Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether Israel is in possession of nuclear weapons.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel has never declared a nuclear weapons programme. The UK Government continues to encourage Israel to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non nuclear-weapon State. We regularly monitor all global nuclear developments and will continue to work with international partners to reduce nuclear risks, strengthen the non-proliferation regime and advance multilateral nuclear disarmament.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will support the establishment of an independent public inquiry into the UK's involvement in Israeli operations in Gaza since October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government does not support the establishment of an independent public inquiry into the UK's involvement in Israeli operations in Gaza since October 2023. The government has already set out the role of UK military operations in relation to Gaza. In support of ongoing hostage rescue activity, the Ministry of Defence has conducted surveillance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including in airspace over Israel and Gaza. Surveillance aircraft are unarmed, do not have a combat role and have been tasked solely to locate hostages in order to uphold the government's primary responsibility: the security of its citizens.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to participate in the UN study on the effects of nuclear war.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK voted against the United Nations General Assembly Resolution "Nuclear War Effects and Scientific Research", which proposed establishing an independent scientific panel on the effects of nuclear war, because the devastation that would be caused by nuclear war has been long understood. The UK questioned the benefit of further research in that area, which could not change our collective understanding of the horror of a nuclear war.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what research his Department has undertaken on the consequences of nuclear war since the signature of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1968.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The devastation that would be caused by nuclear war has been long understood and was written into the preamble of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's focus since then has therefore been on upholding the NPT and nuclear risk reduction.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to encourage the release of (a) Taj Muhammad Sarparah and (b) other Baloch citizens detained in Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns any instances of enforced disappearances. We urge states to fully investigate any allegations, prosecute those responsible and provide justice to victims and their families. We continue to encourage progress towards the criminalisation of enforced disappearances in Pakistan. The British High Commission regularly raises these issues with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. The UK will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people as laid down in Pakistan's Constitution and in accordance with international standards.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects negotiations with Mauritius on the (a) sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and (b) return of Chagossians who wish to resettle will conclude.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 3 October the UK and Mauritius reached a political agreement on the sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) / Chagos Archipelago. This agreement secures the effective operation of the vital UK-US military base on Diego Garcia well into the next century. Following Mauritian elections, the Government will seek Treaty signature and ratification when Parliamentary time allows. Under this agreement Mauritius will be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia. The terms of resettlement will be for Mauritius to determine. Mauritius and the UK will also now work to start a new programme of visits to the Chagos Archipelago for Chagossians.Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
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 potential implications for his policies of recent increases in settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Settlement expansion reached record levels in the past year and has been accompanied by an increase in settler violence. During the Foreign Secretary's visit to Israel and the OPTs on 14-15 July, he met with Palestinians displaced in the West Bank and was horrified to hear of acts of violence carried out by settlers.
The Foreign Secretary made the UK's position clear to those communities and to the Israeli Government. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution.
The Government will challenge those who undermine the prospects of a two-state solution or use hateful rhetoric. We will look at all options to take tougher action.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he expects to conclude negotiations with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary met the Mauritian Prime Minister on 23 July and committed to continuing negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Archipelago. It is too early to speculate on timelines or conclusions, but it is the Government's priority to resolve this long standing and important issue, including ensuring the long-term secure and effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia and other key issues. As appropriate, we will continue to engage with all relevant parties including the Chagossian diaspora.