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Written Question
Iraq: Turkey
Tuesday 29th June 2021

Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)

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 accuracy of allegations that Turkey used chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

We have not made an assessment of the allegations.


Written Question
Iraq: Turkey
Tuesday 22nd June 2021

Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to the government of Turkey about the attack on Maxmur Refugee Camp and villages in northern Iraq on 5 June.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

We are following the situation closely. We reiterate the need for dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.


Written Question
Iraq: Kurds
Wednesday 19th May 2021

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation for Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq in the context of the current Turkish military campaign which began on 24 April 2021.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK is closely following the situation in northern Iraq. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The safety of civilians is paramount and the UK continues to urge dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to protect civilians. We respect Iraqi sovereignty, and acknowledge Turkey's security concerns regarding the PKK whilst ensuring regional security and combatting terrorism.


Written Question
Iraq: Turkey
Wednesday 19th May 2021

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the reported (a) Turkish military campaign in Iraq and (b) plans to open Turkish military bases in Zap, Metina and Avashin.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK is closely following the situation in northern Iraq. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The safety of civilians is paramount and the UK continues to urge dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to protect civilians. We respect Iraqi sovereignty, and acknowledge Turkey's security concerns regarding the PKK whilst ensuring regional security and combatting terrorism.


Written Question
Middle East and North Africa: Overseas Aid
Thursday 29th April 2021

Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)

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 effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance funding on non-governmental organisations' (a) programming and (b) levels of in-country staff to deliver programmes in (i) Yemen, (ii) Syria, (iii) the Occupied Palestinian Territories, (iv) Lebanon, (v) Turkey, (vi) Egypt, (vii) Iraq, (viii) Libya and (ix) refugee settlements in Europe.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The FCDO has prioritised our reduced Overseas Development Assistance funding in the Middle East and North Africa so that the UK remains a force for good across the region against the challenging financial climate created by COVID-19. We are prioritising essential humanitarian assistance to those worst affected by conflict and COVID-19, notably in Syria and Yemen. We are continuing to focus on education and getting vulnerable girls into school and will also continue to support conflict resolution and stabilisation, open societies. Alongside our current programmes, we will also begin new programming to tackle climate change.


Written Question
Military Aid
Thursday 25th March 2021

Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what countries the British Armed Forces provided training to on UK territory in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

Personnel from the countries listed in the table below have attended defence education or training in the UK in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Year

Countries

2019/20

AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELGIUM BELIZE BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE CHINA COLOMBIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GRENADA GUYANA HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LEBANON LESOTHO LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MAURITIUS MEXICO MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PAPUA NEW GUINEA PARAGUAY PHILIPPINES POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RWANDA SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SERBIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVENIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWEDEN SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TURKEY UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA UZBEKISTAN VIETNAM

2020/21

AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BELGIUM BELIZE BHUTAN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE COLOMBIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT LEBANON LITHUANIA MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PARAGUAY POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA SAUDI ARABIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TUNISIA UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA

Note: MOD records information on International Defence Training (IDT) by financial year, rather than by calendar year. Information is taken from a central IDT database. Some activity may not be captured on that database.


Written Question
Security and Policing 2021
Tuesday 23rd March 2021

Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will list the countries and territories (a) invited by UK Defence and Security Exports to attend Security and Policing 2021 and (b) that attended Security and Policing 2020.

Answered by Graham Stuart

The countries, territories and organisations invited to attend Security and Policing 2021 are listed below. Those annotated with a * are the countries, territories and organisations that attended.

Algeria *

Argentina

Australia *

Austria *

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium *

Brazil

Bulgaria *

Canada *

Croatia *

Czech Republic *

Denmark *

Egypt *

Finland *

France

Germany

Ghana *

Greece *

Hungary *

India *

Indonesia

Iraq

Italy *

Japan *

Kenya *

Latvia *

Lithuania

Luxembourg *

Malaysia *

Mexico

Morocco *

NATO

Netherlands *

New Zealand *

Nigeria *

Norway *

Oman *

Pakistan *

Peru *

Poland *

Portugal *

Qatar

Romania *

Saudi Arabia *

Singapore *

South Africa *

South Korea *

Sweden *

Switzerland *

Taiwan *

Thailand

Trinidad & Tobago

Turkey

Ukraine *

UN *

USA *

Vietnam *

The list of countries, territories and organisations that attended Security and Policing 2020 were:

Australia

Belgium

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

Colombia

Czech Republic

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Italy

Japan

Luxembourg

Morocco

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Saudi Arabia

Slovakia

South Africa

Spain

Trinidad & Tobago

Turkey

UAE

Ukraine

United Nations (UN)

United States

Uzbekistan

The full list of countries, territories and organisations invited and those that attended Security and Policing 2020 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/security-and-policing-2020


Written Question
Fossil Fuels: Export Credit Guarantees
Monday 1st February 2021

Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 118559 on Fossil Fuels: Export Credit Guarantees, what the locations are of the (a) two upstream projects, (b) one midstream project, (c) two downstream projects and (d) two power projects.

