Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 on the safety and wellbeing of Rohingya refugees of the deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start repatriating those refugees.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK shares UNHCR's assessment that conditions in northern Rakhine State are not currently conducive to refugees returning safely and in dignity. I called the Bangladeshi State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and Burmese Minister for International Cooperation Kyaw Tin on 1 November to stress the UK's serious concern at their Governments' announcement on 30 October that refugee repatriation would commence in mid-November. The UK will continue to make representations underlining the importance of a safe, voluntary and dignified return for refugees.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with UN representatives on the agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
Answered by Mark Field
Since the 30 October announcement by the Governments of Bangladesh and Burma on repatriation of refugees, officials at the British Embassy in Burma and the British High Commission in Bangladesh have spoken with senior members of the respective UN country offices about the UK's concerns regarding premature returns. A senior DFID official reinforced these messages with UNHCR's Director for Asia on 2 November, calling on UNHCR not to support returns unless they were safe, dignified and voluntary.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will formally support a referral of Myanmar military leaders to the International Criminal Court for their actions against the Rohingya people.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign Secretary has made clear that referring the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an option the UN Security Council (UNSC) should consider. The UK ensured the Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission was able to brief the UNSC on 24 October to inform the Council's discussions. However, our assessment remains that there is insufficient support amongst Security Council members for an ICC referral at this time. It will not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed; such a result would only give comfort to the Burmese military and reduce the pressure they currently face.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 the Attorney General on the legality of arm sales to the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government's legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege. The High Court’s judgment of July 2017 confirmed that we have in place a robust and rigorous process for assessing export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia. We assess all export licensing decisions for Saudi Arabia on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. Our assessments take into account evidence from a range of sources including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, other government departments, the media and NGO reports.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Human Rights Council group of eminent experts to investigate violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The recent report from the Group of Eminent Experts further underlines the deeply concerning human rights situation in Yemen and the importance of reaching a political solution to this conflict. We are carefully considering the contents of the report ahead of the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council.
As we have consistently, we will emphasise to all parties the vital importance of compliance with international humanitarian law, press for action to address the humanitarian crisis, and encourage all parties to engage in the UN-led political process in good faith.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to support the renewal of the mandate of the group of eminent experts on Yemen at the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council meeting.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The recent report from the Group of Eminent Experts further underlines the deeply concerning human rights situation in Yemen and the importance of reaching a political solution to this conflict. We are carefully considering the contents of the report ahead of the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council.
As we have consistently, we will continue to emphasise to all members of the Coalition the vital importance of compliance with international humanitarian law, press for action to address the humanitarian crisis, and encourage all parties to engage in the UN-led political process in good faith.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 Saudi Arabian Government on the Saudi-led coalition attack on a bus in Saada, Yemen on 9 August 2018.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign Secretary spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir on 16 August and urged a quick and transparent investigation. I also spoke to the Saudi Foreign Minister on 4 September.
On 1 September, the Coalition announced the outcome of this investigation, their regret and action to address the recommendations of that investigation. We welcome this acknowledgement and these steps.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Government of Iran on the treatment of political prisoners in Evin prison; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK, and the Foreign and Commonwelath Office has designated it as one of its Human Rights Priority Countries. We regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels as I did during my recent visit to Tehran and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor record on all human rights issues. In January, the previous Foreign Secretary discussed with Foreign Minister Zarif disturbing reports of ill treatment in Iranian prisons of those detained for participating in the recent protests. The Foreign Secretary particularly emphasised that international obligations on human rights should be observed. Additionally, we remain deeply concerned about our dual nationals detained in Iran (some of whom are in Evin prison) and continue to lobby the Iranian Government at the highest levels at every opportunity to request consular access for officials, access to lawyers and appropriate medical care.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 counterpart in the US Administration on the US Government's family separation policy; and whether he plans to raise that issue with the US President during his upcoming visit to the UK.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Prime Minister was clear that the separation of children from their parents at the border was disturbing and wrong. President Trump has now signed an Executive Order aimed at ending the separation policy.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the member of British diplomatic staff with prime responsibility for the safety of UK fans at the 2018 World Cup has been expelled from Russia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
As my Rt Hon Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 15 May, it is Russia's responsibility to ensure the safety of all fans travelling to the World Cup. We will continue to work to ensure British nationals travelling have the best support possible and will have consular staff based in every city that England will play in. A number of staff across government are working on preparations for the World Cup; not all are based in Russia. As the Foreign Secretary said in his appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee on 21 March, a member of the Diplomatic Service responsible for fan safety was expelled. An experienced consular official in the British Embassy in Russia has taken over the fan safety responsibilities within Russia.