Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to monitor the likelihood of his Department's funding reaching Hamas through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary noted in his statement to the House of Commons on 19 July 2024, that the UN had taken the allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack seriously. He is reassured after Catherine Colonna's independent review, that UNRWA is ensuring the highest standards of neutrality.
£1 million of the £21 million of new UK funding to UNRWA will support it to implement the management reforms recommended by the review. We continue to monitor UNRWA's implementation. Separately, a Memorandum of Understanding governs UK financial support to UNRWA. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments and conducts an annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 potential implications for his policies of the reported treatment of released Israeli hostage Andrey Kozlov.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The treatment of hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas is a matter of international concern. We are clear in our call - Hamas must release all hostages immediately. This government has prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages since day one. The Foreign Secretary and I have both recently met with families with links to the UK whose loved ones have been murdered or taken by Hamas and reiterated our commitment to using all diplomatic avenues to secure their release.
We welcome the tireless efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States, and fully endorse their joint statement calling for the immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. This deal is the best way to get the remaining hostages out. We are urging all sides to show flexibility.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what conditions he has placed on the restoring of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary noted in his statement to the House of Commons on 19 July 2024, that the UN had taken the allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack seriously. He is reassured after Catherine Colonna's independent review, that UNRWA is ensuring the highest standards of neutrality.
£1 million of the £21 million of new UK funding to UNRWA will support it to implement the management reforms recommended by the review. We continue to monitor UNRWA's implementation. Separately, a Memorandum of Understanding governs UK financial support to UNRWA. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments and conducts an annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 help secure the release of people taken hostage by Hamas.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government has prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas since day one. During their joint visit to the region, the Foreign Secretary and French Foreign Secretary Stéphane Séjourné met with Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz to reiterate the need to end the conflict in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. Both the Foreign Secretary and I have met with hostage families with links to the UK whose loved ones have been murdered or taken by Hamas and reiterated our commitment to using all diplomatic avenues to secure their release.
We welcome the tireless efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States, and fully endorse their joint statement calling for the immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. This deal is the best way to get the remaining hostages out. We are urging all sides to show flexibility.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Polish counterpart on cases outstanding of children abducted from the UK to Poland.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Government takes international parental child abduction (IPCA) very seriously and I [Minister Docherty] recognise the distress of all those affected. Ministers and senior officials raise IPCA with the Polish authorities at every appropriate opportunity. I raised the issue with my Polish counterpart, Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk, most recently on 7 September. The former Foreign Secretary also raised the issue in his dialogue with Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, on 5 July, and the Minister for International Affairs (MoJ) raised IPCA with Deputy Justice Minister Sebastien Kaleta on 18 September. We will continue to engage with representatives of the new Polish government on this issue, once formed.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his (a) US and (b) EU counterparts on ensuring components from western countries are not used by Iran in the production of armed drones.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK is working alongside the US and EU to tackle Iranian weapons and components supply and to hold Iran to account for its support to Russia and its destabilising regional activity. This includes through the use of the UK's enhanced Military End-Use control which has improved the Government's ability to control non-listed components. The UK continues its support to maritime security operations in the Gulf which last year resulted in the recovery of Iranian weapons parts from unflagged vessels. The UN is shortly expected to publish its findings on the weapons following a UK invitation to view them.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the principles outlined in the successor to the Cotonou Agreement and the effect of the implementation of that successor agreement on the UK's interests.
Answered by James Duddridge
We continue to work with the EU and our African partners on a range of priority global issues, in line with the Integrated Review and to be a force for good in the world.
The proposed successor to the Cotonou Agreement covers objectives which we share, including contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. I welcome their progress on these areas.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 extent of potential misappropriation of UK aid and reconstruction materials by Hamas in Gaza since the 2014 conflict.
Answered by James Cleverly
The FCDO has robust controls against fraud and diversion of aid. We work with implementers and partners that have strong safeguards in place, which reduces risk and ensures the maximum impact of UK aid for Palestinians. FCDO funding agreements commit partners to understand and comply with UK and international counter-terrorism legislation. In Gaza, we implement robust controls to monitor spending, including enhanced due diligence assessments, annual audits, and regular field visits. All these ensure that UK aid reaches its intended beneficiaries.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
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 Iranian compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action since the UK, France and Germany triggered the dispute resolution mechanism in January 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly
Iran continues its systematic non-compliance with its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) commitments, undermining the JCPoA and putting at risk the intensive efforts underway to restore the deal. On 16 April Iran announced that it had started uranium enrichment up to 60% using advanced centrifuges. The production of highly enriched uranium is an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level. Iran restricted access and oversight by the IAEA of its nuclear programme from 23 February. We have issued statements with our French and German partners expressing our deep concern at these steps.
We are engaged in intensive discussions in Vienna with other JCPoA participants and the US, which are aimed at returning the US to the JCPoA, bringing Iran back into full compliance with its commitments and restoring the benefits of the deal for all.