Answered by Graham Stuart

The projects referred to in the response to PQ118559 are in the following locations:

a) The upstream projects are both located in Brazil.

b) The midstream project is in Turkmenistan.

c) One downstream project is in Malaysia, and the other is in Turkey

d) The previous Answer referred to one power project, which is located in Iraq.


Written Question
Arms Trade: Export Controls
Thursday 17th December 2020

Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many times the Government has suspended or revoked an existing Arms Export licence in the last five years; what the grounds were for those actions; and which countries those licences were for.

Answered by Ranil Jayawardena

Since 2015, we have taken revocation action 74 times on individual licences; and suspended licences, pending further investigations, four times.

I have provided the Hon. Lady with instances below where a licence was revoked in full; where a country was removed; where goods were removed; or where goods for a country were removed.

  • 9 SIELs for Ukraine were revoked following increasing tensions in the region (Criterion 3).
  • 3 SIELs for Yemen and 1 OIEL destination were revoked further to the deteriorating situation in-country and the risk of diversion (Criteria 3, 7)
  • 1 OIEL had seven destinations revoked (Taiwan, Spain, Qatar, Greece, Canada, Australia and Afghanistan) when extended beyond its original validity date.
  • 1 OIEL has one destination revoked (Isle of Man) having been issued in error.
  • 1 OIEL had three destinations revoked (Japan, Norway and Switzerland) due to the sensitivity of the goods (Criterion 5)
  • 1 SIEL for the Philippines was revoked following a change of situation in country and the risk of items being used to commit abuses of rights and responsibilities (Criterion 2)
  • 3 SIELs for Germany, Italy and the United States were revoked where the goods were for onward export to Venezuela following the introduction of restrictive measures by the EU in 2017 (Criterion 1).
  • 2 SIELs and 13 OIEL destinations for Venezuela were revoked following the introduction of restrictive measures by the EU in 2017 (Criterion 1).
  • 1 OIEL had three destinations revoked (Hong Kong, Mongolia and Taiwan), having been issued in error.
  • 1 SIEL for Iraq was revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion (Criterion 7)
  • 1 SIEL for Bangladesh was revoked following the provision of additional technical information on the capabilities of the equipment, giving rise to concerns over rights and responsibilities (Criterion 2)
  • 1 OIEL destination for Belarus was revoked because of the risk of contravening EU financial sanctions including asset freezes (Criterion 1)
  • 2 SIELs for China were revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion (Criteria 5a and 7)
  • 1 SIEL and 3 OIEL destinations for Myanmar (Burma) were revoked following the expansion of EU Sanctions there in 2018 (Criterion 1)
  • 1 OIEL had 31 destinations revoked (Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia, New Caledonia and Dependencies, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, St Helena, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United States and Uruguay), having been issued in error.
  • 6 SIELs for China were revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion (Criteria 5a and 7), 4 of these SIELs were initially suspended.
  • 1 SIEL for Pakistan was revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion to a WMD programme (Criterion 1)
  • 2 SIELs for Sweden and Saudi Arabia and 2 OIEL destination for Jordan and Saudi Arabia were revoked because they were contrary to Secretary of State’s commitment to Parliament that no new licences would be granted for export of arms or military equipment to Saudi Arabia or its coalition partners for possible use in the conflict in Yemen.
  • 1 OIEL destination for Saudi Arabia was revoked because of the risk of internal repression and violations of rights and responsibilities (Criterion 2a)
  • 2 OITCLs for Sierra Leone had goods revoked because the licences were issued in error (Criterion 1).
  • 1 SIEL for Turkey was revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion to a third country of concern (Criteria 1 and 7)
  • 1 SIEL for Uganda was revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion to a third country of concern (Criteria 1 and 7)
  • 1 SIEL and 1 OIEL destination for Iraq was revoked following a change of situation in country and the risk of items being used to commit abuses of rights and responsibilities (Criterion 2)
  • 3 SIELs for Israel were revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion to a third country of concern (Criteria 1, 5a and 7)
  • 3 SIELs for South Africa, Spain and Jordan, 3 SIELs for the United Arab Emirates and 1 OIEL destination for the United Arab Emirates were revoked following new information indicating a risk of diversion to a third country of concern (Criteria 1 and 7)

In seeking to be open with the Hon. Lady, this data is provided from management information and may, therefore, not align with published official statistics. My department has identified some instances where revocations were not reported. For example, following the introduction of EU restrictive measures in 2017, we revoked Venezuela from 13 OIELs, but five were not reported. My department has identified the cause of this and put in place measures to ensure there is no re-occurrence. The data will align with the next official statistics update and the official estimates will be revised.


Written Question
Iraq and Turkey: Security
Wednesday 2nd December 2020

Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making representations to the Governments of Turkey and Iraq on the need for co-operation and dialogue between those countries to (a) tackle terrorism, (b) help ensure regional security and (c) help protect civilians in that region.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK has discussed the need for ongoing dialogue with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We will continue to raise the need for cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians.