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Written Question
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Expenditure
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department plans to publish details of all departmental spending over £25,000 since May 2022.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Our target is to resume reporting of both Government Procurement Cards (GPC) and over £25,000 spend in Spring 2024.


Written Question
Syria: Development Aid
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support (a) victims of violence, (b) protesters, (c) detainees and (d) missing persons in Syria.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK continues to draw international attention to Syria at the UN Security Council, condemning human rights violations, the deepening humanitarian crisis, and the use of violence and torture against peaceful protestors and detainees. The UK welcomes the 29 June 2023 UN General Assembly resolution, which established the Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP). The IIMP will seek to clarify the fate and location of missing persons and support survivors. Since 2012, the UK has contributed over £14 million to support Syrian and international efforts to gather evidence of human rights abuses and violations and hold those responsible to account.


Written Question
Afghanistan: Refugees
Friday 8th December 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made representations to the Government of Pakistan on the safety of Afghan refugees in that country who are eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Department, including the Foreign Secretary and the British High Commissioner to Islamabad, has made such representations, and will continue to do so. We have received assurances from the Government of Pakistan that Afghans being supported in Pakistan under the Afghans Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will remain safe in Pakistan while they await relocation to the UK. An MOD-led operation has relocated over 1,500 ARAP-eligible Afghans to the UK since September.


Written Question
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what progress the Government has made on ratifying the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK was pleased to be among the first signatories to the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement when it opened for signature at the UN on 20 September 2023 and the Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement, which will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.


Written Question
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement: Marine Protected Areas
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department plans to take to help establish new high-seas marine protected areas under the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK was pleased to be among the first signatories to the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement (BBNJ) Agreement when it opened for signature at the UN on 20 September 2023 and the Agreement was laid before Parliament for scrutiny on 16 October 2023. Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the provisions of the Agreement into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. The UK will continue to be proactive in preparing for implementation and entry into force and will work with international partners and stakeholders to identify potential areas for High Seas Marine Protected Areas. The UK is also funding a project to develop a shortlist of potential area-based management tools that could be developed into future proposals once the BBNJ Agreement comes into force.


Written Question
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps the Government is taking to encourage other countries to ratify the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK continues to be proactive in supporting other, particularly developing, countries, to implement and ratify the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. The UK has provided a significant contribution to the BBNJ Voluntary Trust Fund to enable participation by developing countries in UN discussions on preparatory work. The UK also continues to support the BBNJ Informal Dialogues, discussions that bring together participants from a wide range of countries online to discuss implementation. The UK also co-funded and organised a workshop for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to share best practice and support the implementation and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement in the Philippines on 15-17 November.


Written Question
Indigenous Peoples: Human Rights
Wednesday 15th November 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to United Nations press release entitled General Assembly Adopts Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples; ‘Major Step Forward’ towards Human Rights for All, Says President, published on 13 September 2007, whether it remains the Government’s policy that (a) national minority groups and (b) other ethnic groups within the UK do not fall within the scope of the indigenous peoples to which the Declaration applies.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK fully recognises that individuals belonging to indigenous communities are entitled to the full protection of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in international law. The UK supports the provisions in the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that underline this. Human rights are universal and apply equally to all. Our position remains that national minority groups, and other ethnic groups within the territory of the United Kingdom, and its overseas territories, do not fall within the scope of indigenous people, to which UNDRIP applies.


Written Question
Hkalam Samson
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

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 his Myanmar counterpart on the imprisonment of Reverand Dr Hkalam Samson.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK condemns the arbitrary detention of politicians, civil society members and journalists by the military regime, including the former President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson. On 18 April, the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief called for his immediate release and for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar. Although the UK has had no political engagement with the military regime since the coup in February 2021, we will continue to call publicly for the military regime to release all those arbitrarily detained.


Written Question
Nigeria: Human Rights
Thursday 29th June 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recommendations the Government plans to make to the UN Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review into Nigeria (a) overall and (b) on freedom of religion and belief.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK Government strongly supports the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. We are committed to supporting Nigeria to protect human rights and provided recommendations on this during Nigeria's previous UPR in 2018, including on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). We will consider recommendations and advance questions as part of Nigeria's next UPR in early 2024, and once it has submitted its national report in October this year.


Written Question
Uganda: Terrorism
Thursday 29th June 2023

Asked by: Derek Thomas (Conservative - St Ives)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will (a) review sanctions on the Allied Democratic Forces leadership and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of sanctioning additional bodies following the attack on Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are designated under both the UN and UK domestic sanctions regimes. We do not speculate about future sanctions designations, as to do so might reduce their impact.