Asked by: James Duddridge (Conservative - Rochford and Southend East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Malawi on the treatment and work of Martha Chizuma, Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau Director.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK endorses the President of Malawi's commitment to fight corruption in Malawi. We welcome the reversal of the decision to suspend the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Martha Chizuma, after criminal charges against her were dropped. The UK provides technical assistance to Malawian law enforcement agencies, such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau, to help increase their capacity to pursue cases linked to serious corruption.
Asked by: James Duddridge (Conservative - Rochford and Southend East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full time equivalent staff his Department has in Eswatini.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The full time equivalent FCDO staff in Eswatini is fewer than 10.
Asked by: James Duddridge (Conservative - Rochford and Southend East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the democracy movement in Eswatini.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government remains disappointed by the lack of progress towards meaningful dialogue in Eswatini to address the restrictions on democratic and civil rights. We are clear that all citizens have the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and that the Government of Eswatini must exercise restraint and respect the human rights of its people. Through our High Commissioner in Mbabane, representations on this matter have been made directly to King Mswati III, the Prime Minister of Eswatini and others, including senior officers in the police service. The High Commissioner has also engaged with political activists within the Political Parties Assembly (PPA) and the wider Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) to better understand their aspirations and capacities and to encourage constructive pursuit of their political goals. The FCDO will continue to monitor the human rights and security situation in Eswatini and promote dialogue and peaceful resolution of the political and social conflicts within the country.
Asked by: James Duddridge (Conservative - Rochford and Southend 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 implications for his policies of potential changes in the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory; and what assessment he has made of the relevance to those policies of the lessons learned from the lease of Hong Kong from China.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK and Mauritius have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. You will appreciate that we are not able to provide any detail on the content of ongoing discussions, or speculate on the possible outcome of negotiations. However, we will keep Members and Parliament informed at key junctures.