Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the UN Responsibility to Protect doctrine.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is committed to the UN principle of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). In September 2020, 121 UN Member States including the UK, voted in favour of R2P being a formal agenda item at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). In May 2021, 115 UN Member States including the UK, voted in favour of a resolution on R2P contributing to the further institutionalisation of R2P within the UN system. The resolution puts R2P on the annual agenda of the UNGA and formally requests the Secretary-General to report annually on the topic. The UK has also provided funding for the Global Centre for R2P and the joint UN Office on Genocide Prevention and R2P. More generally, we use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise atrocity situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities and conflict.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 requests to urgently relocate members of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have already evacuated the overwhelming majority of those who to whom we have a direct obligation in an unprecedented effort from our military and Civil Servants. We are working urgently with neighbouring countries to ensure that at-risk Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK can secure safe passage. On 6 September, the Prime Minister provided further information on the Afghan Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Under the ACRS we will resettle up to 20,000 Afghans over 5 years, including those who have been standing up for human rights in Afghanistan.Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 requests to urgently relocate members of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have already evacuated the overwhelming majority of those who to whom we have a direct obligation in an unprecedented effort from our military and Civil Servants. We are working urgently with neighbouring countries to ensure that at-risk Afghans who are eligible to come to the UK can secure safe passage. On 6 September, the Prime Minister provided further information on the Afghan Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Under the ACRS we will resettle up to 20,000 Afghans over 5 years, including those who have been standing up for human rights in Afghanistan.Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 viability of vaccinating UK nationals living overseas, who are ineligible for covid-19 vaccines in their country of residence.
Answered by Wendy Morton
There are no plans to roll out the UK's NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme to British nationals living overseas. As a residence-based system, the NHS does not provide healthcare (including vaccinations) outside the UK. Wherever possible, British nationals should aim to be vaccinated in the country where they live. We are closely following other countries' plans to roll out vaccines, and making the case to host governments that national vaccination programmes should cover resident British nationals.
We are providing information through the Travel Advice pages and 'Living In' guides on gov.uk to inform British nationals of healthcare options available to them, including on the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. The UK is also playing a leading international role to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccines. For example, we have contributed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to ensure that the 92 most vulnerable economies have access to COVID-19 vaccines. The UK has also committed to sharing 100 million vaccine doses by June 2022, with the majority going to COVAX.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make to the Israeli Government on recent trends in the number of demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised ongoing demolitions with the Israeli Authorities in a meeting alongside like-minded partners on 25 February 2021. I called on Israel to stop demolitions on 5 February 2021 and raised my concerns about demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures with the Israeli Ambassador on 29 October 2020. UK officials from the British Consulate in Jerusalem have made regular visits to areas at risk of demolition and eviction to reiterate UK support for those communities. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on reports of the Israeli Army allegedly seizing EU humanitarian aid intended for the Palestinian community of Humsa Al Bqai'a in the Jordan Valley.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
I called on Israel to stop demolitions on 5 February 2021. I also raised our concern about demolitions with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 29 October 2020, and issued a statement outlining the UK's concern about the demolitions of structures in Humsa Al-Baqai'a on 6 November 2020. Officials from the British Consulate General Jerusalem visited Humsa Al-Baqai'a on 6 November 2020 to reiterate UK support for the community. The UK provides funding to the West Bank Protection Consortium, which is coordinating with the Palestinian Red Cross and the United Nations to provide emergency shelter to the community of Humsa Al-Baqai'a, and determine the community's long-term needs. UK senior officials raised demolitions with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 10 November 2020. The UK also urged the Government of Israel to end demolitions of property in the West Bank at the UN Security council on 21 December 2020.
We are focused on preventing demolitions from happening in the first place through our legal aid programme, which supports Bedouin communities and Palestinians facing demolition or home eviction in both the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and permitting in Area C for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to ensure that British citizen frontier workers who work in Northern Ireland and live in the Republic of Ireland are able to secure their rights under Article 30(d) of the EU Withdrawal Agreement in the event that they are not eligible to apply for a frontier worker permit.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The frontier worker permit scheme has been established under Article 26 of the Withdrawal Agreement (and equivalent provisions in the agreements with the EEA EFTA States and Switzerland) to provide EU citizens with a right to be issued with a document certifying their rights as frontier workers in the UK under those agreements. British citizens and dual national British citizens who live outside the UK but who work in the UK are not within the personal scope of the Agreements and therefore are not eligible to apply to the frontier worker permit scheme. British citizens already have right of abode in the UK and do not need permission to work in the UK as that right stems from their British citizenship.
