Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will join the United States, Canada and Australia in opposing events to make the twentieth anniversary of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, both at home and abroad. We believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage all states to uphold their human rights obligations. Some of the anti-Semitic actions and speeches in and around the Durban conference and its various follow-up events gave rise to serious concerns. We will consider UK attendance in the light of developments between now and the commemoration event, including the likelihood of any recurrence.
The Foreign Secretary recently reaffirmed the UK's condemnation to anti-Semitism during a debate in the House of Commons on 20 April 2021, and I raised my opposition to anti-Semitism during a Westminster Hall Debate on 26 November 2020. We also delivered a statement at the United Nations General Assembly in November expressing concern about the rise of anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in the wake of Covid-19.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will issue a condemnation of the reported anti-Semitic rhetoric used at (a) the 2001 World Conference Against Racism held in Durban and (b) subsequent commemorative events of that conference.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism, both at home and abroad. We believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage all states to uphold their human rights obligations. Some of the anti-Semitic actions and speeches in and around the Durban conference and its various follow-up events gave rise to serious concerns. We will consider UK attendance in the light of developments between now and the commemoration event, including the likelihood of any recurrence.
The Foreign Secretary recently reaffirmed the UK's condemnation to anti-Semitism during a debate in the House of Commons on 20 April 2021, and I raised my opposition to anti-Semitism during a Westminster Hall Debate on 26 November 2020. We also delivered a statement at the United Nations General Assembly in November expressing concern about the rise of anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in the wake of Covid-19.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it remains the UK’s position that any settlement resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should include recognition of the plight of Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa as well as Palestinian refugees.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are clear that the status of refugees must be agreed as part of any final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The United Kingdom is focused on working with international and regional partners to harness the changing Israeli-Arab relations to encourage a return to dialogue. The history of Jewish migration and displacement in the region is highly complex and cannot be ignored. We acknowledge that the Jewish community has experienced unacceptable suffering. We continue to support the aspiration for a Jewish homeland in the modern state of Israel, just as we support the objective of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. A peaceful future for the Middle East depends on a peace agreement that offers fair restitution for both sides, and a willingness on the part of all countries in the region to respect the rights of minorities and build inclusive societies which enshrine and uphold those rights.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on recognition and restitution for Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are clear that the status of refugees must be agreed as part of any final peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The United Kingdom is focused on working with international and regional partners to harness the changing Israeli-Arab relations to encourage a return to dialogue. The history of Jewish migration and displacement in the region is highly complex and cannot be ignored. We acknowledge that the Jewish community has experienced unacceptable suffering. We continue to support the aspiration for a Jewish homeland in the modern state of Israel, just as we support the objective of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. A peaceful future for the Middle East depends on a peace agreement that offers fair restitution for both sides, and a willingness on the part of all countries in the region to respect the rights of minorities and build inclusive societies which enshrine and uphold those rights.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2020 to Question 100918 on Israel: Embassies, if he will publish Accountable Grant Agreements between the Government and delivery partners for those projects; and which other proposals were submitted to the open competition.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I have asked my office to send you a copy of the Grant Agreements, redacted in line with FOI legislation to protect commercial sensitivities and personal data. I have also asked officials to supply a list of names of the other bidders.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2020 to Question 94380, if he will place a copy of the findings of the 2019 assurance check on contentious education materials in the Library.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
A copy of the findings of the assurance check on contentious education materials will not be placed in the Library. This is under the Freedom of Information exemption grounds pertaining to International Relations.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what delivery partners were chosen by the British Embassy in Tel Aviv for funding of covid-19 related activities.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Embassy ran an open competition in which three organisations were successful in their application for funding. One of the projects includes funding for Physicians for Human Rights Israel who are helping migrant and asylum seekers in Israel in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Tel Aviv University also received funding to analyse which forms of preventative behaviour can allow economic recovery from COVID-19. We are still in negotiations with the third organisation.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
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 risk of the sale of dual-use goods that could be used for military purposes by Iran after the expiry of the UN conventional arms embargo in October 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UN conventional arms embargo prohibits the sale of military items to Iran. It does not cover dual-use items. All dual-use items for export to Iran are subject to export controls and licences are only granted where this is consistent with the Consolidated EU and UK Arms Export Licensing Criteria. The export of certain dual-use items relating to nuclear and missile technology is also prohibited subject to licensing under UN sanctions.
The UK has been clear that the scheduled expiry of the UN conventional arms embargo in October 2020 would still have major implications for regional security and stability. The UK Government continue to engage regional partners, the US, and others, to find a solution to Iranian proliferation in the region, whilst upholding the authority and integrity of the UN Security Council. We will also continue to enforce sanctions regimes, including those under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1540, 1701, and 2216 which prohibit the proliferation of weapons to Lebanese Hizballah and the Houthis in Yemen. The UK encourages all states to implement national export control best practice in support of these regimes. The EU arms embargo and UN ballistic missile restrictions on Iran will also remain in place until at least 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
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 ensure that UK-funded educational material and teachers supported by UK aid do not promote violence in their teachings to (a) the Palestinian Authority and (b) other countries receiving aid.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK does not fund textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. UK Aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) helps to ensure it can deliver essential services, including by the contributing to the salaries of vetted education and healthcare professionals in the West Bank. We have regularly raised our concerns about allegations of incitement in Palestinian textbooks, which the Foreign Secretary did most recently with the PA on 25 August. We have also lobbied our European partners to conduct an independent review of Palestinian textbooks, which is currently underway.
In 2019 we undertook an assurance check on contentious education materials for our education programmes and were satisfied that risks are being effectively managed.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
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 implications for its policies of the recent report by the Royal United Services Institute and Save the Children, The UK Strategy on Protection of Civilians.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading a review of the Government's approach to Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict. This is an opportunity to take into account recent developments in the field of Protection of Civilians policy, including research and analysis by governments, international organisations, NGOs and academia. In this context, the recent report by the Royal United Services Institute and Save the Children will inform the review, which we expect to conclude by the end of 2019.