Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the captagon trade in the Levant region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The production and smuggling of captagon is a multi-billion dollar trade, essentially emanating from Asad-regime control within Syria. The captagon trade is a growing concern, which is having a destabilising effect in the region. Captagon provides illicit revenue streams to multiple malign actors, notably the Syrian Asad regime and its co-conspirators, principally Hezbollah and other Iranian militias. The UK is stepping up its efforts to work with likeminded partners to combat this, including by drawing international attention to the issue (for example in an intervention at the UN Security Council on 25 January) and increasing our cooperation with regional States.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 63915 on Palestinians: Development Aid, what assessment his Department's December 2021 review of the Partnership Principles made of the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to the principle of non-violence.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I refer the honourable Member to the answer given on 25 October 2022 to Question 63915, the answer can be found on the Q&A web pages on https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-10-17/63915
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
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 tackle the Academic Technology Approval Scheme backlog.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes its responsibility towards countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional military technology seriously. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence to military programmes of concern. The majority of applications are processed within published timescales, which is 30 working days between April and September. We are aware that a small percentage of cases remain outside of target processing times and our teams are working to clear those. We continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme and a planned IT upgrade should provide greater capability.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average wait time is for the approval of Academic Technology Approval Scheme accreditation.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes its responsibility towards countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional military technology seriously. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence to military programmes of concern. The majority of applications are processed within published timescales, which is 30 working days between April and September. We are aware that a small percentage of cases remain outside of target processing times and our teams are working to clear those. We continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme and a planned IT upgrade should provide greater capability.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 63915 on Palestinians: Development Aid, whether his Department made an assessment of the Palestinian Authority's commitment to non-violence as part of the December 2021 review.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the honourable Member to the answer given on 25 October 2022 to Question 63915, the answer can be found on the Q&A web pages on https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-10-17/63915
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 63914 on Palestinians: Textbooks, whether the United Nations Relief and Works Agency committed to take steps after his Department raised its concerns following the Review of 2022 UNRWA-Produced Study Materials in the Palestinian Territories published by IMPACT-se in July 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the honourable Member to the answer given on 25 October 2022 to Question 63914, the answer can be found on the Q&A web pages on https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-10-17/63914
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 63915 on Palestinians: Development Aid, if he will publish the review of the Palestinian Authority's commitment to the Partnership Principles with the UK.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO last conducted an assessment of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to the Partnership Principles in December 2021. In common with other countries where the FCDO works, we only publish a summary of findings. In summary, we found that the PA demonstrated a partially credible commitment to the Partnership Principles. Officials at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem raise these issues at the highest levels of the PA and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of whether study materials produced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East for use in the Palestinian Territories meet UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance in education.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are longstanding supporters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and their work to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We accompany our support for the UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks and other learning material to ensure they reflect UN values.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to IMPACT-se’s Review of 2022 UNRWA-Produced Study Materials in the Palestinian Territories, published in July 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of that review.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government has zero tolerance towards incitement of violence. We are aware of the recent IMPACT-SE report and raised with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) directly. We are longstanding supporters of UNRWA and their work to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We accompany our support for UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to the learning material UNRWA produces in the OPTs to ensure they reflect UN values.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Government last reviewed compliance with its partnership principles with the Palestinian Authority.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Following a review in December 2021, FCDO's assessment is that the Palestinian Authority (PA) demonstrates a partially credible commitment to the Partnership Principles. There is relatively strong progress on improving public financial management and a continued commitment to delivering effective services and reducing poverty, despite the challenges of occupation. However, cases of abuses of human rights and restrictions on freedom of expression continue and there is potential for greater action to strengthen human rights protection and increase domestic accountability in areas within the PA's control. The UK will continue to monitor these areas closely and raise with the highest levels of the PA.