Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the temporary removal of the Saudi-led coalition from the UN's list of states and armed groups that violate children's rights during conflict on the integrity and effectiveness of UN Security Council measures on children and armed conflict.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
[This question was tabled before the sad death of the Honourable Lady but the subject remains important and the Government’s response ought to be placed on the public record.]
The UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict was published on 2 June. The report includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children.
The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools.
We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. A political solution remains the best way to bring this conflict and the suffering of the Yemeni people to an end. The UK Government continues to support the work of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the constructive engagement of the Saudi-led coalition with the UN on the question of its de-listing as a state or armed group that violates children's rights during conflict.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
[This question was tabled before the sad death of the Honourable Lady but the subject remains important and the Government’s response ought to be placed on the public record.]
The UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict was published on 2 June. The report includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children.
The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools.
We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UN peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic has sufficient resources to protect civilians and fulfil its mandate.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK contributed £31.8 million to the UN Peacekeeping Budget for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) in 2015/16.
The operation is focussing on restoring stability, preventing human rights abuses, and promoting reconciliation. The UK will work closely with UN Security Council partners to ensure that the protection of civilians remains a priority in the renewal of the mandate, and that the Mission has sufficient resources to fulfil it.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UN responds effectively to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic.
Answered by James Duddridge
These are terrible allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. The UN and Member States must investigate these claims urgently and thoroughly and hold the perpetrators to account. The UK supports the efforts by the UN Secretary-General to eliminate all instances of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers.
The Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE, has made tackling sexual abuse and exploitation in peacekeeping missions one of her top priorities. The UK supported UN Security Council resolution 2272 which endorses the UN Secretary General’s decision to repatriate troops when there is credible evidence of sexual exploitation and abuse, and for troop contributing countries to keep the UN Secretary General informed of the progress of investigations.
The UK Government will provide £1 million to support the UN's work to improve the suitability of deployed peacekeepers, design a reporting system that communities will trust, and ensure a stronger UN response to proven allegations. The UK will be hosting an international conference on UN peacekeeping in the autumn which will push for further progress on UN peacekeeping reform.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the putting in place of a system of verification for violations during the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria; and when he expects such a system to be in place.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Cessation of Hostilities is an important step towards ending the terrible violence in Syria and bringing about a lasting political settlement.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with the HNC Representative, Riyad Hijab in Paris on Friday 4th March to assess the current situation. Since the Cessation of Hostilities came into effect, we have seen a significant reduction in violence, which is of course a huge step forwards. But we need to see this sustained, and to see a reduction in the number of reported violations. To this end we are working with the UN and other members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), to urgently consolidate a robust verification mechanism to monitor alleged violations of the Cessation of Hostilities. The UK had a number of staff in Geneva last week working on this.
This mechanism is already starting to work through assessments of violations and we will continue to refine the operation as we continue.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether areas where (a) Al Nusra and (b) other UN Security Council designated terrorist groups are mixed with the moderate opposition are included in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Syria; and what assessment he has made of whether such arrangements are being honoured by (i) the Assad government and (ii) Russia.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Cessation of Hostilities agreement in Syria does not apply to Daesh, Jabhat al-Nusra, or other terrorist organisations as designated by the UN Security Council. Discussions over the delineation of territory under the control of those groups are ongoing between the US, Russia and International Syria Support Group members. Our view is that any attacks on Jabhat al-Nusra or other designated terrorist organisations must be highly targeted in order to maintain the Cessation of Hostilities, to have the desired counter-terrorism effects and to ensure that no non-combatants come under attack. Our assessment is that since the start of the Cessation of Hostilities there has been a significant reduction in violence, although there have also been a number of violations, most of which we assess to have been carried out by the regime.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on recognising Palestine as a state since the House of Commons vote on this matter in October 2014.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Since the debate on 13 October 2014, neither the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) nor I have had any discussions with Ministerial colleagues on this subject.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the recognition of Palestinian statehood; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The British Government reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at a moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace. We are clear that we want to see the creation of a sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living in peace and security, side by side with Israel. Only a negotiated settlement can achieve this.
Asked by: Jo Cox (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to publish the next quarterly progress report to the House on Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government’s first quarterly progress report on Syria to the House was provided by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 16 December 2015. On 8 February 2016, the Secretary of State for International Development provided a second quarterly progress report to the House.
The next progress report will be provided by a relevant Minister in due course.