Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to evacuate remaining British nationals in Afghanistan and their families who have a partner/child who is not a British national; and what support is being provided to fast-track biometrics and entry clearance applications for those individuals.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to work closely with international partners on possible flight options to help British Nationals and their dependents to safely leave Afghanistan. Since the end of the evacuation, more than 100 British Nationals and dependents have been able to leave on seven Qatari Government charter flights. We hope more British nationals will be able to make use of this route out of Afghanistan. We will also facilitate relocation, from third countries if possible, for those British Nationals and their eligible dependents.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will reconsider inviting Narendra Modi to the G7 Summit in light of (a) the widespread reports of attacks on minority groups in India and (b) Mr Modi’s previous 10 year diplomatic ban from the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Our ambition is to re-energise the G7, strengthening unity and working with democratic partners. Prime Minister Modi's attendance will broaden geographic representation and demonstrates the importance of the Indo-Pacific region. We are disappointed that Prime Minister Modi will not be able to attend the G7 Summit in person because of domestic coronavirus priorities, but look forward to welcoming him virtually. We engage with India on a range of human rights matters, working with union and state governments, and with non-governmental organisations, to build capacity and share expertise to promote human rights for all. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at ministerial level.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Myanmar on the ability of Rohingya Muslims to take part in elections in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As we made clear in our statement on 9 November, the UK is very concerned that the Rohingya and other minority ethnic groups, were excluded from these elections. Universal suffrage for all people in Myanmar, including the Rohingya, and the right to stand as a candidate, is a key part of achieving effective democracy. We are clear that the 1982 Citizenship Law is deeply flawed and enables the exclusion of Rohingya and other minorities on spurious grounds. The Rohingya, who have lived in Myanmar for generations, should be granted full citizenship and the associated rights. They should not be excluded from Myanmar elections. We have made this clear to the Myanmar Government. The Foreign Secretary raised these issues with the Minister for International Cooperation in advance of the election and I [Minister Adams] raised my concerns when I spoke to the same Minister in June. We continue to call for elections to be credible and inclusive, allowing individuals of all communities to participate.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Nigerian counterpart on potential human rights violations in that country by police during operations to limit demonstrations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Government is deeply concerned by violence during protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including reports of protestors being killed. Our condolences go to the families of all those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces. I also tweeted on 21 October urging the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. I reiterated the UK's concerns when I [Minister Duddridge] spoke to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October. The British High Commissioner in Abuja continues to raise the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government.
We will continue to push the Nigerian police to uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations. We will also continue to urge the Nigerian authorities to investigate allegations of police brutality, illegal detentions and assaults, and hold those responsible to account.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on (a) violence committed by (a) the special anti-robbery squad and (b) other police forces.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Government is deeply concerned by violence during protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including reports of protestors being killed. Our condolences go to the families of all those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces. I also tweeted on 21 October urging the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. I reiterated the UK's concerns when I [Minister Duddridge] spoke to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October. The British High Commissioner in Abuja continues to raise the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government.
We will continue to push the Nigerian police to uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations. We will also continue to urge the Nigerian authorities to investigate allegations of police brutality, illegal detentions and assaults, and hold those responsible to account.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 international counterparts and partners on progress towards nuclear disarmament.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses issues related to international security with international counterparts. Earlier this year, P5 Foreign Ministers of the five Nuclear Weapon States issued a joint declaration reaffirming our commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to mark the Treaty's 50th anniversary. The UK Government hosted a P5 Conference in London on 12-13 February, which allowed the five Nuclear Weapon States to deepen our engagement on nuclear issues, including disarmament. Officials also continue to have regular discussions with international partners on multilateral disarmament.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his US counterpart on potential human rights violations by police in that country during operations to limit demonstrations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The violence we have seen is clearly very alarming. Peaceful protest remains a vital part of a democratic society and people must be allowed to protest peacefully.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he (a) has made and (b) plans to make representations to his US counterpart on the implications for the human rights of protestors of the deployment of military personnel in that country on policing operations of protests.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The violence we have seen is clearly very alarming. People must be allowed to protest peacefully - peaceful protest remains a vital part of a democratic society and we understand the strength of feeling around this issue.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with travel insurance providers on supporting UK nationals overseas who are in the extremely vulnerable category and advised to shield from coronavirus.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 27 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
As the Foreign Secretary stated in the House on 24 March, we are prioritising the most vulnerable. We are in regular contact with the insurance industry to keep the information on our travel advice pages up to date, and continue to work with all partners to ensure that the most vulnerable passengers receive the help they require.