Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Jau Prison, what the evidential basis was for the UK Ambassador to Bahrain's statement that Jau Prison is a well-run facility with good medical provision and measures against covid-19 on 6 May 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As stated in my answer of 9 June, the Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau Prison on 3 May. The visit enabled our Ambassador to raise human rights matters, to see and assess the facilities and current conditions at Jau Prison first hand and to understand the measures implemented to counter Covid-19.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the opinions of the 90th session of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on inmates of Jau Prison in Bahrain, what assessment he has made of the UK Ambassador to Bahrain's comment that Jau Prison is a well-run facility, with good medical provision on 6 May 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Ambassador and other international representatives visited Jau prison on 3 May. That visit enabled our Ambassador to raise human rights matters, to see and assess the facilities and current conditions at Jau prison first hand and to understand the measures implemented to counter Covid-19.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2021 to Question 185465 on Bahrain: Political Prisoners, whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what representations he will make to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) inviting the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit and (b) allowing (i) Human Rights Watch, (ii) Amnesty International and (iii) other human rights organisations and monitoring bodies to enter Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly raise human rights matters with the Government of Bahrain and continue to encourage both the Government of Bahrain and the UN to engage with each other on human rights issues. We understand that the Government of Bahrain has taken steps to engage with the United Nations, and that the Ombudsman has reached out to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, noting that they are keen to work cooperatively on concerns raised. We support and encourage all such engagement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 615 on Israel: Palestinians, what assessment his Department has made of the level of child casualties in the conflict in Gaza; and what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart to request the cessation of Israeli airstrikes in densely-populated civilian areas.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life. Every effort must be made to avoid loss of life, especially that of children.
The Foreign Secretary visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 and 26 May for talks with senior leaders and reiterated the UK's firm commitment to the two-state solution as the best way to deliver Palestinian self-determination and ensure Israel's status as a Jewish, democratic state.
The UK has provided an initial $4.5 million of UK aid to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, to help address immediate humanitarian needs.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will condemn the reported threats from the arrested Iranian diplomat Assadolah Assadi in Belgium to influence and subvert his trial on terrorism charges in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the trial of four Iranians in Belgium in relation to the 2018 plot against a conference in Paris. We are deeply concerned that an Iranian diplomat is one of those standing trial in connection with the incident and are actively monitoring media reports that the diplomat has threatened "retaliation" should he be convicted. The UK Government does not have access to the court documents on which these reports are based. While the legal process is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113155, how many of the 15 projects and programmes referred to were subjected to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable member to my response of 12 November to question 113154.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 106362, how many projects delivered through the Integrated Activity Fund (a) were and (b) were not subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment in each of the financial years (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable Member to my response of 12 November to 113154.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 106364, how many projects were applied for by his Department under the Integrated Activity Fund in financial year (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20; and what the (i) allocated budget and (ii) actual spending was for each project.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable Member to my response of 12 November to 113156.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many projects were solely delivered to Bahrain under the Integrated Activity Fund in the (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 financial years.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not disclose information related to individual Integrated Activity Fund projects to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of our Gulf partners.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2020 to Question 106364 on Overseas Aid: Gulf States, how many projects were applied for by his Department under the Integrated Activity Fund in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20; and what the (i) allocated budget and (ii) actual spending was for each of those projects in each of those financial years.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not disclose information related to individual IAF projects to maintain the confidence and confidentiality of our Gulf partners.