Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 potential implications for his Department of the report by Resilience & Reconstruction entitled Disinformation, UK Democracy, and Attitudes toward Ukraine & Russia in the UK, published on 14 January 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 January in response to Question 105450.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the response given to question 109027 on 5 February.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Royal Assent of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act (BBNJ), further secondary legislation is required before the BBNJ Agreement can be ratified by the UK. This will happen when the parliamentary timetable allows.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to ratify the UN High Seas Treaty by June 2026.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Royal Assent of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act (BBNJ), further secondary legislation is required before the BBNJ Agreement can be ratified by the UK. This will happen when the parliamentary timetable allows.
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 (1) the current elections in Myanmar, (2) the impact of those elections on human rights in Myanmar, and (3) the implications for the regions of the county that are excluded from voting in those elections.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We continue to support the aspirations of the people of Myanmar for a peaceful, democratic future. However, there is little sign that the recent elections will achieve an end to violence, advance dialogue, or address the urgent requirements to allow access for humanitarian assistance and bring an end to human rights violations.
In December 2025, the UK convened the UN Security Council to discuss the Myanmar elections, emphasising ongoing human rights concerns and the humanitarian situation:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/elections-under-the-current-circumstances-in-myanmar-risk-provoking-further-violence-uk-statement-on-myanmar
We have also continued to signal concern over the election conditions, including at the UN Third Committee on Human Rights in November 2025:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-uk-is-concerned-by-the-ongoing-violence-in-myanmar-including-escalating-human-rights-violations-and-increasing-reports-of-sexual-andgender-based
We continue to support ASEAN's leadership on the crisis, including the work of the Special Envoy and the need for full implementation of the Five Point Consensus. In addition, we will continue to use our penholder role to spotlight the Myanmar crisis and raise our concerns with international allies within the UN Security Council and other international fora.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 UK-linked companies or vessels, including vessels operated or managed by Seapeak and specialised Arc 7 ice class LNG carriers, are contributing directly or indirectly to to the export of liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Arctic Yamal LNG project by Russian state or security agency activities.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In November 2025, I announced our intention to impose a maritime services ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), cutting off access to UK services which facilitate these exports globally. The measure will be introduced this year and come into full effect at the end of the year. We have already taken strong action on Russian LNG, sanctioning 16 vessels to date as well as the Beihai LNG import terminal in China and Russia's flagship Arctic LNG2 project - which is now severely disrupted. In addition to the ban on Russian LNG imports to the UK which took effect in 2023, these actions demonstrate the UK's clear commitment to taking Russian energy off the market to reduce the Kremlin's revenue.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
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 the Government of Iran concerning the disproportionate arrests and harsh interrogations of Jews, Christians, and Baha’is in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 12 January, the Foreign Secretary told Foreign Minister Araghchi directly that the Iranian Government must immediately end the violence carried out against peaceful protestors in Iran, and uphold fundamental rights and freedoms.
We subsequently led the call, alongside international partners, for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 23 January to address the ongoing abuses in Iran, and we were pleased that the Council voted to extend the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to collect evidence of the authorities' human rights violations, including in relation to religion or belief.
At the Council, UK Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders, highlighted the bravery of protesters, especially women and members of religious and ethnic minority groups, who faced severe repression in their daily lives. We will continue to work with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of Freedom of Religion or Belief.
For further background, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 August 2025 to Question 67802.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Syrian Democratic Forces on the repatriation of Islamic State-linked individuals to the United Kingdom from the al-Roj camp.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 28 January on the situation in North-East Syria, and I will provide further updates to the House in due course as the situation evolves.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many Islamic State-linked a) men, b) women and c) children have been allowed to return to the UK following detention in camps within Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 28 January on the situation in North-East Syria, and I will provide further updates to the House in due course as the situation evolves.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of reports of the use of cryptocurrency exchanges by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps via UK-based platforms.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As I said when this issue was raised in the Urgent Question debate on 19 January, we have a robust sanctions enforcement regime in place, and - while it would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases - we will continue to investigate and take action against any individuals and entities, including cryptocurrency exchanges, involved in any unlawful attempts to circumvent our sanctions regime.