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Written Question
Karim Ennarah
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department last raised the case of Karim Ennarah with the Egyptian Government.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Minister for North Africa, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, last raised Karim Ennarah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February 2024 and also raised this case with Foreign Minister Shoukry during his visit to Cairo last year. Our Embassy in Cairo continues to raise the challenges faced by human rights defenders with the Egyptian authorities, and UK representatives have also done so via Item IV Statements at the Human Rights Council. Human rights defenders make a vital contribution to the health of all societies and should be able to conduct their work and lives unimpeded in Egypt, fully benefiting from their rights under the Egyptian Constitution.


Written Question
Vaccination: International Cooperation
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support global immunisation and vaccination efforts; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has invested £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period. The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000, during which time Gavi has vaccinated more than 1 billion children in 78 lower-income countries, saving over 17 million lives. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are working with countries to build stronger primary health care systems as a core part of restoring immunisation services.


Written Question
Myanmar: Military Aid
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage his international counterparts to stop the supply of (a) arms, (b) military equipment, (c) fuel and (d) funds to Myanmar.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime in Myanmar. The UK continues to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU and Canada, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to arms, military equipment, fuel and funds and to pressure those who sell arms to the military. We have used, and will continue to use, our role at the G7 and the UN to this end.


Written Question
Myanmar: Human Rights
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights A/HRC/54/59: Situation of human rights in Myanmar, published on 19 September 2023.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK shares the findings of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the increasingly dire human rights situation in Myanmar. We remain committed to targeting the regime's access to finance and arms, including through sanctions on the military leadership to inhibit access to revenue and equipment. Accountability is key in stopping the atrocities committed against the Myanmar people. To support the preservation of evidence for future prosecution, we have provided over £600,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and established the Myanmar Witness project. Continued humanitarian access and assistance remains a UK priority in Myanmar.


Written Question
Myanmar: Aviation
Tuesday 13th December 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the liability of British companies supplying aviation fuel to Myanmar to investigation or prosecution for involvement in violations of international law.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are unaware of any British companies that supply aviation fuel to Myanmar. On 28 February 2022, the UK updated its Overseas Business Risk Guidance to make it clear that UK businesses should conduct thorough supply chain due diligence to ensure that commodities such as aviation fuel do not reach the Myanmar military.


Written Question
Myanmar: Rohingya
Tuesday 13th December 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's role as penholder of the situation in Myanmar at the United Nations Security Council, what steps the Government is taking to address Myanmar’s non-compliance with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice relating to genocide of the Rohingya.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 25 August 2022, the UK announced its intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case regarding Myanmar's compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to acts committed against the Rohingya. We are also clear that Myanmar should comply with all aspects of the ICJ's Provisional Measures Order, which requires Myanmar to take steps to prevent the commission of genocide against the Rohingya. We understand the ICJ is monitoring Myanmar's compliance with the Provisional Measures Order, which we support.


Written Question
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to put pressure on the Egyptian Government to lift the travel bans and asset freezes on (a) Karim Ennarah and (b) other staff of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal rights.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Egypt is a human rights priority country. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Egyptian authorities, including the case of Karim Ennarah. The previous FCDO Minister for Africa, [Gillian Keegan], met with Mr Ennarah and also spoke to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the case, during her visit to Cairo in October. We have also specifically raised the issue of travel bans, asset freezes and the importance of civil society in Egypt at the Human Rights Council in March and October 2022.


Written Question
Bangladesh: Mortality Rates
Wednesday 26th October 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the maternal mortality rate in Bangladesh.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The FCDO's 'Better Health in Bangladesh Programme' provides financial and technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh's national health sector programme. The programme helps to ensure that women have access to safe maternal care in Bangladesh through interventions including post abortion care, midwifery training, and technical assistance to strengthen Bangladesh's health system. It also aims to combat issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and ending preventable deaths of mothers and new-borns. In targeted districts of Bangladesh, the FCDO tests new methods of basic emergency obstetric care. The programme also provides technical health assistance to improve quality midwifery education in Bangladesh. The programme has helped deliver over 85,000 babies, provided 818,000 people family planning services, and screened over 630,000 women for cervical cancer.


Written Question
Myanmar: Genocide
Friday 21st October 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will request a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the non-implementation by Myanmar of the provisional measures set out in the International Court of Justice judgement of 22 July 2022 on the case of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar).

Answered by Jesse Norman

On 25 August 2022, the UK announced its intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case regarding Myanmar's compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to acts committed against the Rohingya. We are also clear that Myanmar should comply with all aspects of the ICJ's Provisional Measures Order, which requires Myanmar to take steps to prevent the commission of genocide against the Rohingya.

We convened the UN Security Council in February 2020 following the ICJ's announcement of the Provisional Measures Order and publicly urged Myanmar's compliance with these legally binding obligations. We understand the ICJ is monitoring Myanmar's compliance with the Provisional Measures Order, which we support.


Written Question
Myanmar: International Criminal Court
Friday 23rd September 2022

Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the US Government declaring its principal support for a referral of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, whether the UK government supports in principle a referral of Myanmar to that court.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The UK is clear that there must be accountability for the atrocities committed in Myanmar. We condemn the continuing grave human rights violations by the Myanmar Armed Forces, as well as historic atrocities against the Rohingya. The UK is supportive, in principle, of any attempts to bring these issues before the International Criminal Court (ICC) where they can be scrutinised.

However, with regards to a referral by the UN Security Council, our assessment remains that there is insufficient support amongst Security Council members for a 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 Myanmar Armed Forces and reduce the pressure they currently face.