Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 26 October 2023 to Question 203790 on Visas: Africa, whether the (a) passports and (b) other documents of visa applicants applying at Visa Application Centres in (i) South Africa, (ii) Kenya, (iii) Nigeria and (iv) Ghana are (A) digitally copied and (B) checked at that Visa Application Centre.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Commercial partners take tri-scans of customers passports and scan all other supporting documents onto a digital portal for Decision Making Centres to view via a secure cloud solution.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 implications for his policies of the report “Join Us or Die”: Rwanda’s Extraterritorial Repression, published by Human Rights Watch in October 2023; and whether he has had discussions with (a) the Home Secretary and (b) other Cabinet colleagues on the issues raised in that report.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Where we have concerns about the restrictions on political opposition, civil society and media freedom, we regularly express these to the Rwandan government. Most recently, I discussed these issues during my visit to Kigali in late August.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings on pages 64 to 66 and 103 to 106 of the report “Join Us or Die”: Rwanda’s Extraterritorial Repression, published by Human Rights Watch in October 2023.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
All attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable. Any threats made by a foreign state against individuals in the UK will be thoroughly investigated.
This Government is committed to tackling the issue of transnational repression. The National Security Act will strengthen our legal powers to counter foreign interference and the Defending Democracy Taskforce, established last year to help protect the democratic integrity of the UK, is conducting a review into the UK’s approach to transnational repression.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) make an assessment of the likelihood of conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, (b) tackle the risks of material support for armed groups within Ethiopia from neighbouring states and c) support the African Union on these issues.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We continue to engage the Ethiopian government on peace within the country and in the region. On 27 October, the British Ambassador to Ethiopia told Ethiopia's national security advisor that Red Sea port access should not be pursued by aggression. To mark the one year anniversary of the Pretoria peace deal, the British Embassy Addis Ababa coordinated a joint statement with Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, which called for further progress on implementation, including the full withdrawal of Eritrean and non-government forces from Ethiopia. The UK is also contributing funding to the African Union's Monitoring, Compliance and Verification Mechanism to support implementation, and we continue to press the government of Ethiopia, and all armed actors, to resolve their disputes through inclusive dialogue.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many (a) adult and (b) unaccompanied child Eritrean nationals eligible to come to the UK are unable to exit Ethiopia; and how many such people are receiving consular support from the UK.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Home Office are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to process 16 Eritrean Nationals who hold UK visas and are trying to exit Ethiopia, 10 of whom are unaccompanied minors, to enable them to travel to the UK as soon as their exit visas are granted. The FCDO and our embassies, high commissions and consulates worldwide provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad. We cannot provide consular support to other countries' nationals, even if they have been living legally in the UK or have close connections to the UK.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, further to the Answer of 31 January 2023 to Question 129752 on Rwanda: Human Rights, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress of the investigation into the death of John Williams Ntwali in Rwanda; and what steps his Department have taken to monitor that investigation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK government is aware of the tragic death of John Williams Ntwali. We understand that a police investigation determined a traffic incident led to his death. Noting concerns around due process, we have raised this case with government of Rwanda and underlined the importance of transparent investigations. The UK encourages Rwanda to uphold and champion Commonwealth values of freedom of speech and the press, and respect for human rights. We discuss these issues regularly with the Government of Rwanda. We will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to offer support to civil society organisations in Senegal for (a) election monitoring and (b) promoting democratic practices ahead of that country’s elections in 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Peaceful, free and credible elections are essential to Senegal's stability. Our Ambassador and Embassy in Dakar regularly reinforce these messages, together with international partners, with the Senegalese Government and civil society groups. The Embassy will monitor the upcoming Presidential elections process closely. We are also exploring support to civil society groups through our International Programme Fund to reinforce democratic practices, specifically media freedom, during the elections period.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on taking steps to support evacuees from Sudan who are approaching the end of their six-month compassionate dispensation visas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Where a person has leave in the UK but is unable to return home they should apply for Leave Outside the Rules using the FLR(HRO) form [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-extend-stay-in-the-uk-flrhro]. Each case will be assessed on its merits. If they are unable to afford the fee then a fee waiver application can be made here: [https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/fee-waiver].
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support people whose livelihoods have been affected by climate change in Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to tackling climate change. In the Maghreb region, climate action and collaboration to mitigate or adapt to impacts, including on agriculture, tourism and fisheries, is a priority for UK engagement and support. Such engagement forms part of our dialogue with regional governments, UN agencies, and multilateral development banks. These partners are involved in practical collaboration through initiatives such as the Breakthroughs Agenda, while bilateral programming includes work to support more accurate climate and weather data to inform action. We are also working closely with the United Arab Emirates COP28 presidency to press for additional funding for vulnerable communities.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made for the potential implications for his policies of allegations of (a) forced disappearances and (b) degrading treatment of female Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, including in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps. We consistently support language in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions that encourages the parties to continue efforts to enhance human rights in Western Sahara. We support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and welcomed his September visit to the region. We continue to engage key partners to encourage constructive engagement with the political process. We also discuss human rights with the Moroccan authorities including through our bilateral dialogues.