Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what exceptions and general licences to the US Houthi terror designation will be issued to protect organisations supplying essential commercial and humanitarian produce to Yemen.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 5 February, the US announced that they will reverse the previous administration's designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. We welcome this decision and have engaged closely with the US administration on this matter, sharing our concerns that designation would seriously disrupt humanitarian operations in Yemen.
However, we cannot ignore Houthi actions. These include the use of children and sexual violence as tools of war, the persecution of religious minorities and attacks on civilians. On 30 December, the Houthi attack on Aden airport killed 27 civilians and injured over 100 others. We must address the Houthi sense of impunity to make progress of the peace process.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 effect on the humanitarian situation in Yemen of the US designation of the Houthis as a terror organisation.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
On 5 February, the US announced that they will reverse the previous administration's designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. We welcome this decision and have engaged closely with the US administration on this matter, sharing our concerns that designation would seriously disrupt humanitarian operations in Yemen.
However, we cannot ignore Houthi actions. These include the use of children and sexual violence as tools of war, the persecution of religious minorities and attacks on civilians. On 30 December, the Houthi attack on Aden airport killed 27 civilians and injured over 100 others. We must address the Houthi sense of impunity to make progress of the peace process.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 (a) EU and (b) other international counterparts on the relaxation of visa term limits for UK citizens abroad while global travel restrictions remain in place due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The current advice for those across the UK remains to stay at home and not travel abroad unless it is for a legally permitted reason. Our advice to British nationals abroad is that they should follow the public health advice of the country which they are in, including current COVID-19 restrictions. Other countries maintain their own visa regimes. Requirements for stays beyond visa or visa free periods are subject to national procedures for each country. Any queries on applicable regimes are for the relevant immigration authorities in that country.
If a British national overseas requires consular assistance, the FCDO can be contacted by phone or email 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. The kind of assistance we offer is tailored to the individual circumstances of each case. Ministers raise specific issues of concern affecting British nationals overseas as appropriate. As of 1 January 2021, British Citizens do not need a visa when travelling to the EU for visits of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, for tourism and similar activities.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 secure a political solution to the Syrian civil war and to ensure the ceasefire is upheld by all sides.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK continues to call on all parties to the conflict in Syria to adhere to agreed ceasefires and abide by their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. We regularly raise this matter in bilateral discussions and multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council. On 22 October, the Foreign Secretary and likeminded counterparts issued a statement following a ministerial meeting of the Syria Small Group: a political settlement in line with Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a nationwide ceasefire as part of a political process, is the only way to end the Syrian conflict. To this end, we welcomed UN Syria Envoy Pedersen's convening of the Constitutional Committee for a fourth round of talks in Geneva on 29 November, but regret that due to regime obstruction there has been little progress to date.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Government of India on the arrest of Fr Stan Swamy and other human rights activists; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
FCDO officials raised Father Stan Swamy's case with the Indian High Commission on 12 November. On 9 October, British High Commission officials in New Delhi highlighted to the Ministry of Home Affairs criticisms of recent amendments to Indian security legislation, including their impact on activists and human rights campaigners in India. Where we have concerns, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at ministerial level.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
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 steps that cruise ship operators have taken to ensure that their vessels are covid-19 secure; and when he plans to issue advice to enable cruise ships to operate and travel agents to sell places on cruises again.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO remains fully committed to working closely with public health experts, the Department for Transport and key industry leaders to agree on the steps required to restart cruises safely. We are in regular discussion with cruise representatives on this matter.
Our travel advice is based on medical risk assessments by public health officials. We keep this advice under continuous review.