UK nationals who were lawfully resident in Ireland before the transition period ended are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and do not need to apply for a new residence status in Ireland as their rights are conferred automatically by operation of the law. Under Article 30(d), UK nationals resident in Ireland and subject to the legislation of the UK continue to be covered by the EU social security regulations in full. This means that if the UK is competent, then the UK Government will be responsible for their social security cover in Ireland, including reciprocal healthcare.
Access to these rights will be determined by caseworkers upon application and guidance on evidence requirements has been published on gov.uk. The Withdrawal Agreement is without prejudice to Common Travel Area arrangements between the UK and Ireland and the rights of British and Irish citizens in each other's state. This includes rights under the social security agreement between the two countries.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking in response to the political situation in Ethiopia.
Answered by James Duddridge
We are concerned by the ongoing violence in the Tigray region as well as by Amnesty International's report of killings of civilians on 9 November: we call for transparency and accountability to be delivered for such incidents. We have called on all involved to ensure the protection of civilians, and to restore and maintain humanitarian access to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance and essential services. The Foreign Secretary called Prime Minister Abiy of Ethiopia on 10 November to raise these concerns and stress the urgent need to de-escalate the situation. On 18 November, I reinforced this message with the Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK. The British Ambassador to Ethiopia and other officials also continue to reinforce these messages at the highest levels and we continue to engage regional and wider international partners to push for swift de-escalation of the situation. We are in close contact with UK funded humanitarian agencies working in Tigray to understand humanitarian needs and programme adaptations.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK development funding for the Nigeria Countering Organised Crime and Corruption programme has (a) directly and (b) indirectly been used to support Nigeria's Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund's (CSSF) Countering Organised Crime and Corruption programme, which supports capacity building of Anti-Kidnap Coordination Units in Nigeria, has not provided any support or training to Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) units or officers.
Through our CSSF-funded Nigeria Policing Programme, which ended in March 2020, FSARS officers participated in training on amended Nigerian police guidance designed to improve human rights, training on public finance, and community policing workshops. The Nigeria Policing Programme was part of our Security and Justice Reform Programme, which is working to help deliver a criminal justice system that better protects the human rights of all Nigerians. Through our support to the CSSF-funded North East Public Safety and Security Programme (part of which is delivered jointly with USAID) three radios issued to Borno Police Command police units working to improve local security and to counter violent extremist organisations were distributed to the local FSARS Unit. These were returned after FSARS was disbanded. The North East Public Safety and Security Programme is part of our North East Nigeria Security, Conflict and Stabilisation Programme, working to help stabilise one of Nigeria's poorest and most fragile regions.
The UK Government will continue to support police reform in Nigeria, working with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to improve the accountability and responsiveness of the Nigerian Police Force in line with its human rights obligations. The Nigerian authorities must uphold human rights and the rule of law, investigate any incidents of police brutality and hold those responsible to account. We will continue to monitor the response to the recent protests closely.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what reports he has received on allegations of police violence towards protestors in the Lekki suburb of Lagos on 20 October 2020; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing sanctions against the Nigerian Government and officials if they are found to be involved in human rights abuses.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government is deeply concerned by violence during protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including reports of casualties. We offer our condolences to the families of those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. I reiterated these messages when I spoke to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October. The British High Commissioner in Abuja continues to raise the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government.
The UK Government has made clear to the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels the importance of protecting human rights for all. We encourage all parties to work together to enable the people of Nigeria to exercise their rights safely, peacefully and in line with the rule of law. On 6 July, the UK Government established the Global Human Rights sanctions regime by laying regulations in Parliament under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. This sanctions regime gives the UK a powerful new tool to target individuals involved in serious human rights violations or abuses. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. We will keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.