Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department monitors the role of external state actors in influencing electoral outcomes in the EU.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
International partners, including in the EU, could be at risk of attempts by foreign states to interfere in elections. Collaboration with international partners, including in the EU, is an essential part of countering these risks. Through the UK's Defending Democracy Ministerial Taskforce, FCDO officials have engaged with partners, including Austria, Romania, and France, to share best practice and identify opportunities for future joint work to build resilience against interference in our democratic processes. FCDO regularly updates to the Taskforce's Ministerial meetings on key risks, learnings, and responses from international elections to inform the UK's election preparations. The UK will continue to engage with international partners.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the presence of foreign military bases on the sovereignty of host countries in West Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Decisions about hosting foreign military bases in Africa are for host countries to make. The UK supports the sovereignty of states and encourages all actors to ensure foreign forces are deployed in line with African Union and UN frameworks on peacekeeping and security operations. This ensures respect for international law and human rights, and accountability, are upheld. UK military will continue to work with, and at the invitation of, elected governments to support on security.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department provides to nations in West Africa to strengthen their counterterrorism capabilities.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK recognises the increased threat of instability in West Africa. As part of our efforts to support partners in the region, we have agreed and are developing new programmes, including through HMG's Integrated Security Fund. Combined with our existing Security and Defence Partnerships with Ghana and Nigeria, these programmes will further build resilience to and counter violent extremism in the region. They include a range of interventions with international, government and non-government partners across the region to address challenges including Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), Terrorist Financing, crisis response and strategic communications.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps the Government is taking to work with EU countries to counter disinformation campaigns orchestrated by foreign state actors.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK works closely with international partners to counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) by hostile actors, including with the European Union and with some EU members States. This includes work to identify and respond to the diverse and evolving threat to our democracies from information manipulation. We work closely with countries across Europe to develop effective national security responses to FIMI; enable communication activities to challenge information manipulation; and support independent media and civil society organisations to build resilience to disinformation. We have sanctioned enablers of Russian disinformation and information manipulation including Russia state media and Kremlin-funded information operations globally, including in Europe.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent regional military action on the peace process in Yemen.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which remains dire. We are committed to provide continued humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the dire conditions faced by millions of Yemenis.
We have played a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis, committing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began in 2014.
In both 2022-23 and 2023-4 we committed £88 million in aid to Yemen, which has contributed to providing food to at least 100,000 people every month, delivering lifesaving health care through 400 facilities, and treating 22,000 severely malnourished children.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what the cost to the public purse was of providing humanitarian assistance in Yemen in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which remains dire. We are committed to provide continued humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the dire conditions faced by millions of Yemenis.
We have played a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis, committing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began in 2014.
In both 2022-23 and 2023-4 we committed £88 million in aid to Yemen, which has contributed to providing food to at least 100,000 people every month, delivering lifesaving health care through 400 facilities, and treating 22,000 severely malnourished children.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of proscribing the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation in the context of the recent military actions by Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel, which was a dangerous escalation. We do not routinely comment on any potential proscription decisions. We are deeply concerned by the threat from Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and have taken significant measures to counter it at home and around the world. That includes sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety and more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including dozens of IRGC commanders. We are confident that the police, security services and courts all have the tools they need to sanction, prosecute and mitigate the threats from Iran.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of Iranian support for the Houthis on the stability of (a) Yemen and (b) the wider Middle East region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK assesses that Iran has directly supported Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Specifically, Iran has provided intelligence to enable Houthi targeting of vessels. Furthermore, Iran has supplied the Houthis with missiles and UAVs used to attack international shipping. Iran should cease such support and use its influence to restrain its proxies to prevent further escalations.
The UK continues to seek the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East. We are employing the full range of our diplomatic and security efforts, working with allies and international partners to counter groups seeking to undermine the region's peace, stability and prosperity.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support UN-led Yemeni peace talks; and what progress he has made towards achieving an inclusive political settlement in Yemen.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Lord Ahmad, spoke with the new Yemeni Foreign Minister Al-Zindani on 17 April. He reiterated the UK's commitment to an intra-Yemeni peace process under UN auspices.
We continue to champion the vital role of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and welcomed his formal launch of the UN-led Roadmap in December. This was enabled following years of HMG's diplomatic support. An inclusive political settlement is the only way to bring sustainable peace and long-term stability to Yemen, and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to collect data on the number of UK citizens travelling to fight for the Israel Defence Force.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK recognises the right of British nationals with more than one nationality to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of their additional nationalities.
We are aware of reports of UK citizens travelling to fight for the Israel Defence Force (IDF), but the Government does not estimate the numbers of those who have done so.