Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will undertake an urgent and comprehensive review into British arms export licences to Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government is satisfied that export licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK's export licencing criteria. The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. The Government routinely keeps factors relevant to the licensing of arms exports under active review, and Ministers are consulted in the event of any significant changes in the circumstances relating to UK-licensed exports to ensure that licences comply with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Since the outset of the conflict in Yemen the Government has kept all extant licences and new licensing to Saudi Arabia under continuous review, and has exercised special caution and vigilance in granting new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia, handling each on a case-by-case basis. The conflict in Yemen is being monitored closely, and that monitoring is taken into account as part of the careful risk assessment for exports to Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of allegations of electoral fraud in the recent legislative and presidential elections in Haiti.
Answered by Lord Swire
Our (non-resident) Ambassador to Haiti and (resident) Chargé d'affaires regularly meet the European Observer Mission (EOM) to the recent Haitian elections, as well as observer teams from the Organization of American States (OAS) and ParlAmerica. While irregularities did take place, and are being investigated, none of the official observer groups has substantiated specific claims of fraud, or called the results of the election into question. The UK shares this assessment.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to review his Department's advice against all but essential travel to Tunisia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We keep our travel advice for Tunisia under regular review, taking into account the current terrorist threat and the Tunisian capacity to deter and respond to that threat. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed the issue with the Tunisian government when he visited on 27 November.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of British tourists in Tunisia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We continue to advise against all but essential travel to Tunisia. We advise any British nationals who choose to travel to or remain in Tunisia to check that their insurance policy provides adequate cover, to be especially vigilant and to follow the advice of the Tunisian security authorities.
We have almost doubled our support for Tunisia this year. We are working closely with the Tunisian government to improve their protective security and build their capacity to deter and respond to terrorist threats. We are also working with professionals in the tourist industry in popular tourist areas such as Sousse and Hammamet to build their awareness of the threat and to put in place appropriate security measures.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise the issue of human rights during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2015.
Answered by Lord Swire
Ministers regularly engage China on human rights. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so during the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in Beijing in August, as did the Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr George Osborne) during his visit in September. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover areas both where we agree and where we disagree.