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 diplomatic progress he has made in delivering a peaceful transition in Libya.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK continues to play an active role in supporting the Libyan dialogue facilitated by the UN. The signing of the Libyan Political Agreement in Skhirat, Morocco on 17 December was a significant step forward. The Agreement sets out the process for establishment of a Government of National Accord (GNA). We continue to work with partners in the international community to encourage the Libyan parties to implement the Agreement in full.
The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to coordinate international support for the GNA. In October, we hosted a meeting with the UN and international donors and agencies to discuss plans for coordinated support from the international community to the GNA. This has been followed up through UN-hosted coordination meetings in Tunis. We stand ready to work with the international community to deliver a significant package of support to help a Government of National Accord to achieve a stable and prosperous future for all Libyan citizens. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and I both spoke recently with Prime Minister designate Serraj and also with UN Special Representative Kobler to underline the UK’s continued support for the GNA process and UN efforts in this area.
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 steps the Government is taking to provide financial support to Jordan to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK has contributed £330 million to support stability in Jordan since the start of the Syria crisis, £193 million of which has gone towards support for refugees and host communities. We are committed to continuing our support. On 4 February the UK co-hosted the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region 2016’ conference which secured over $11bn in pledges for Syria's neighbours from the international community, the largest sum raised for a cause on a single day. Jordan agreed a Compact at the conference which will see their receiving new funding, concessional finance, and support to increase investment in return for providing refugees with access to work and education. The UK will be at the forefront of work to deliver this plan.
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 assessment he has made of the effect of the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia on human rights in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We use the strength of our relationship and engagement with Saudi Arabia to encourage reform. Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth human rights priority country and we do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns when it is appropriate to do so – I raised them most recently when I visited Riyadh last month. The Government of Saudi Arabia is well aware of our position on Human Rights 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 evidence from independent bodies he has seen that Saudi Arabia is complying with international humanitarian law in the Yemen conflict.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate. We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL to the Saudi Arabian government and other members of the military Coalition. Most recently I raised the issue of IHL compliance on 4 February with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in London
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 assessment he has made of whether Daesh are committing genocide in Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Syria and Iraq who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.
It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.
Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of more than 65 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.
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 steps the Government is taking to support the global abolition of the death penalty.
Answered by David Lidington
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 January (question 23192) to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins).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 diplomatic steps he is taking to tackle the refugee crisis on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Answered by David Lidington
The UK continues to work closely with the Turkish government, including through implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan, to ensure that refugees continue to receive support and protection. We welcome Turkey’s generosity in hosting more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, and the ongoing support it is providing bilaterally to refugees amassing at its border with Syria. On 4 February 2016, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) announced that the UK will more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis from £1.12 billion to over £2.3 billion. This is the UK's largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.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 diplomatic progress has been made by the international community in delivering peace in Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
On 11 February, the Foreign Secretary took part in the latest round of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich. At that meeting ISSG foreign ministers discussed how to support the political process, including through confidence building measures and steps towards a ceasefire, as called for in UNSCR 2254.
The ISSG agreed the need to implement a cessation of hostilities within a week, to delivering humanitarian assistance to named besieged communities by the weekend of 13-14 February and to facilitate rapid progress in negotiations aimed at political transition. If implemented fully and properly by every ISSG member, this will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria.
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, whether he supports the aims of the Arms Trade Treaty.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Yes. The UK was a prime-mover for the creation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and continues to be an active advocate of a robust Treaty. The UK was amongst the first to sign the ATT in 2013 and ratified on 2 April 2014. We believe that the ATT will be stronger for every State which accedes to or ratifies it.
Universalisation will remain a key priority. The UK played an important role in the preparatory discussions leading to the First Conference of States Parties, and was a Vice-President of that Conference, brokering agreement on key decisions to establish sustainable mechanisms for the future viability of the ATT.
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 assessment he has made of the length of time it is taking the British Virgin Island government to respond to its consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.
Answered by James Duddridge
The BVI Government issued a public consultation document in November 2013, seeking public opinion on whether or not the BVI should adopt a central register of beneficial ownership. The consultation process concluded in March 2014 and this was followed by a review and analysis of the submissions. The results were published in February 2015. Since then the BVI Government has been working with the financial services industry to develop proposals which led to the Statement made by the Premier in the House of Assembly on 3 November on changes to the BVI Business Companies Act and Anti Money Laundering legislation. We will continue to work with the BVI authorities so that the changes to their systems meet the three criteria that the Government has set out.