her policy to urge the UN Security Council to refer Iraq to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We note the findings from the Yazidi Justice Committee support. The UK has focused on supporting the Government of Iraq to take the necessary actions to secure justice for the Yazidi people and many other victims of Daesh's crimes. We will continue to use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.
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 many (a) British Council and Gardaworld contractors and (b) Chevening alumni her Department plans to resettle in the UK in 2022.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government will resettle more than 5,000 people in the first year and up to 20,000 over the coming years. Under pathway 3, eligible at-risk British Council and Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni will be considered for resettlement. The Government will provide further details when this part of the scheme is launched in the coming weeks.
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 her Department's criteria are to determine the most at risk (a) British Council and Gardaworld contractors and (b) Chevening alumni for resettlement under the first pathway of the Afghan Citizens resettlement Scheme.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Under the third pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), eligible at-risk British Council and Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni will be considered for resettlement. The Government will provide further details when this part of the scheme is launched in the coming weeks.
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, whether the British Ambassador to Bahrain will attend the 24 April 2022 sentencing of Duaa Alwadaei in Bahrain, the British-Bahraini wife of human rights defender, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Our Embassy in Bahrain is aware of Mrs Alwadaei's case and have been in touch to provide Consular support. We understand that the charges against her have now been dropped and her case has been closed.
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 she will make it her policy to declare the UK’s intention to join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We welcome the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) consideration of the ongoing case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar for its alleged breach of the Genocide Convention. We are supporting the ICJ process which is putting pressure on Myanmar to protect the Rohingya. We provided the funding to enable Rohingya refugees to attend the hearings in December 2019. We are monitoring developments closely. We will keep under review the question of a UK intervention once the Court has ruled on whether the case can proceed.
The Rohingya crisis remains a UK priority. We continue to support the humanitarian responses on both sides of the border. In Rakhine State the UK has provided over £81 million to all communities since 2017, including over £25 million for the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities for support such as nutrition and health.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2022 to Question 114769, if she will make an assessment of the compatibility of the statement in that Answer that Bahrain’s Restorative Justice Law for Children specifically addresses Article 37 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, and the findings of Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and Human Rights Watch report of 7 February 2022 that Bahrain continues to arbitrarily detain six children and that Bahrain should revise the Restorative Justice Law for Children.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We welcome the entry into force in August 2021 of the Restorative Justice Law for Children and support Bahraini Government efforts to ensure the law is fully and effectively implemented. It would not be appropriate to comment further on the specific case mentioned while it is sub judice. We encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the relevant oversight bodies.
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 steps her Department is taking to support the case of Christian Pakistani girl Maira Shahbaz and her family, who have been in hiding for 18 months.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
It is longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases, where to do so may put individuals or their family members in danger.
The UK condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise Freedom of Religion or Belief, women and girls' rights and gender equality at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan, including on individual cases. During his visit to Pakistan in June 2021, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Foreign Minister Qureshi, and Human Rights Minister Mazari. During these meetings, Lord Ahmad highlighted the need to address persecution, promote respect for all religions and increase tolerance for religious minorities. He also met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage of young girls. Most recently, Lord Ahmad discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar on 28 November, and on January 6 with Shaikh Hasan Haseeb Ur Rehman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, and Pir Naqeeb, custodian of the Eidgah Sharif Shrine in Rawalpindi. In addition to diplomatic engagement, the FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages, gender-based violence and modern slavery.
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 the Government has made of the impact of the Bahraini legislation entitled Justice law for children and their protection from ill-treatment on preventing detention of children; what representations the Government plans to make to the government of Bahrain on (a) due process violations in respect of the detention of children in that country and (b) releasing children who have been detained; and what information his Department holds on the reported ongoing detention of six children in Beit Batelco in Bahrain since 27 December 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 1 February, the Public Prosecutor in Bahrain announced the detention of six children at a child protection centre following an assessment by a behavioural expert and referral to a judge in the Child Corrective Justice Court in accordance with the provisions of the Restorative Justice Law. We welcome the entry into force in August 2021 of the Restorative Justice Law for Children which specifically addresses Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and support Bahraini government efforts to ensure the law is fully and effectively implemented.
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 report by Human Rights Watch, World Report 2022, published on 13 January 2022, what assessment the Government has made of the implications of its policies of the findings in that report in respect of Bahrain; and what the Government’s assessment is of the independence of Bahrain’s oversight bodies.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The FCDO uses a wide range of sources of information to reach its assessments, the latest of which can be found - including on the oversight bodies - in its annual Human Rights Report, published last in July 2021.
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 many and what proportion of locally employed staff from (a) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, (b) the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (c) the former Department for International Development (who worked in Kabul, in the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team or elsewhere in Afghanistan) who applied to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme since that scheme was established have been (i) considered eligible, (ii) rejected as not meeting the criteria and (iii) asked to reapply; and how many of those applications are still being processed.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme offers resettlement for eligible Afghan staff who have assisted the UK Government, and their families and others who have worked with the Government in exceptional circumstances. Any current or former Locally Employed Staff directly employed by HMG assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for ARAP regardless of their employment status, rank or role, or length of time served. The ARAP scheme launched on 1 April 2021 and will continue to remain open. Since the launch, over 8,500 Afghans who worked for us have been evacuated and are being resettled, including interpreters and their immediate families, enabling them to build new lives in the UK. The Ministry of Defence, who lead on ARAP, has received over 90,000 applications to the ARAP Scheme and continues to receive new applications daily.