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 the situation in Syria, in particular the threat posed to ethnic and religious minorities in the country, following reports of the mass release of Daesh members.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We continue to engage with the Syrian Government and Syrian Democratic Forces, and regional and international partners, to press for an immediate end to hostilities, the protection of civilians, and a return to negotiations in support of a sustainable political agreement.
The Foreign Secretary conveyed these messages to Syrian Foreign Minister al Shaibani on 20 January, and underlined the importance of developing a clear plan to secure control of the detention facilities and camps, and ensure the protection of Kurdish rights. We also reiterated these points at the UN Security Council on 22 January.
While we are keeping the situation in Syria under close review, we do not publicly comment on the timings or content of specific Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) assessments.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to reports of a mass release of Daesh members in Syria, what assessment they have made of whether any of those released have British citizenship or residency.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We continue to engage with the Syrian Government and Syrian Democratic Forces, and regional and international partners, to press for an immediate end to hostilities, the protection of civilians, and a return to negotiations in support of a sustainable political agreement.
The Foreign Secretary conveyed these messages to Syrian Foreign Minister al Shaibani on 20 January, and underlined the importance of developing a clear plan to secure control of the detention facilities and camps, and ensure the protection of Kurdish rights. We also reiterated these points at the UN Security Council on 22 January.
While we are keeping the situation in Syria under close review, we do not publicly comment on the timings or content of specific Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) assessments.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 21 January (HL13311), whether they have formally lodged a statement at the United Nations and with China about a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in the case of Jimmy Lai; and if not, whether they intend to do so.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Following Beijing's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) on Hong Kong, the UK declared China to be in a state of ongoing non-compliance with the Joint Declaration. The UK raised concerns about the NSL and Joint Declaration during the 2020 UN Human Rights Council sessions. This government has repeatedly called for China to return to its commitments under the Joint Declaration, for the NSL to be repealed, and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it, including British national Jimmy Lai.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of released Daesh members with British citizenship or residency returning to the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK Governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.We are monitoring the situation in North-East Syria closely and working with partners, including the Global Coalition against Daesh, to mitigate shared national security risks.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the opening of criminal cases against 122 foreign mercenaries fighting with the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, what inquiries they have made to (1) ascertain whether any of them are British citizens or residents, and (2) explore whether they could be prosecuted in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is deeply concerned by the use of foreign mercenaries in the Sudan conflict, and we would urge anyone with information of UK nationals seeking to act as mercenaries or otherwise participate in the conflict to share that information with the police, who would then be able to make evidence-based and operationally-independent decisions about whether to investigate or charge any such individuals. There are a wide range of criminal and terrorism offences that can be used to prosecute returning foreign fighters, which carry the possibility of a sentence up to and including life imprisonment. Decisions on prosecutions are taken independently by the police and Crown Prosecution Service on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Google about reports that they sent emails to under 13 year-olds informing them how to turn off parental controls on their birthday.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government meets regularly with stakeholders, including from the tech sector.
Many platforms have parental control tools to help parents manage their children’s screentime and online experience.
Google has clarified in a policy update that parental controls will remain in place beyond 13 unless a parent consents to turn these off.