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Written Question
International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the creation of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK remains committed to making progress towards a two-state solution. We support the objectives of the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and continue to engage with the Alliance for Middle East Peace and Biden administration to discuss the Fund's development.


Written Question
Christianity: Females
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to help tackle religious persecution and gender based violence of Christian women in countries around the world.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. We recognise that women and girls from religious minorities can often suffer because of both their gender and their faith. That is why we ensure our human rights policy work considers the intersectionality of human rights, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.

The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.


Written Question
Christianity: Females
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support and counsel persecuted Christian women who are stigmatised by sexual violence overseas.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. We recognise that women and girls from religious minorities can often suffer because of both their gender and their faith. That is why we ensure our human rights policy work considers the intersectionality of human rights, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.

The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, Lord Ahmad launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.


Written Question
Religious Freedom: Females
Friday 23rd April 2021

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of gender-specific religious persecution of women from religious minorities abroad.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all. We recognise that women and girls from religious minorities can often suffer because of both their gender and their faith. That is why we ensure our human rights policy work considers the intersectionality of human rights, including the importance of addressing the specific vulnerabilities experienced by women and girls from religious minority communities.

The UK is recognised as a global leader in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all its forms, by pioneering approaches around the world that have shown that VAWG is preventable. In the DRC, a project with faith leaders and community action groups halved women's experience of intimate partner violence from 69% to 29%. Preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence remains a top priority for the FCDO. In November, the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, launched the Declaration of Humanity by faith and belief leaders which calls for the prevention of sexual violence in conflict and denounces the stigma faced by survivors, including by children born of rape. Through UK Aid Connect, FCDO has supported the Creid programme (managed by the Institute of Development Studies) to work with women from religious minorities in five countries in Africa and Asia to understand the problems they face and identify effective approaches to tackle these issues.


Written Question
Iran: Nuclear Power
Wednesday 21st April 2021

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) is the best, and currently only, way to monitor and constrain Iran's nuclear programme. But Iran's continued systematic non-compliance with its JCPoA commitments is undermining the non-proliferation benefits of the deal and jeopardising our efforts to preserve it. In his call with President Rouhani on 10 March, the Prime Minister stressed that while the UK remains committed to making the JCPoA a success, Iran must stop all nuclear activity that breaches the terms of the deal and come back into compliance.

We are particularly concerned by Iran's announcement on 16 April that it has started uranium enrichment up to 60% using advanced centrifuges. As the E3 said in a statement on 14 April, the production of highly enriched uranium constitutes an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level.

We continue to work with the parties to the JCPoA and the new US Administration to find a diplomatic way forward that realises the benefits of the deal, and call upon Iran not to take any further steps which violate its JCPoA commitments and make a return to mutual compliance harder to achieve.


Written Question
China: Forced Labour
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

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 whether personal protective equipment has been imported in to the UK which is the result of forced labour in the Xinjaing province of China.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The Government takes all allegations of modern slavery and forced labour extremely seriously. We expect suppliers to follow the highest legal and ethical standards and to carry out proper due diligence for all government contracts. We continue to urge all businesses involved in investing in Xinjiang, or with parts of their supply chains in Xinjiang, to conduct appropriate due diligence to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support, or risk being seen to support, any human rights violations or abuses.


Written Question
China: Uighurs
Wednesday 11th November 2020

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on potential sanctions on the people responsible for human rights abuses against Uyghurs in China.

Answered by Nigel Adams

On 6 July, the UK Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime. It is not appropriate to speculate who may be designated in the future, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.


Written Question
China: Uighurs
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support independent (a) tribunals and (b) assessments on China's treatment of its Uyghur population.

Answered by Nigel Adams

We have serious concerns about gross violations of human rights occurring in Xinjiang and welcome any additional analysis on the situation in Xinjiang that is rigorous, balanced and raises awareness of the situation faced by Uyghurs and other minorities in China. At the UN Human Rights Council and UN Third Committee, the UK has repeatedly used both its national statements and joint statements with international partners to call on China to grant unfettered access to Xinjiang for UN experts and observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We did so alongside 38 countries at the UN Third Committee on 6 October.


Written Question
China: Uighurs
Monday 9th November 2020

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese Government on allowing Human Rights Monitors access to Xinjiang's camps.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK is deeply concerned about the gross human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang. The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK's longstanding calls for China to allow unfettered access to Xinjiang for independent experts, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Xinjiang directly with his Chinese counterpart in July. We have also repeatedly called on China to allow UN experts unfettered access to Xinjiang at the UN, including in a recent joint statement with 38 other countries at the UN Third Committee on 6 October.


Written Question
Georgia: Peacekeeping Operations
Wednesday 29th January 2020

Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK will continue to take part in the EU monitoring mission in Georgia after leaving the EU on 31 January 2020.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The United Kingdom currently has six secondees in the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia. Whilst the Withdrawal Agreement provides for continued British participation in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations and missions during the transition period, all six will leave the mission when their current contracts come to an end on 31 January. This follows decisions taken by the European External Action Service (EEAS) to meet the operational needs and ensure the business continuity of the mission.

The United Kingdom is proud to have contributed personnel to EUMM Georgia since its inception in 2008, and we continue to support the objectives of the mission.