Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the new government of Syria on protecting the human rights of (a) Muslim minorities and (b) Christian minorities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO has consistently underlined the importance of protecting all civilians, including religious and ethnic minorities, publicly and in our engagement with regional and international partners. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jordan, with Arab, US, UN and EU partners during which we collectively expressed commitment to supporting a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition process based on the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and leading to an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government. We also underlined the importance of respect for human rights, including for minorities.
During a meeting with the new interim Syrian authorities earlier this week in Damascus, senior FCDO officials underlined the importance of an inclusive transitional political process which protects the rights of all Syrians.
We will continue to advocate for the right of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Syria and for an inclusive political transition.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to re-open the British Embassy in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Currently, there are no plans to reopen our embassy in Damascus. We will keep this under review.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the new government of Syria on including women in senior roles in the (a) government, (b) judiciary, (c) peace and reconciliation dialogue, (d) inter-faith dialogue and (e) Syrian business and industry associations.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women and minorities.
Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discussed the importance of an inclusive transitional political process, protecting the rights of all Syrians. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jordan, with Arab, US, UN and EU partners, during which we collectively underlined the importance of respect for human rights, including for women.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 the release of Ukrainian civilians taken hostage by the Russian military who are not subject to the military prisoner exchange programme.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK consistently draws attention to Russia's abhorrent actions in Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions of civilians. In the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, alongside other participating states, we have invoked the Moscow Mechanism four times since Russia's full-scale invasion. The most recent of these reports, published in April, exposed Russia's arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Ukrainian civilians. We call again on Russia to uphold its obligations under International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and to release all arbitrarily detained civilians.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with YouTube on its policy on (a) advertising and (b) monetisation by Russian opposition supporters on its platform.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government stands in solidarity with Russian independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists who continue their work, including online, at great personal risk. We condemn the Russian authorities' use of repressive legislation to severely curtail the freedom of expression and recognise the importance of the limited online platforms still available in Russia. The Government has regular engagement with Google, which owns YouTube, on a variety of matters.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with Apple on its reported removal of apps linked to Russian opposition supporters from its Russian app store.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government condemns the Russian authorities' use of censorship to punish political opposition, repress anti-war sentiment and clamp down on freedom of expression online. The UK has raised Russia's use of repressive legislation to maintain a climate of fear in multilateral fora, most recently at the UN on 29 October. The UK Government stands in solidarity with Russian independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists who continue their work, including online, at great personal risk. The UK Government has regular engagement with Apple on a variety of matters.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with his international partners to help protect Hazara communities in Afghanistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected, including those of Hazara communities, most recently in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September. We condemn recent attacks against Hazaras. In line with the Hazara Inquiry report's recommendations, we continue to monitor and document discrimination and abuses against Hazaras, including through our support for the UN Special Rapporteur. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press the Taliban on human rights abuses and the rights of minorities in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 help improve access to (a) clean drinking water and (b) sanitation in fragile and conflict affected states and regions.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for people in the developing world. The FCDO WASH programmes that are in fragile and conflict affected states including in Chad, DRC, Ethiopia and Mozambique. One example is the £18.5 million 4-year WASH Systems for Health program which works with governments and stakeholders to strengthen the planning, finance, management and accountability systems to improve water and sanitation services. We are also providing UNICEF with £6.25 million over 4 years to strengthen the capacity of governments to provide climate resilient WASH services in countries including fragile and conflict-affected states.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will join his EU counterparts in making representations to the Russian Federation over the construction of a naval base in Abkhazia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have repeatedly condemned Russia's illegal military presence and the Russification of Abkhazia, including through the proposed Russian naval base at Ochamchire, most recently in a UN Security Council Statement on the 16th Anniversary of Russia's invasion of Georgia. The UK fully supports Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in the face of continued hybrid aggression from Russia.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that companies that (a) manage and (b) insure the shipping of liquefied natural gas are compliant with the UK's sanctions against Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has taken extensive action to limit Russian energy revenues, including prohibiting the import of Russian liquid natural gas (LNG) and an export ban on energy-related goods to target Russia's longer-term LNG production. The new Government is committed to rigorously enforcing our sanctions, cracking down on those who seek to circumvent them, and to working with partners to constrain Russian revenue which is supporting Putin's illegal war in Ukraine.
We took robust action against Russia's "shadow fleet", alongside allies, at the European Political Community, and will continue to explore further options to strengthen our sanctions regime and enforcement, including in the energy sector.