Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much financial support his Department has provided to Rohingya refugees in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has been a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, providing over £373 million in humanitarian support for the crisis since 2017. This includes direct funding to the refugee camp at Cox's Bazar and to UNHCR, the World Food Programme and other agencies that work on refugee issues.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 (a) the government of Tunisia and (b) other international partners on the human rights situation in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We monitor the human rights situation in Tunisia closely. The UK urges the Tunisian Government to respect the principles and values of an open and democratic society at every available opportunity. Most recently, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, reiterated this message during his meeting with the Tunisian Foreign Minister on 4 May. The UK also coordinates with likeminded partners on how to collectively address human rights. For example, Lord Ahmad's statement of 18 April on the arrest of Rached Ghannouchi reflected an international alignment of views on the case.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will ensure that staff who work (a) directly or (b) indirectly in her Department and its relevant agencies and public bodies are paid at least the UK real living wage outside Greater London or the London living wage inside Greater London as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can confirm that no direct employee is paid an hourly rate less than that determined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Records for staff employed 'indirectly' by the Department are not held centrally. To produce this data would incur disproportionate cost.
Details of hourly rates of pay, for directly employed staff, contractors and agency workers in our Agencies and Public Bodies is not held centrally. To obtain and produce this data would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many (a) direct employees, (b) contractors and (c) agency workers who work in her Department and relevant agencies and public bodies receive a wage below that of the (i) UK Real Living Wage outside of Greater London and (ii) London Living Wage inside of Greater London, as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can confirm that no direct employee is paid an hourly rate less than that determined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Records for contractors and agency workers are not held centrally. To produce this data would incur disproportionate cost.
Details of hourly rates of pay, for directly employed staff, contractors and agency workers in our Agencies and Public Bodies is not held centrally. To obtain and produce this data would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 effect of recent demolitions and seizures of Palestinian (a) homes, (b) water and hygiene structures and (c) clinics on the Palestinian Authority's ability to contain the spread of covid-19 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is seriously concerned by any demolition and seizure of Palestinian property by Israeli authorities. In all but the most exceptional circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We are particularly concerned that demolitions are continuing at this time. Such actions weaken the capacity of Palestinians to withstand the impact of COVID-19. Under IHL, an occupying power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public health and hygiene in the occupied territory to the fullest extent of the means available to it. We call on both parties to avoid any provocative action which might undermine the cooperation that is so critical.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 Israeli counterpart on the increase in settler violence against Palestinians and their property reported by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs since the outbreak of covid-19 in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are concerned by reports that settler violence is continuing at this time. We called on both parties to avoid any provocative action which might undermine the cooperation that is so critical in response to COVID-19, including settler violence, at the UN Security Council remote meeting on the Middle East Peace Process on 23 April. We condemn any incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2020 to Question 13562 on Politics and Government, whether he has made an assessment of the adherence of the US Administration's framework for a Palestinian state to the statehood criteria of (a) ability to exercise effective control of territory and (b) independence in their external relations.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The United Kingdom supports Palestinians in realising self-determination through a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. We hope that the US initiative may lead to a first step on the road back to negotiations. It is through such negotiations that the parties will determine the specifics of how the aim of two states is to be achieved.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 help ensure that the Israeli Government (a) implements and (b) adheres to UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have long supported balanced UN resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that addressed incitement and settlements. We do not hesitate to raise instances of incitement. We have a regular dialogue with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority in which we reiterate the need for both sides to prepare their populations for peaceful coexistence, including by promoting a more positive portrayal of each other. As I made clear in my statement on 24 February, the UK's position on Israeli settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law and damaging to renewed efforts to launch peace negotiations. I last raised settlements with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 26 February. We urge Israel to halt its settlement expansion immediately.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) criteria and (b) guidance his Department uses to define the (i) characteristics, (ii) security and (iii) borders of a sovereign state.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The criteria for statehood were set out in a written answer to a PQ on 16 November 1989 by Sir Tim Sainsbury, then a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, who provided that "we consider a State should have, and seem likely to continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population, a Government who are able of themselves to exercise effective control of that territory, and independence in their external relations". This is based on the criteria for statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States 1933, namely: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with other states.
Recognition is a unilateral, political act and there is no legal obligation to recognise another entity as a state. Recognition is something that Her Majesty's Government can choose to grant at a time of her choosing, if at all.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the (a) number and (b) frequency of (i) demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures and (ii) forced displacement of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As we made clear in our statement at the UN Security Council on 21 January, we are deeply concerned by the increase in demolitions of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution; and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly made clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concern at the increase in demolitions of Palestinian properties in Area C of the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, most recently on 17 December 2019. We will continue to call for Israel to abandon demolition plans entirely, and instead provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.