Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Myanmar.
Answered by Mark Field
The situation in Burma remains of real concern. On 27 August, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission declared that the conduct of the military in Rakhine in August and September 2017 constituted grounds for the prosecution of members of the Burma military for crimes against humanity and genocide. The Foreign Secretary intends to visit Burma and convene a meeting at the UN General Assembly to press for accountability for human rights violations and the creation of conditions in Rakhine State that would allow refugees to return.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2017 to Question 110340, whether he plans to make further representations to the Prime Minister of Cameroon on reports of genocide in that country.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé has raised our concerns about the situation in the Anglophone region, including their obligations under international law in respect to human rights, with Prime Minister Philemon Yang and the Secretary General of the Presidency on 22 November. In these and several other recent meetings with Cameroonian Ministers, he called on the Cameroonian Government to exercise restraint, enter into purposeful and inclusive dialogue and to take action to reduce tensions. The High Commissioner will continue to raise our concerns, including Cameroon's obligations under international law in respect to human rights, with the Prime Minister and others members of his government.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth Affairs, what support is being made available to Anglophone citizens of Cameroon.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Department for International Development supports the education, health and agriculture sectors across Cameroon through regional programmes and multilateral partners. The British Government does not provide specific support to Anglophone citizens. Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé has been following events in the Anglophone regions closely and has actively raised the need for dialogue and restraint with the Cameroonian authorities, including their obligations under international law in respect to human rights. We continue to call for restraint, for all parties to reject violence, pursue dialogue and urgently take action to reduce tensions.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on a Communique sent to the Anglophone population of Southern Cameroon on its being required to evacuate its villages.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The United Kingdom understands that a Communiqué was issued by the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) of Manyu District (South-West Region) on 1 December ordering villagers to relocate to safer neighbourhoods. The High Commissioner in Yaoundé is following events in the Anglophone regions closely and has actively raised the need for dialogue and restraint with the Cameroonian authorities, including their obligations under international law in respect to human rights. We continue to call for restraint, for all parties to reject violence, pursue peaceful, inclusive and purposeful dialogue, and urgently take action to reduce tensions.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Cameroon.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Our High Commission in Yaoundé continues to follow events in the Anglophone regions closely, meeting opposition groups, human rights defenders and the Cameroonian authorities. The lack of verifiable information on the human rights situation, including allegations of rape, makes it difficult to give an accurate assessment. However, the High Commissioner will continue to raise our concerns with the Cameroonian authorities, including Cameroon's obligations under international law in respect to human rights. The British Government condemns sexual violence in conflict and is working with foreign governments, the United Nations, African Union, and international organisations to end it.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Cameroon on restoring internet access in the south of that country.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We are closely monitoring the situation in the south of Cameroon. Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé raised the question of access to the internet during his recent meetings with the Cameroonian Prime Minister and a number of his Cabinet Ministers, as well as with the Director General for Intelligence.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he or officials from his Department have made to the Government of Cameroon on recent alleged massacres in southern Cameroon.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Government is deeply concerned to hear reports of deaths and injuries in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, including reports that civilians were killed by the security forces and many more were injured.
I released a statement on 4 October expressing the British Government's deep concern, urging restraint, and calling on all parties to reject violence and to enter into dialogue to find urgent solutions to Anglophone grievances.
Our High Commission in Yaoundé continues to follow events in the Anglophone regions closely, meeting opposition groups and the authorities. The High Commissioner has raised the need for dialogue and restraint with the Prime Minister and a number of his Cabinet Ministers, as well as the Director General for Intelligence. He also underlined the importance of Cameroon's obligations under international law in respect to human rights. He has also voiced the United Kingdom's concerns publicly in interviews on Cameroonian television.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
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 Government of Cameroon and representatives of the Anglophone community in that country to negotiate in peace talks to put an end to recent alleged massacres in southern Cameroon.
Answered by Rory Stewart
I released a statement on 4 October expressing the Government's deep concern at the situation, urging restraint, and calling on all parties to reject violence and to enter into dialogue to find urgent solutions to Anglophone grievances.
Our High Commission in Yaoundé continues to follow events in the Anglophone regions closely, meeting opposition groups and the authorities. The High Commissioner has raised the need for dialogue and restraint with the Prime Minister and a number of his Cabinet Ministers, as well as the Director General for Intelligence. We urge the Cameroonian Government to accept the United Nations' offer of help to support dialogue with the Anglophone community.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the protection of vulnerable Christian villagers in Pakistan against further attacks; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
We are concerned about continuing reports of abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.
We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of minority communities with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. The Foreign Secretary discussed the importance we attach to safeguarding the rights of all Pakistan's citizens during his visit to Pakistan in November 2016. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mr Sharma, raised the protection of minorities with Kamran Michael, former Minister for Human Rights, and Barrister Zafarullah Khan, former Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Human Rights, during a visit to Pakistan in January 2017.
Our High Commission in Islamabad raised our concerns about the treatment of religious minorities with the Ministry of Human Rights last month. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations, including those related to religious minorities, as part of Pakistan's forthcoming Universal Periodic Review.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Columbian counterparts about the murders of (a) Emilsen Manyoma on 17 January 2017 in Buenaventura, (b) Joe Javier Rodallega in Buenaventura in 17 January 2017, (c) Juan de la Cruz Mosquera in Riosucio on 7 January 2017, (d) Moises de la Mosquera also in Riosucio on 7 January 2017 and (e) José Yimer Cartagena Usuga in Antioquia on 11 January 2017; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We are concerned by the increasing number of reported killings of civil society figures and activists in Colombia. Since the beginning of 2017, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received reports of at least ten murders where the victims appear to have been targeted for their role as human rights defenders, or because they are members of unions or political groups such as Marcha Patriotica, including Hernan Agames, Yanetin Calvache, Olmeido Pito Garcia, Aldemar Parra Garcia, Emilsen Manyoma, Joe Javier Rodallega and Juan de la Cruz Mosquera.
The Prime Minister raised the issue of the levels of violence against human rights defenders with President Santos during the State Visit in November. Respect for human rights was also included in their joint declaration. I and Ministerial colleagues will continue to raise our human rights concerns with our Colombian counterparts.
Working together to improve respect for human rights is a key part of our relationship with the Colombian Government and civil society. At a practical level, our Ambassador to Colombia is a member of the group "Ambassadors with Defenders" which promotes the work of human rights defenders and raises concerns about specific cases with the Colombian Government. The group will meet the Colombian Attorney-General to discuss the continued murders against human rights defenders, including those killed in recent weeks. On 19 January, British Embassy staff in Bogota met Colombian NGO Somos Defensores to discuss the recent murders. They also took part in a visit to South Bolivar, where local community leaders have voiced concerns about their security. As a result of this visit, the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Human rights committed to request the Colombian Ministry of Defence to provide additional security measures for community leaders.
The Colombian Government recognises the threats faced by human rights defenders and acknowledges the challenges it faces in implementing the peace agreement with the FARC. In December, the Office of the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights (OHCHR) made a statement which linked an increase in incidents to areas vacated by the FARC. President Santos also gave a speech on 22 November in which he said he would work with Governors of affected areas and the Attorney General to accelerate investigations into murders of human rights defenders to find those responsible.