Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the visit to the UK by Bakhtiyor Saidov, the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, on 24 July, what priority areas were put forward in discussion by (1) Uzbekistan, (2) the UK; and when they anticipate that a return visit will take place to Uzbekistan by the Foreign Secretary or another Secretary of State.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary met Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov on 24 July to discuss how to advance our interests together, and how we can build stronger cooperation. The UK is committed to working with Uzbekistan across our many shared priorities: security, trade, human rights, climate and the war in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary's travel plans over the next year are yet to be decided, however he is committed to increasing ties with Uzbekistan. The Minister for Europe and Central Asia, Leo Docherty, visited Uzbekistan on 6 June and has since visited the four other Central Asian Republics.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report of Dr Adrian Zenz, Coercive Labor in the Cotton Harvest in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Uzbekistan, published in the Journal of Communist and Post-Communist Studies by University of California Press.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of Dr Zenz's recent report. To date, the UK Government has taken robust action in response to forced labour concerns. We have provided guidance to UK companies on the risks of doing business in Xinjiang, introduced enhanced export controls, and committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations that do not comply with modern slavery reporting requirements. Additionally, the Procurement Bill enables contracting authorities across the public sector to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers which are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain. We continue to closely monitor the situation in Xinjiang and to keep our policy response under review.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his (a) Uzbekistani counterpart and (b) HM Ambassador to Uzbekistan on (i) human rights in Uzbekistan and (ii) the imprisonment of Duletmurat Tazhimuratov.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO carefully monitors the human rights situation in Uzbekistan. We regularly raise human rights issues, including the aftermath of the events in Karakalpakstan and the imprisonment of activists and journalists such as Mr Tazhimuradov, with the Uzbek authorities. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon most recently raised human rights with a senior visiting Uzbek delegation on 19 April. We are clear that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with counterpart in Uzbekistan on support for Afghan refugees.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK continues to work closely with Uzbekistan on the evacuation of Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) eligible persons. The Foreign Secretary discussed cooperation on Afghanistan with the Uzbek Foreign Minister at the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Ministerial Council in December 2022. The Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also discussed evacuations and securing safe passage for those fleeing Afghanistan on several occasions with his counterparts in the Uzbek Government during 2022, and during his visit to Uzbekistan in September 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the UK has visa free travel arrangements with for British citizens.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
FCDO, who have responsibility for this information, have said that the information this question is requesting can be found in public domain https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/uk-passport/
We have included the list for ease:
Albania
American Samoa
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bolivia
Caribbean Netherlands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Cabo Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Gambia
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turks and Caicos Islands
Türkiye
United States Virgin Islands
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Eswatin
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
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 impact of the resurgence of militant groups, including the Haqqani Network and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan on the security of (a) Afghanistan and (b) the surrounding region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK expects the Taliban to uphold its commitments made in the Doha agreement, including on preventing the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups. We are monitoring closely the activity of groups such as the Haqqani network and their impact on the security of Afghanistan, the region and the UK.
We raise security on a regular basis with international counterparts and regional partners. On the 9th January Minister Mitchell raised regional security during a bilateral meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister and Foreign Minister at the International Conference on Climate Resilience in Pakistan.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the governments of (a) Tajikistan, (b) Uzbekistan and (c) Turkmenistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs spoke to the former Uzbek Foreign Minister on 1 December at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Poland. He also met briefly with the Tajik Foreign Minister at the same event, but has not recently met ministers from Turkmenistan. Lord Ahmad met the Turkmen Foreign Minister last year. We regularly engage with our partners in Central Asia to support reform, encourage trade, and to build a secure and stable region.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Uzbekistani counterpart on the protests in Karakalpakstan in July 2022.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
On 7 July, Lord Ahmad raised the unrest in Karakalpakstan with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister. We have been clear in our communications that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected. In discussion of these events in multilateral fora, we urged the Uzbek authorities to adhere to their international commitments and due process, as they seek to determine the causes of the violent unrest. We continue to monitor developments closely.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent events in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is saddened by the loss of life that occurred during recent events in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. We understand that initially peaceful protests against plans to change Karakalpakstan's autonomous status within Uzbekistan developed into violent unrest with casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel. The situation now seems calm. The Uzbek authorities have announced an official investigation, involving Parliament and civil society.
On 7 July, Lord Ahmad raised the unrest in Karakalpakstan with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister and the British Ambassador and his team in Tashkent are also in contact with the Uzbek authorities. We have been clear in our communications that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected. In discussion of these events in multilateral fora, we urged the Uzbek authorities to adhere to their international commitments and due process, as they seek to understand what happened. We will continue to monitor developments closely.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) recent events in and (b) access to (i) international journalists, (ii) human rights organisations and (iii) telephone and internet connections in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is saddened by the loss of life that occurred during recent events in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. We understand that initially peaceful protests against plans to change Karakalpakstan's autonomous status within Uzbekistan developed into violent unrest with casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel. The situation now seems calm. Although there are reports of internet and telephone communications being blocked, we understand that communications in Karakalpakstan have mostly been reinstated, and international and local journalists have been given limited access to the region. The Uzbek authorities have announced an official investigation involving Parliament and civil society.
On 7 July, Lord Ahmad raised the unrest in Karakalpakstan with the Uzbek Deputy Foreign Minister and the British Ambassador and his team in Tashkent are also in contact with the Uzbek authorities. We have been clear in our communications that the right to peaceful protest and respect for media freedom should be protected. In discussion of these events in multilateral fora, we urged the Uzbek authorities to adhere to their international commitments and due process, as they seek to understand what happened. We will continue to monitor developments closely.