Asked by: Mark Ferguson (Labour - Gateshead Central and Whickham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support democracy in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 16 December I spoke with Georgian Dream's Foreign Minister, Maka Bochorishvili, about recent events in Georgia, and about Georgia's negative democratic trajectory. I stressed that police violence targeting peaceful demonstrators, opposition figures and journalists was unacceptable. On 19 December, the UK implemented sanctions against the Minister and Deputy Minister of Internal affairs and three police officials responsible for these violent actions. We have also suspended all programme support to the Georgian government, restricted defence cooperation, and limited engagement with Georgian Dream representatives. We continue to call on Georgia to realign itself with European values.
Asked by: Mark Ferguson (Labour - Gateshead Central and Whickham)
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 his (a) French and (b) Mozambique counterpart on the alleged massacre of civilians by Mozambican military personnel at the TotalEnergies plant in 2021.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our High Commissioner in Mozambique has raised the alleged massacre of civilians at the TotalEnergies plant in 2021 with representatives of the Government of Mozambique and local counterparts, alongside France and the US. The UK is offering continued support to Mozambique on responding to the ongoing IS-Mozambique insurgency in Cabo Delgado. This support includes programmes aimed at building local resilience to violent extremism, and security and human rights training of Mozambican Armed Forces.