Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with the Government of (a) Germany and (b) France on the refusal of entry to their country of Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah, Rector of Glasgow University; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of such refusals.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I have not made representations on this matter to either the French or German Authorities.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether arms exported from the United Kingdom were used in the attack by Israeli Defence Forces on the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza on 16 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The British Government has underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of humanitarian operations. We continue to raise this with Israel at the highest levels.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment his Department has made of the situation of Hindus in Sri Lanka after the recent arrest and assault of Tamil Hindu worshippers.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a UK priority in Sri Lanka. The UK Government regularly raises human rights, including the importance of religious tolerance and protecting the rights of all Sri Lankans to practise their faith. Through UK funded programmes, we support Sri Lankan youth to advocate for FoRB and improve religious harmony.
We continue to be concerned by increasing tensions around land in Sri Lanka, including at the Vedukkunaari Aadhi Sivan temple in Vavuniya. We welcome the release of the eight arrested Hindu worshippers but note that this incident has troubling implications for FoRB.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 12714 on Western Sahara: Natural Resources, whether it is his policy that commercial activity in Western Sahara requires the agreement of recognised representatives of the Saharawi people to be compliant with international law.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not consider commercial activity to be illegal in Western Sahara, providing it respects the interests of the Sahrawi people. The UK continues to support the UN-led efforts and the work of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Western Sahara and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process and monitor progress.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the UK-Morocco Strategic Framework for Cooperation on Climate Action, Clean Energy and Green Growth, signed on 9 May 2023, whether co-operation with Morocco on clean energy will include activity within Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-Morocco Strategic Framework for Cooperation on Climate Action, Clean Energy and Green Growth is a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding which sets the basis on which bilateral cooperation can be built in the Climate Action, Clean Energy, and Green Growth sectors between the UK and Morocco. It builds on existing cooperation between the UK and Morocco in these sectors, such as through the Energy Transition Council and Agricultural Breakthrough Agenda. There are no activities within Western Sahara covered by the Framework currently. All activities are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had with counterparts in Tajikistan on reports of recent disappearances of activists and opposition leaders in that country.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We discuss Tajikistan's human rights situation both bilaterally and in international fora, including during the Foreign Secretary's visit this week, and during Minister Docherty's visit to Tajikistan in 2023 and through the British Embassy in Dushanbe.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent steps his Department has taken with the United Nations to help tackle (a) drug-resistant tuberculosis and (b) antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The department actively contributed to the High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis held at the UN General Assembly last September, at which Lord Ahmad represented the UK. The UK's current £1billion commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will support treatment for 41,800 people with Multi-Drug Resistant TB.
The UK funds major programmes and research to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and strengthen health, water, sanitation, and hygiene systems. The High-Level Meeting on AMR is an excellent opportunity to catalyse global progress, set high ambitions across the One Health spectrum, and promote equitable access to and stewardship of antimicrobials.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart on the persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan. The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September. On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.
Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent (a) violence against and (b) the persecution of Christians in Pakistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns violence and persecution against Christians in Pakistan. The former Foreign Secretary raised the persecution of religious communities, including attacks against the Christian community in Jaranwala, with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Anwaral Haq Kakar on 25 September. On 21 August, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the Government to ensure the safety of the Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. Lord Ahmad also raised the issue with Foreign Minister Jilani when they met on 13 September and in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner on 6 September.
Alongside our diplomatic engagement, UK programmes seek to address the challenges faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. Our Aawaz II programme brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance and reduce violence, and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme works is working to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help provide humanitarian support following the recent outbreak of cholera in Malawi.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK was a key partner during Malawi's worst ever cholera outbreak in 2022/23, disbursing emergency funds, deploying an Emergency Medical Team and leveraging additional funding from other donors in support of the Government of Malawi's response. Although numbers are much reduced this cholera season, The BHC Lilongwe team continues to monitor the data and work with Ministry of Health and development partners to support the response and mitigate the risk of another outbreak. This includes recent new funding for resilience and preparedness activities in affected districts through our bilateral health programme, as well as pulling in support from a Centrally Managed health security programme (TDDAP2) to build the capacity of Malawi's health system and institutions to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies such as cholera.