Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of ongoing settler attacks on Palestinian communities in Taybeh in the West Bank, including the attack on St George’s Church on 7 July; and what steps they are taking to impose travel bans and financial sanctions on those responsible.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representation they have made to the government of Israel to investigate and prevent the reported incidents of arson and assaults by settlers on Palestinian property, agricultural land and holy sites in Taybeh in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have met or intend to meet representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, Latin Church, and the Melkite Geek Catholic Church following settler violence against Palestinian communities in Taybeh in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK condemns settler violence and is concerned by incidents and attacks on holy sites across the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Consul General in Jerusalem has recently visited Taybeh with church leaders and international partners to express solidarity with the local community following attacks by settlers. We regularly raise settler violence with Israeli ministers and officials, and we are clear that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and settlement expansion. The Government has introduced three rounds of sanctions targeting individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations perpetrating and supporting violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We do not comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Lord Bates (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for their term as chair of the P5 Process for 2025–26.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The P5 Process, established by the UK in 2009, remains an important channel through which the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) discuss implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The UK will assume the 2025-26 chair of the Process this summer 2025, taking over from China. We will seek to convene substantive discussions on nuclear doctrine between the P5 states, and discuss nuclear risk reduction. We will also facilitate two accompanying non-government dialogues, the Expert-Level Track (ELT) and Young Professionals' Network (YPN). The purpose of these dialogues is to engage non-proliferation and disarmament experts and early career professionals from academia and think tanks in P5 countries, with the aim of generating new ideas to support the government-level process.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet with the government of Greece to discuss (1) immigration policy, and (2) how the UK, Greece and the EU can cooperate to reduce illegal migration from North Africa into Europe.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We engage closely with the Greek Government on migration issues and are committed to supporting Greece's efforts to manage migration effectively. At Ministerial level, this has included meetings between our Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers at the end of 2024, and between the Minister of State, Stephen Doughty, and his Greek counterpart (most recently in New York in July 2025). We continue to work with Greek partners to identify opportunities for further cooperation around irregular migration to and through Greece.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of violence committed against women from minority communities in Syria, including Alawite, Christian, Druze, Kurdish, and Turkmen groups, given the UK’s commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, including women, and an improved response to sectarian violence. The Foreign Secretary raised these issues with the Syrian Government during his recent visit to Damascus and offered UK support. Syria remains a focus country in the UK's 5th National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, guiding our efforts in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325. UK funding supports Syrian women's rights organisations to promote gender equality, strengthen women's roles in peacebuilding, and increase their participation in political and public life. Thirteen years on from the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, the UK is proud of its leadership on this issue and continues to fund programmes in Syria which document human rights violations and support the trial and convictions of perpetrators of these crimes.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Syria regarding the protection of women from ethnic and religious minority communities; and how these efforts reflect the UK’s obligations under the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, including women, and an improved response to sectarian violence. The Foreign Secretary raised these issues with the Syrian Government during his recent visit to Damascus and offered UK support. Syria remains a focus country in the UK's 5th National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, guiding our efforts in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325. UK funding supports Syrian women's rights organisations to promote gender equality, strengthen women's roles in peacebuilding, and increase their participation in political and public life. Thirteen years on from the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, the UK is proud of its leadership on this issue and continues to fund programmes in Syria which document human rights violations and support the trial and convictions of perpetrators of these crimes.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the interim Syrian authorities on preventing human rights violations, protecting all Syrians, and immediately ending all forms of sectarian violence.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to Damascus he underlined the importance of an inclusive political transition and protecting the rights of all Syrians, and offered UK support in achieving this. Further to the outbreak of violence in southern Syria, he spoke to Syria's Foreign Minister, on 18 July, to express our concerns about the latest escalation and the need for a full investigation into these crimes. We continue to press the Syrian Government on the importance of improving their response to sectarian violence, protecting the rights of all Syrians, and holding all those responsible to account.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised the issue of abuses committed against women from minority communities in Syria with the United National Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict; and if so, what action has followed.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We work closely with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and have a longstanding partnership with her office. Officials have discussed conflict-related sexual violence around the world including Syria. With UK funding, both UN Action and the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict plan to undertake work in Syria to explore opportunities to improve services for survivors of conflict related sexual violence, including psychosocial and legal support.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women in Syria, including those from minority groups, are included in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes, in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have consistently advocated for an inclusive political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, including women, and an improved response to sectarian violence. The Foreign Secretary raised these issues with the Syrian Government during his recent visit to Damascus and offered UK support. Syria remains a focus country in the UK's 5th National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, guiding our efforts in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1325. UK funding supports Syrian women's rights organisations to promote gender equality, strengthen women's roles in peacebuilding, and increase their participation in political and public life. Thirteen years on from the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, the UK is proud of its leadership on this issue and continues to fund programmes in Syria which document human rights violations and support the trial and convictions of perpetrators of these crimes.