Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
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 potential threat to regional stability posed by the time being taken to reach agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Answered by James Duddridge
We welcome the resumption of talks between the Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to work towards a peaceful resolution. We continue to urge all parties involved to come to an agreement and to avoid taking any unilateral action. The whole region has a shared interest in the peaceful utilization of its natural resources.
We note the recent talks held on the 4-5 April hosted by African Union (AU) Chairperson President Tshisekedi did not reach a conclusion and urge all parties to redouble efforts to reach an agreement, via the AU-led process.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the letters of 3 February 2021 and 13 August 2020 from the hon. Member for Warley on the report into the content of Palestinian Authority school textbooks.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
A response was sent on 15 April 2021.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with new US Administration on advancing trade union rights in international fora and agreements.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government supports the promotion of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) fundamental principles and rights at work in Free Trade Agreements, which includes freedom of association, and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. We continue to be active members of the ILO, and maintain our own high levels of employment rights. To date, the UK Government has not raised the issue of Trade Union rights in international fora with the new US Administration.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
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 international partners on the imposition of new sanctions on Belarussian officials.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to impose sanctions in response to the human rights violations and fraudulent election in Belarus. With Canada, we imposed sanctions against Lukashenko and his inner circle on 29 September.
The UK welcomed the announcement by the EU and the US on 2 October of further sanctions on Belarus. EU sanctions will continue to apply to the UK during the Transition Period and we will carry over the EU Belarus sanctions regime as an autonomous UK sanctions regime at the end of the Transition Period. We encourage our global partners to join the UK, Canada and US in sanctioning the leadership responsible for the ongoing crisis in Belarus.