Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Kazakhstan on the status of (1) individuals arrested during protests in that country in January, and (2) the detention of former Prime Minister Karim Massimov.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is following events in Kazakhstan closely. We greatly regret the loss of life and injuries sustained as a result of unrest in January and condemned the violence and destruction of property that occurred. We await a full account of what led to these unprecedented events.
In my recent meetings with Kazakh counterparts, including Deputy Foreign Minister Vassilenko on 2 March, I [Lord Ahmad] asked for an update on the commission set up by President Tokayev to investigate the causes of the violence. We have stressed that this process should be conducted urgently, transparently and effectively, and have sought reassurance that Kazakhstan's international human rights obligations, including commitments to due process and freedom of speech and expression, will be respected.
Kazakhstan is an important partner for the UK. We have built a productive dialogue and wide-ranging ties over the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, sharing experience and jointly tackling global challenges including on security issues. We are committed to furthering that cooperation and will seek opportunities, with international partners, to encourage the economic and social reform priorities set out by President Tokayev.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her counterpart in Kazakhstan on the (a) use of force by security forces on people protesting against living standards and (b) repression of peaceful protest.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Following the outbreak of violence in Kazakhstan, My Noble Friend the Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon met senior representatives of the Kazakh government, including President Tokayev’s Special Representative. In these contacts, he underlined the need to ensure that law enforcement responses to protests are proportionate, in accordance with Kazakhstan’s international obligations. He also stressed the importance of the investigation into the unrest being conducted urgently, transparently and effectively.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether military goods exported to Kazakhstan were used by government forces against protestors in January 2022.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government takes its strategic export control responsibilities very seriously. We examine every application on a case-by-case basis against strict criteria. Risks around human rights violations and abuses are a key part of our assessment. The Government will not grant a licence for items where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression, or where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We can and do respond quickly and flexibly to changing or fluid international situations. All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department has revised its licensing of military goods for export to Kazakhstan in the context of protests in Kazakhstan in January 2022.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
All licences – to all markets – are kept under careful and continual review and we are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances require. An export licence will not be granted (or, if extant, it would be revoked) if it is incompatible with any of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. This includes Criterion 2a, which assesses whether there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
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 unrest in Kazakhstan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government continues to follow events in Kazakhstan closely. We greatly regretted the loss of life and injuries sustained as a result of unrest in January and condemned the violence and destruction of property that occurred. We await a full account of what led to these unprecedented events. We have taken note of President Tokayev's characterisation of what happened as an 'attempted coup' and his decision to establish an investigative commission. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State responsible for Central Asia and Human Rights, was assured by President Tokayev's Special Representative, Ambassador Kazykhan, that the work of the commission would be transparent and effective.
As well as being crucial for accountability, a comprehensive understanding of events will be important to securing public support for the programme of social, economic and political reforms outlined by President Tokayev following the January events. The UK supports the aims of the reforms that President Tokayev seeks to bring about, in the context of the close ties we have developed with Kazakhstan over the 30 years since diplomatic relations were established
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many (a) standard individual exports licenses and (b) open individual export licenses her Department has granted for arms exports to Kazakhstan since 2010.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave her on 7th February (UIN: 115939).
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many export licences for military goods for export to Kazakhstan her Department has granted; and if she will provide details of the items approved for export.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) on export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations on GOV.UK containing detailed information including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.
The most recent publication was on 12th October 2021, covering the period 1st April – 30th June 2021. Information covering 1st July – 30th September 2021 will be published later this month and information covering 1st October 2020 – 31st December 2020 will be published in April.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent on projects via the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for projects in (a) Kazakhstan, (b) Belarus, (c) Ukraine and (d) Bosnia and Herzegovina in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) spend in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan and Ukraine over the last five years is provided in the table below. These figures include discretionary Official Development Assistance and non-Official Development Assessments spend in these countries through the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the Good Governance Fund portfolios. These totals do not include some cross regional and thematic spend which cannot be disaggregated by country.
Country | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
Belarus | £0 | £67,755 | £320,000 | £367,592 | £2,727,553 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | £8,542,836 | £4,304,129 | £10,101,622 | £10,709,074 | £6,239,830 |
Kazakhstan | £219,150 | £362,739 | £463,952 | £541,038 | £411,162 |
Ukraine | £22,879,996 | £25,473,635 | £22,168,488 | £30,236,049 | £33,386,420 |
Projects have included, election observation, domestic violence response and provision of medical supplies during COVID-19 in Belarus, improving the ability of law enforcement agencies and seeking care, support and justice for survivors of conflict related sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and election monitoring in Kazakhstan. CSSF Ukraine is a key component of the UK’s commitment to Ukraine's security, encompassing security and defence training, support against disinformation efforts, and to civil society.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current political and security situation in Kazakhstan, following the recent protests and violent unrest in the country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is closely following events in Kazakhstan. We greatly regret the loss of life and injuries sustained as a result of recent unrest and condemn the violence and destruction of property that occurred, particularly in the city of Almaty. The reasons behind the violence remain unclear, although we note that President Tokayev has characterised what happened as an 'attempted coup'. We also take note of the President's decision to establish an investigative commission and await a full account of what led to these unprecedented events and loss of life. I was assured by President Tokayev's Special Representative, Ambassador Kazykhan, that the work of the commission would be transparent and effective.
The Government's long-standing position is that legitimate protest must be peaceful and genuine grievances resolved through dialogue. We have called for law enforcement responses to be proportionate, and for freedom of speech and expression to be respected in line with Kazakhstan's international commitments. We will continue to underline these points in our engagement with the Kazakh Government, as we seek to understand the chain of events and to ensure that human rights are upheld.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many human rights and social media activists they believe to have been arrested in Kazakhstan in the last month; what is known about their status and wellbeing; and what estimate they have made of the number of fatalities involving protestors.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are aware of reports that human rights activists and social media activists were among those detained during recent unrest in Kazakhstan and we are seeking further information from the authorities.
In recent meetings with the Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan, the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Kazakh Ambassador to the UK, I underlined the importance of respect for international human rights obligations, including commitments to freedom of speech and expression. I also sought assurances that due process will be followed as those who were arrested are processed through the Kazakh judicial system.
We greatly regret the loss of life during the recent violent clashes. We are aware of figures from official sources that indicate that as many as 225 were killed in addition to 19 law enforcement officers. Many hundreds are reported to have been injured. We have urged the Kazakh authorities to make available further information, including numbers of casualties, as part of a thorough and transparent investigation into the causes and consequences of recent events.