Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the new Executive Order implementing a travel ban on people from six countries and on refugees.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Prior to the annoucement of the new Executive Order, I discussed the matter with the US Secretary for Homeland Security, General Kelly, at the Munich Security Conference on 17 February. General Kelly provided assurances that the new order would not affect British passport holders.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on UK arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition forces operating in Yemen.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously. The key test for our arms exports to members of the Saudi-led coalition is whether there is a clear risk that the items concerned might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), is in regular communication with the Secretary of State for International Trade, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), on these issues.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 counterparts in (a) Somalia, (b) Kenya, (c) Ethiopia and (b) South Sudan on famine in that region.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
During his recent visit to the region My Rt Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr Johnson), discussed the drought at his meetings with President Farmajo, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohamed, and Prime Minister Hailemariam and emphasised the UK's steadfast support for the international humanitarian effort. Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia are facing a severe drought, and parts of South Sudan are already in famine. On 22 and 23 March the Foreign Secretary chaired UN Security Council meetings during which President Farmajo called for greater support for Somalia, and the Council collectively expressed deep alarm at the famine and continued violence in South Sudan.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Egypt on alleged human rights abuses in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Following my response of 24 February, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights concerns with Egypt's President Sisi during his visit to Cairo on 25 February, emphasising the importance of a free and open society. The Foreign Secretary also met human rights defenders and civil society activists to gain a better understanding of the human rights situation in Egypt and hear their concerns.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and urge the Egyptian Government to implement the human rights provisions contained in the constitution.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the treatment of human rights activists in that country.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2017 (PQ 63917).
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 on the political situation in Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We maintain frequent Ministerial contact with international counterparts on Syria. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), regularly discusses Syria with his counterparts, including at the monthly EU Foreign Affairs Council. The Foreign Secretary's recent conversations have covered the situation in Aleppo; humanitarian access; support for the Syrian opposition including the Higher Negotiations Committee; the current ceasefire and its implementation; and resumption of the UN-led political process, including the Geneva talks due to start this month.
The Foreign Secretary also discusses Syria bilaterally in meetings in the UK and when he travels. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has discussed the political situation in Syria during a number of recent meetings and overseas visits, including to the US and Turkey.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Egypt on alleged human rights abuses in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Prime Minister raised human rights concerns with Egypt's President Sisi at their meeting in September 2016. Ministers and senior officials regularly raise our concerns with the Egyptian authorities in both London and Cairo.
We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt. I raised our concerns about the arrest of a human rights defender with the Egyptian Ambassador when we met on 8 December and reiterated concerns about a proposed new law on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
More recently, on 10 February, I made a statement about the closure of the Nadeem Centre, which was a step in the wrong direction.
We have also raised our concerns about human rights at the UN. During the session of the UN's Human Rights Council in September, the UK highlighted restrictions on civil society and legal action against NGOs in Egypt. In the same statement, we raised our concerns about reports of torture, enforced disappearances and police abuses in the country.
We will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt closely, and to urge the Egyptian government to implement the human rights provisions contained in its constitution.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on the treatment of human rights activists in that country.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Ministers regularly raise the treatment of human rights activists directly with the Chinese authorities.
I discussed human rights, including our concerns about human rights lawyers and activists, with the Chinese Assistant Minister for Europe, Liu Haixing on 16 February during my visit to China. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), also raised human rights issues with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi at the UK/China Strategic dialogue on 20 December 2016. We discussed the full range of our human rights concerns and individual cases directly with the Chinese authorities at the latest round of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue, which I opened on 27 October 2016.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support he is providing to EU accession countries to help them become full EU member states.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK will continue to support countries committed to the accession process, through diplomatic engagement and technical assistance, in meeting the necessary requirements and to encourage cooperation on security, counter-terrorism and migration.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department's spending has contributed towards the UK's Official Development Assistance total in 2016-17.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is reported on a calendar year basis. The Department For International Development’s Annual ‘Statistics for International Development’ published in November 2016 shows that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent 3.2% of total UK ODA in 2015; £391m of the £12,138m total. The FCO’s ODA allocation for FY 2016-17 is £466m.