Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 current security situation in Daraa Al-Balad, Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK strongly condemns the brutal violence inflicted by the regime on the city of Daraa al-Balad, particularly the assault launched after the agreement of a ceasefire on 1 September and the ongoing deaths of civilians, including children. We remain alarmed by the continued humanitarian crisis and we call on all parties to avoid further death and displacement and adhere to the ceasefire, which resumed on 6 September. We further call for the regime and its backers to urgently grant humanitarian access to the UN and humanitarian actors for civilians trapped in Daraa, and we urge that the UN work to ensure effective provision of basic life-saving items such as food, water and medical assistance which remains in short supply there.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 his Iranian counterpart on the (a) welfare and (b) situation of (i) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and (ii) Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government remains extremely concerned about all dual British nationals detained in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees. The safety and security of dual British national detainees in Iran is of paramount importance, and we call on Iran to uphold its commitments under international law to treat all detainees in line with international standards. We continue to urge the Iranian Government immediately to release all British-Iranian nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran to enable them to return to their families in the UK. We continue to raise these cases at the most senior levels and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. We continue to raise Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case at the most senior levels, and discuss it at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 implications for his policies of (a) recent unrest in Nigeria and (b) reported abuses being conducted by the special anti-robbery squad.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports of widespread violence during recent protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including horrific reports of protestors being killed. We are following events closely and offer condolences to the families of those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. I also tweeted on 21 October to urge the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. The British High Commissioner in Abuja has raised the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government. I expressed my concern over recent violence in Nigeria to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October.
The Nigerian security services must uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations, investigate any incidents of brutality towards civilians and hold those responsible to account. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to support justice, accountability and a more responsive policing model in Nigeria.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 potential merits of imposing sanctions against Nigeria in the event of the continuation of human rights abuses against people in that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government has made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting human rights for all. We encourage all parties to work together to enable the people of Nigeria to exercise their rights safely, peacefully and in line with the rule of law. On 6 July, the Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. This sanctions regime gives the UK a powerful new tool to target individuals involved in serious human rights violations or abuses. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on protecting tariff and quota free access to the EU for the Falkland Islands after the transition period.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government always represents the interests of the Falkland Islands robustly, particularly in relation to supporting the Islands' exports to the EU, and elsewhere. The Government is confident that a viable and profitable trading relationship between the Falkland Islands and the EU will continue after the transition period.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the blacklisting of the Cayman Islands by the EU ECOFIN Committee on 18 February 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As a self-governing and fiscally autonomous jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands make commitments independently of the UK. We encourage the Cayman Islands and the EU to work closely together to resolve any outstanding issues.
The UK supports adherence to international tax standards and we encourage the governments of all Overseas Territories to work with the EU to deliver on their commitments. This is a message the Minister for the Overseas Territories conveys in her regular contact with the governments of the Overseas Territories. We welcome the measures which the Cayman Islands have put in place.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Cayman Islands on the blacklisting of that country by the EU ECOFIN Committee on 18 February 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As a self-governing and fiscally autonomous jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands make commitments independently of the UK. We encourage the Cayman Islands and the EU to work closely together to resolve any outstanding issues.
The UK supports adherence to international tax standards and we encourage the governments of all Overseas Territories to work with the EU to deliver on their commitments. This is a message the Minister for the Overseas Territories conveys in her regular contact with the governments of the Overseas Territories. We welcome the measures which the Cayman Islands have put in place.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to provide support to his counterpart in the Cayman Islands for the removal of that country from the list of blacklisted countries held by the EU ECOFIN Committee.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As a self-governing and fiscally autonomous jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands make commitments independently of the UK. We encourage the Cayman Islands and the EU to work closely together to resolve any outstanding issues.
The UK supports adherence to international tax standards and we encourage the governments of all Overseas Territories to work with the EU to deliver on their commitments. This is a message the Minister for the Overseas Territories conveys in her regular contact with the governments of the Overseas Territories. We welcome the measures which the Cayman Islands have put in place.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his EU counterparts on the blacklisting of the Cayman Islands by the EU ECOFIN Committee.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As a self-governing and fiscally autonomous jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands make commitments independently of the UK. We encourage the Cayman Islands and the EU to work closely together to resolve any outstanding issues.
The UK supports adherence to international tax standards and we encourage the governments of all Overseas Territories to work with the EU to deliver on their commitments. This is a message the Minister for the Overseas Territories conveys in her regular contact with the governments of the Overseas Territories. We welcome the measures which the Cayman Islands have put in place.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risk that Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories other than the Cayman Islands may be blacklisted by the EU ECOFIN Committee.
Answered by Wendy Morton
As a self-governing and fiscally autonomous jurisdiction, the Cayman Islands make commitments independently of the UK. We encourage the Cayman Islands and the EU to work closely together to resolve any outstanding issues.
The UK supports adherence to international tax standards and we encourage the governments of all Overseas Territories to work with the EU to deliver on their commitments. This is a message the Minister for the Overseas Territories conveys in her regular contact with the governments of the Overseas Territories. We welcome the measures which the Cayman Islands have put in place.