Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Nigerian government on implementing the (a) recommendations made by the UK and (b) other recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
At Nigeria’s UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in October 2013, the UK called on the Nigerian government to fully investigate reports of extra judicial killings and torture by the Nigerian security forces, to bring to justice those responsible and to establish a human rights monitoring system.
We continue to raise these and other human rights concerns with the Nigerian authorities, as highlighted at the UPR, such as the death penalty and LGBT rights.
Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the human rights implications of UK military assistance to the Nigerian government to help combat Boko Haram.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
When providing military assistance to another nation, the Ministry of Defence is required under the UK Government’s Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) Human Rights Guidance to consider the possibility of that assistance directly or significantly contributing to a violation of human rights and to identify measures that mitigate this risk. We continue to follow these stringent guidelines. The UK Government has made clear to the Nigerian authorities at all levels that, whilst we support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, we do not condone human rights violations.
Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK will provide observers for the forthcoming general election in Nigeria.
Answered by Lord Swire
Presidential and gubernatorial Elections are due to take place in Nigeria on 14 and 28 February. We continue to call on all leaders and political parties to use their influence to ensure that elections are credible, transparent and free from violence. Approximately 50 personnel from the UK Missions in Abuja and Lagos also plan to observe in 14 States, including the Abuja Federal Capital Territory, for election polls on both 14 and 28 February. We are also planning to contribute 6 Local Short Term Observers to the European Union Election Observation Mission.
Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
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 EU counterparts on the (a) number of resettlement places that EU member states are offering Syrian refugees and (b) EU's response to other aspects of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government believes that humanitarian aid and actively seeking to end the conflict in Syria are the most effective ways for the UK to help the majority of refugees, rather than increasing resettlement. That is why the UK has donated £700 million to support refugees in the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the USA. We have made our position on this clear in relevant discussions with other EU Member States. EU Member States have responded to the crisis in different ways; it is right that the international community should consider all available means to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people.
Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees following the introduction of visa requirements for Syrian nationals entering Lebanon.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I discussed the issue of Syrian refugees with the Lebanese Prime Minister and the Speaker for Parliament when I visited Lebanon in December. I paid tribute to Lebanon’s generosity towards over 1.1 million registered refugees, and made clear that the UK’s support for Lebanon, which has now reached around £160 million since the start of the Syria crisis, will continue. Following the announcement of new border regulations by the Lebanese authorities, our Ambassador in Lebanon, alongside EU partners, reiterated to the Lebanese Prime Minister the international community’s concern that the new border regulations should provide adequately for the most vulnerable humanitarian cases. UK officials have also shared our concerns about the situation with the Lebanon Country Director of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Asked by: Sarah Teather (Liberal Democrat - Brent Central)
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 ease with which Syrian nationals can cross the Lebanese border.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Lebanon is currently hosting over 1.3million refugees and has shown enormous generosity in welcoming those in need which the UK has consistently welcomed.
The Lebanese cabinet agreed new guidelines on Syrian refugees on 23 October saying that new arrivals would be restricted to "special humanitarian cases". The Government of Lebanon is also trying to reduce numbers of refugees already inside Lebanon, partly by encouraging displaced Syrians to return to their or another country. We assess that current restrictions have resulted in a reduction of 75% in those entering Lebanon over the last month.
The UK continues to urge Lebanon not to return Syrian refugees as we do not judge it safe to do so at present.
The UK has so far committed £140m in humanitarian and development assistance to Lebanon since the start of the Syria crisis, much of which is to assist with refugees.