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.
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's report on State Responsibility and the Yazidi Genocide published on 6 July 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of that report's finding that Iraq has failed in its obligations to prevent and punish genocide against the Yazidis.
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 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 Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people that will be resettled in the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme UNHCR pathway in 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
We helped over 15,000 people to safety in the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, and we have continued to bring people to the UK, with over 3,000 people helped to enter since the evacuation.
In light of the success of our evacuation efforts, we expect to exceed our initial aim of resettling 5,000 through the Scheme in the first year.
Community Sponsorship provides the opportunity for friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups to play a direct role in supporting families resettled to the UK as they restart their lives here. Sponsors are able to welcome and support families through the ACRS.
The number resettled through the ACRS and Community Sponsorship will be published soon in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff and contractors (a) are processing cases for the (i) Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and (ii) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and (b) have been redeployed from (A) ARAP and (B) ACRS to support the (1) Ukraine family reunification and (2) Homes for Ukraine schemes.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to the situations in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British nationals and (b) relatives of those nationals have been or are being resettled under the first pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (i) during and (ii) since Operation Pitting.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Following the evacuation from Afghanistan over the summer, work is underway to ensure information relating to all the individuals relocated under both schemes are recorded on case working systems. Once this work concludes, statistics on ACRS and ARAP will be included in future editions of the Immigration Statistics.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people, including principals and relatives, have been supported through Community Sponsorship under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme as of 26 May 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
We helped over 15,000 people to safety in the biggest and fastest emergency evacuation in recent history, and we have continued to bring people to the UK, with over 3,000 people helped to enter since the evacuation.
In light of the success of our evacuation efforts, we expect to exceed our initial aim of resettling 5,000 through the Scheme in the first year.
Community Sponsorship provides the opportunity for friends and neighbours, charities and faith groups to play a direct role in supporting families resettled to the UK as they restart their lives here. Sponsors are able to welcome and support families through the ACRS.
The number resettled through the ACRS and Community Sponsorship will be published soon in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
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.