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Written Question
Sri Lanka: Power Stations
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 245704 on Sri Lanka: Power Stations, what progress has been made by the Sri Lankan Government on providing compensation to residents; and what assessment he has made of the (a) sufficiency and (b) effect on residents of that compensation.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

We are aware of the challenges Sri Lanka faces around water management and quality. Staff at the British High Commission in Colombo raise the issue of water quality in northern Sri Lanka regularly, including during a recent visit to Jaffna in August.

We understand that compensation has been offered to those affected by water pollution caused by the Chunnakam Power plant. We hope that the settlement will be adequate compensation for the victims of contamination, and that measures are taken to ensure clean water.

A number of public bodies in Sri Lanka including the national water supply and drainage board have conducted tests and further investigations into the contamination are ongoing.


Written Question
Sri Lanka: Power Stations
Tuesday 5th November 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the water pollution in Northern Sri Lanka caused by the Chunnakam power plant, what steps his Department has taken to help secure an independent international investigation into the (a) effects and (b) impact of that water pollution on the community resident in that area.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

We are aware of the challenges Sri Lanka faces around water management and quality. Staff at the British High Commission in Colombo raise the issue of water quality in northern Sri Lanka regularly, including during a recent visit to Jaffna in August.

We understand that compensation has been offered to those affected by water pollution caused by the Chunnakam Power plant. We hope that the settlement will be adequate compensation for the victims of contamination, and that measures are taken to ensure clean water.

A number of public bodies in Sri Lanka including the national water supply and drainage board have conducted tests and further investigations into the contamination are ongoing.


Written Question
War Crimes: White Phosphorus
Monday 4th November 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help prevent war crimes involving white phosphorus; and what assessment he has made of potential sanctions that the Government could put in place against countries using white phosphorus as a chemical weapon.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The UK is committed to preventing mass atrocities, including war crimes, using instruments such as diplomatic engagement, development and programmatic support, and defence and policing tools. White phosphorus is not a chemical weapon or a prohibited substance in itself, but the way it is used may be. Reports that white phosphorus has been used intentionally against civilians are extremely worrying as it would be contrary to international humanitarian law. It is important that the full facts are established. We will continue to call on all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks against civilians irrespective of the weapon used.


Written Question
Bahrain: Human Rights
Monday 4th November 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department made of the (a) human rights situation in Bahrain since the execution of three men in that country in July 2019 and (b) efficacy of the UK Government's technical assistance programme to Bahrain.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Bahrain remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights priority country, partly because of the use of the death penalty. Following the execution of three men in July 2019, Lord Ahmad issued a statement expressing deep concern and the UK raised the matter at the September Human Rights Council in Geneva. In addition, I called Dr Sheikh Abdullah, Bahraini Undersecretary for International Affairs following the executions, to express our disappointment. The Government of Bahrain is fully aware of the UK’s clear and longstanding position; we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and all countries.

On British assistance, we are committed to supporting Bahrain-led reform and are confident of its positive impact across a variety of areas including building effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and police and justice reform. We continue to monitor events closely, regularly raising human rights concerns with the Government of Bahrain at senior levels, both in private and public, and most recently at the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group on 17 October.


Written Question
United Arab Emirates: Prisoners
Friday 4th October 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his UAE counterpart on the treatment and release of the group of Emirati prisoners of conscience known as the UAE 94.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The UK urges all countries to comply with their human rights obligations. Our close relationship with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) allows us to discuss important issues such as human rights and where the UK has cause for concern, we raise these concerns at official and Ministerial level. We have previously raised the case of Ahmed Mansoor with senior Emirati officials in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Politics and Government
Tuesday 3rd September 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

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 Chinese counterpart on the political situation in Hong Kong.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

The Foreign Secretary discussed the importance of upholding the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework, which is set out in the Joint Declaration, with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 31 July.


Written Question
Abdullatif Nasser
Wednesday 31st July 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July to Written Question 276505 on Abdullatif Nasser, if his Department will make representations to the US Administration for the release of Abdullatif Nasser.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The case relating to NASSER is a matter for the US and Moroccan authorities. The British Government’s long-standing position remains that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay should close.


Written Question
Iran: Minority Groups
Thursday 18th July 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on (a) reports that the Public Places Supervision Office is seeking to close Baha’i-owned businesses in Iran and (b) the targeting of other minority communities in that country.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

We are aware of reports indicating that Baha'i owned businesses are being targeted for closure, including reports of the attempted closure of a care centre in Karaj, Iran. We remain concerned about the continued harassment and mistreatment that the Baha'i and other minority groups face.

We support the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran's assessment that discrimination against the Baha'is in Iran is legally sanctioned by a lack of constitutional recognition and the absence of other legal protections for adherents of this faith. We regularly call upon Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to protect freedom of religion or belief.


Written Question
Abdullatif Nasser
Wednesday 17th July 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the US Administration for the release of Abdullatif Nasser after Mr Nasser was cleared for transfer in 2016.

Answered by Alan Duncan

The Government has not made representations to the US Administration in relation to this specific case. The British Government's long-standing position remains that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay should close.


Written Question
Guantanamo Bay: Detainees
Wednesday 17th July 2019

Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the US Administration on releasing Guantanamo Bay inmates who have been cleared for release by the Periodic Review Board.

Answered by Alan Duncan

The British Government's long-standing position remains that the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay should close and we continue to engage with the US Government on this issue to make this position clear. The UK continues to work closely with the US on a wide range of national security issues.