Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of suspending export licences for F-35 components to Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given the conclusions of the review, on 2 September the Government suspended around 30 export licences to Israel, effectively covering all arms exports for use in the current conflict in Gaza, exempting components for F-35 aircraft which, for reasons outlined in the Foreign Secretary's Statement and the Business and Trade Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, have been excluded from the suspension.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
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 potential implications for his policies of the banning of windows overlooking places used by women in Afghanistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn the appalling erosion of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, including the most recent ridiculous ban on windows overlooking spaces used by women. As the Foreign Secretary has said, the exclusion of women from all aspects of public life is another tragic setback for Afghanistan. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to reverse their inhuman restrictions, including during a visit to Kabul in December. We also condemned the Taliban's actions against women and girls in a joint statement with the G7+ in December. We are discussing with international partners ways to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last discussed women's rights with the Iranian ambassador to the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is currently no Iranian ambassador to the UK. However, we regularly deliver robust messages on human rights directly to the Iranian regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran. On 13 August, I highlighted, via X, the UK’s continued support for Iranian women and girls and our commitment to calling out the regime’s unacceptable behaviour.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
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 potential implications for his policies of the New Lines Institute’s publication entitled Genocide in Tigray: Serious Breaches of International Law in the Tigray Conflict, Ethiopia, and the Paths to Accountability.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 'Genocide in Tigray' report by the New Lines Institute has drawn attention to the conduct of actors during the conflict of 2020-2022. The report is consistent with UN investigations which concluded that all sides committed major human rights violations and abuses, some of which might amount to crimes against humanity. UK policy is that genocide can only be determined by a credible international court. The UK has consistently called for accountability for victims of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and is supporting Ethiopia's transitional justice efforts, including by working with national human rights organisations to enhance evidence collection that could support criminal procedures.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral statement of 2 September 2024 on Middle East Update, Official Report, column 37, whether his Department has undertaken a further review of export licenses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Export licence applications continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Following our review into Israel's compliance with IHL in Gaza, this Government has concluded that a clear risk does exist, and we have suspended certain export licences for items that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza.