Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
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 Ugandan counterpart on the reported arrest of the Member of the Ugandan Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Our High Commission in Kampala are aware of this incident and continue to monitor developments closely and raise concerns regarding Kyagulanyi's treatment with the Ugandan government. The UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and maintains that it is an essential quality of any functioning democracy. We regularly raise any concerns around civic and political issues directly with the Ugandan government
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January to Question 212672 on Uganda: Entertainments and Music, what representations he has made to his Ugandan counterpart on the proposed regulations to the Ugandan music and entertainment industry in that country.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Ugandan Government continues to consult with representatives from the Ugandan music and entertainment industry on the proposed regulations. We await the outcome of these consultations. The UK position is that legislation should not be used to enable censorship; and we continue to raise directly with the Ugandan Government the importance of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
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 Ugandan counterpart on recent developments in the Apaa land conflict; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are aware of the ongoing land disputes in Northern Uganda and concerned by the recent related reports of violence. We are following the ongoing Ugandan government-led mediation process closely.
As part of our dialogue with the Government of Uganda on all aspects of democratic governance and human rights, we continue to outline the importance of resolving land disputes fairly, peacefully and with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
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 Ugandan counterpart on the Ugandan Government’s proposals to regulate the music and entertainment industry by requiring artists to submit (a) lyrics for songs and (b) scripts for film and stage performances for approval.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are aware of the proposed regulations to the Ugandan music and entertainment industry that are currently being consulted on and are yet to be approved by the Cabinet. The UK's position is that such regulations must not be used as a means of censorship. The UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental human right and, alongside freedom of the media, maintains that it is an essential quality of any functioning democracy. We continue to raise any concerns around civic and political issues directly with the Ugandan government.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Africa, of 8 January 2019, Official Report, column 117WH, what steps he is taking to support the electoral environment in Uganda at the next presidential election.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development in Kampala are currently working alongside international partners to identify how best to support the electoral environment up to and including the next election in 2021. We are using the Ugandan Electoral Commission's recently launched 'election road map' to help assess how best to target UK support.
Since 2014, the UK has provided £30 million of programmatic to strengthen institutions in Uganda to uphold democratic freedoms and advocate for the equal treatment of all Ugandans according to the terms of the Ugandan Constitution and laws.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Africa, of 8 January 2019, Official Report, column 117WH, what (a) analysis and (b) evaluation his department has completed of the UK’s work with the international community to support the electoral environment in Uganda during the 2016 presidential election.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The majority of UK funding in support of the electoral environment in Uganda in 2016 was channelled through the multi-donor Democratic Governance Facility (DGF). The DGF provided support to work covering voter education, training for women and youth political candidates, media training for journalists, inter-party dialogue, election monitoring and support to the electoral commission. Our funding helped promote the discussion and adoption of meaningful electoral reforms; improvements in citizen participation and engagement in the electoral process; and the identification and mitigation of risks of violence related to the electoral process. Evaluations carried out across each of these strands found evidence of significant positive impact and will be used to inform future programmatic and project support.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has been in contact with the UN Human Rights Offices in Gulu, northern Uganda, where 250 internally displaced people are camped; and if he will make representations to the Ugandan Government on behalf of those people.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are in regular contact with United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) representatives in Uganda. Those that were camped at the UN OHCHR office in Gulu departed on 16 August and returned to their community.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
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 Uganda on behalf of the thousands of people of Apaa village in Amuru/Adjumani District who have been and are still being forcibly evicted from their land by the Ugandan Army, Police and Wildlife Authority who claim that they are inhabiting a game reserve.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
As part of our dialogue with the Government of Uganda on all aspects of democratic governance and human rights, we continue to stress the importance of resolving disputes fairly, peacefully and with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. I welcome the Government of Uganda’s 22 August announcement that a committee led by Prime Minister Rugunda, and involving representatives of the affected communities will be constituted to review the Government’s proposals to resolve the land disputes in Apaa.
Asked by: Paul Williams (Labour - Stockton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Government of Bangladesh on the disqualification of the leader of the opposition from participation in parliamentary elections in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
On 8 February 2018, Khaleda Zia, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was convicted of corruption charges relating to misappropriation of funds. She was sentenced to a five year prison term. It would not be appropriate for the Government to seek to interfere in the judicial processes of another country.
I remain concerned about the political unrest in Bangladesh and the absence of dialogue among Bangladesh's political parties. The UK is committed to supporting democracy in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Ali during his visit to Bangladesh from 9 to 10 February. In public and in private he stressed the importance of free and fair elections and affording political space to the opposition. The UK, together with international partners, will continue to encourage a peaceful way forward, and dialogue, between political parties in Bangladesh.