Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the maintenance of Iran Nuclear Deal.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
We are clear that maintaining this deal is critical to our national security interests; the British Government is working with our European partners to ensure it is upheld as long as Iran continues to meet its nuclear commitments in full. We are urging Iran not to take escalatory steps and to continue to meet its commitments under the deal. While Iran is in compliance, we remain fully committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a key achievement of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, which is in our shared security interests.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to review and strengthen the effectiveness of conflict resolution policies of the UK to address persistent and accelerating conflict, and flashpoints, particularly in (1) Afghanistan, (2) Egypt, (3) Iran, (4) Iraq, (5) Libya, and (7) Syria; and what steps they are taking with partners in the Commonwealth, the EU, and the UN to review equivalent policies.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The British Government’s actions to prevent conflict in Afghanistan and in the Middle East and North Africa include:
Afghanistan: Continuing our close engagement with the Afghan government and our international partners to help bring about an inclusive and sustainable Afghan-led peace process as quickly as possible. We strongly support current US efforts to drive forward peace. The UK welcomed the conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council in April that set out a clear path for how the EU will support peace in Afghanistan. We also support the important contribution made by the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA). Prospects for peace are probably better now than at any time since 2001. However, after decades of war and the lack of trust on all sides, achieving a credible and sustainable peace process is challenging.
Egypt: The UK plans to spend more than £50m from 2016 to 2020 to support Egypt’s continued stability, by providing economic opportunities for and protecting ordinary Egyptians, tackling radicalisation and safeguarding tourists and British nationals. The Home Office and Egyptian Ministry of Interior are committed to increasing cooperation across a wide range of areas, including counter-terrorism, illegal migration and organised crime.
Iran: We are working with regional and international partners to call for restraint in order to de-escalate the situation. Yet we remain determined to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, and are working with E3 partners to achieve this. This deal remains in our shared interests as long as Iran meets its commitments under the deal in full. It is a key achievement of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, which is in our shared security interests. We are deeply concerned at the heightened level of regional tension. Our priority remains de-escalation.
Iraq: Providing support, together with the Coalition and international partners, to the Iraqi security sector in countering the ongoing threat from Daesh, and addressing the root causes of this threat. This involves addressing the underlying political, social and economic drivers which led to Daesh’s rise. We continue to support, alongside UN partners, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) whose mandate renewal was unanimously approved on 21 May 2019. The UK held the pen on UNSCR 2379 which was unanimously adopted by the UNSC in 2017 and established the UN Investigative Team for the Accountability of Daesh (UNITAD). UNITAD will seek to ensure documentation and accountability for Daesh crimes and work with the Government of Iraq to support reconciliation efforts.
Libya: We are engaging in intensive diplomacy, involving the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ghassan Salamé, and partners in the UN and EU. The UK is clear that all parties must commit to a ceasefire, ensure humanitarian access, and return to UN-mediated political talks. The EU28 issued a statement on 12 April 2019 condemning the violence, and urging all parties to resume political dialogue.
Syria: Our diplomatic and programme efforts remain focused on bringing the conflict to an end through a UN-led negotiated political settlement. The UN-led Geneva process between the Syrian parties remains the forum to achieve this. We are also engaged in completing the enduring defeat of Daesh. As events unfold, we are keeping our approach under constant review.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the UK’s participation in the Iran nuclear agreement following escalating tensions in the region.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We regard the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) as a crucial agreement that makes the world a safer place by neutralising the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. We are urging Iran not to take escalatory steps and to continue to meet its commitments under the deal. While Iran is in compliance, we remain fully committed to the JCPoA, a key achievement of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, which is in our shared security interests.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the Government's policy on nuclear non-proliferation of the development of new types of nuclear weapon for use in UK defence.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Any decisions on UK nuclear deterrence policy or capability will be in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which remains the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime. Given the current threat to international security, and the reality that this will continue for the foreseeable future, our independent nuclear deterrent remains as vital today as ever.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility of replacing trident with the Government’s policy on nuclear non-proliferation.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
We remain committed to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons, and fulfilling our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which remains the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime. But we must continue to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent for as long as the global situation demands. Given the current threat to international security, and the reality that this will continue for the foreseeable future our independent nuclear deterrent remains as vital today as it ever has.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the joint statement by the UK, US and France of 7 July 2017 on the adoption of a treaty banning nuclear weapons, how the ban treaty risks undermining the existing international security architecture; and how the Government has promoted the effectiveness of Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear disarmament.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons risks weakening the consensus around the near-universal Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which has played an unparalleled role in curtailing the nuclear arms race. The UK is working with international partners to make progress on the step-by-step approach to nuclear disarmament, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and negotiating a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament. The treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons does not take account of the complex challenges which must be overcome to achieve multilateral nuclear disarmament. The UK is committed to the long term goal of a world without nuclear weapons, in line with the NPT. We believe that productive results on nuclear disarmament can only be achieved through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security context.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 10 November 2015 to Question 14817, what progress the Government plans to make towards nuclear disarmament beyond the steps outlined in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The UK is widely recognised as the most pro-active of the nuclear weapon states on nuclear disarmament. We remain committed to maintaining a minimum credible deterrent and we believe that our nuclear arsenal is the smallest of the five Nuclear Weapon States as recognised by the Non-Proliferation Treaty. We have reduced our nuclear forces by over half from their Cold War peak in the late 1970s. We reduced the number of deployed warheads on each submarine from 48 to 40 last year and we are reducing our overall stockpile to no more than 180 warheads by the mid-2020s. We possess around 1% of the total global stockpile of approximately 17,000 nuclear weapons.
In addition, the UK plays a leading role on disarmament verification with the US and Norway and continues to press for key steps towards multilateral disarmament, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and successful negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make ithis policy to assess the potential merits of the pledge by the Austrian government set out in the report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, A Pledge to Fill the Legal Gap, published in February 2015 for the work of the UN Open Ended Working Group on multilateral disarmament negotiations.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK is committed to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in accordance with the goals of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in a way that promotes international stability, and is based on the principle of undiminished security for all. The Austrian pledge to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons runs counter to the step-by-step disarmament process; and it does not take into account the current global security and stability challenges. The UN Disarmament machinery and the Non-Proliferation Treaty provide the right framework for working towards a world without nuclear weapons.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their priorities for the UN Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament, taking place from 22 to 26 February, and what expertise the UK can offer on issues of non-proliferation.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is not attending the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on nuclear disarmament in Geneva. The UK, along with the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States, voted against the resolution establishing the OEWG at the UN General Assembly First Committee. The Government works with international partners and various organisations to ensure that UK experience and expertise helps to tackle the threat of weapons proliferation but believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK was represented at the recent UN working group meeting on nuclear disarmament in Geneva.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK did not attend the recent organisational meeting for the working group established by UN General Assembly Resolution 70/33 entitled “Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations”. As detailed in PQ 23329, the UK, along with the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States, voted against this resolution. The Government believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.