Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 Peruvian counterpart on organising repatriation flights for British nationals in Peru that wish to return to the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Foreign Secretary spoke with the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, on 21 March about the impact of the ongoing State of National Emergency on UK nationals in Peru. He assured him that he would work together with the UK to make sure we could arrange flights home this week. Our Embassy is working closely with the Peruvian authorities to secure the appropriate permissions for those flights to land.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons (a) the British Embassy in Lima, Peru is closed and (b) remote working has not been fully implemented to protect British nationals in need of assistance in that country; and what guidance his Department has provided to British nationals in that country on communicating with the British consulate.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Due to a State of National Emergency announced on 16 March, and the subsequently strict travel restrictions, members of our Embassy in Lima are working remotely. The Embassy is not closed and we are working round the clock to make flights available this week for British nationals who wish to leave Peru, but who are currently unable to do so on commercial flights because of the travel restrictions that have been imposed. We are aware of approximately 1160 British Nationals in Peru who have expressed interest in flights back to the UK.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken at an international level for political resolution in Kashmir; and what representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on the situation in Kashmir.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Indian counterpart on allowing independent observers into Jammu and Kashmir since the revocation of parts of Article 370 of India's constitution.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 Indian counterpart on the Indian Government lifting the communication blockade in Jammu and Kashmir; and what the response was to such representations.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on Zimbabwe’s application to re-join the Commonwealth.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
It is not for the UK to decide if Zimbabwe is to re-join the Commonwealth as the final decision is for all Commonwealth members. However, in light of the Commonwealth's high standards on human rights, the UK would not currently support an application from Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effect on the human rights of (a) the Nubian people and (b) other political dissenters of the Egyptian Government's alleged persecution of those people; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to monitor issues and cases involving Nubians and other minorities within Egypt. Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK and the UK wants to see more political progress and better protection of human rights for all Egyptians, as set out in Egypt's constitution. The UK regularly raise concerns about human rights with the Egyptian Government both in public and in private. I raised our human rights concerns with the Egyptian Foreign Minister during my visit to Cairo on 14 October 2018.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 Sudanese counterpart on the welfare of Nubian people residing in Sudan.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The British Government has no separate engagement with the Government of Sudan related to the Nubian people. However, we engage frequently with the Government of Sudan to improve the lives and human rights of all people in Sudan. The UK is one of largest humanitarian donors to Sudan, committed to providing lifesaving aid to millions of the most vulnerable.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further discussions he plans to have with his Egyptian counterpart on human rights abuses in relation to the Nubian minority in that country.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to monitor issues and cases involving Nubians and other minorities within Egypt. Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK and the UK wants to see more political progress and better protection of human rights for all Egyptians. We call on the Egyptian Government to ensure full implementation of the rights set out in Egypt's constitution.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 Egyptian counterpart on the welfare of Nubian people residing in Egypt.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to monitor issues and cases involving Nubians and other minorities within Egypt. Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK and the UK wants to see more political progress and better protection of human rights for all Egyptians. We call on the Egyptian Government to ensure full implementation of the rights set out in Egypt's constitution.