Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will ask the UN Secretary General to investigate (a) how many allegations of human rights abuses have been made to the Moroccan National Human Rights Council in Western Sahara and (b) whether those allegations have been investigated.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and we raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly. We also engage on these issues at the UN and have consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara. The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law and international human rights standards and to avoid any action that may endanger human life.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) Moroccan and (b) Saharawi soldiers that have died since the Moroccan military incursion into Guerguerat.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO does not hold such records. However, we continue to monitor the situation in Western Sahara including through our engagements with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and our international partners.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has provided funding to Saharawi human rights defenders in Western Sahara in the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has not provided funding to the specific cause mentioned. However, the UK remains committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and we raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly. Additionally, the UK supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 2703 on 30 October, which renewed the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) mandate for 12 months. We have also consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara.
Jan. 22 2024
Source Page: UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review - fourth cycle recommendations: Scottish Government responseFound: Nigeria; Palestine; Pakistan; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Syria; Tunisia; Turkey; Uganda; Ukraine; Western
Jan. 17 2024
Source Page: I. Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Annual report 2022/23. Incl. annexes. 32p. II. Letter dated 11/01/2024 from Baroness Neville-Rolfe to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding a document for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Found: along the main trafficking routes to the UK; • countered grand corruption and illicit finance in the Western
Jan. 16 2024
Source Page: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund annual report 2022 to 2023Found: along the main trafficking routes to the UK; • countered grand corruption and illicit finance in the Western
Jan. 16 2024
Source Page: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund annual report 2022 to 2023Found: along the main trafficking routes to the UK; • countered grand corruption and illicit finance in the Western
Jan. 16 2024
Source Page: Table showing median gross hourly earnings of earnings of employees by nationality, January to December 2019, Annual Population Survey. 12p.Found: Sierra Leone*Singapore*Slovakia10Vietnam*Slovenia*Somalia*South Africa14.66Zimbabwe12.5South Sudan*Sudan*Western
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will raise with the Moroccan Ambassador the potential release of detained Saharawi human rights activists.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and we raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly. We have consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara. The UK Government consistently urges all states to uphold international law and international human rights standards and to avoid any action that may endanger human life. We regularly discuss migration and treatment of refugees with partners, including through our embassies, and we remain committed to supporting them to manage this effectively.
Oral Evidence Jan. 09 2024
Inquiry: Work of the Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeFound: Given the long- standing dispute over Western Sahara, and that the United States recognised Moroccan