Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any reputational damage to the UK caused by parliamentarians they appoint to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe joining political groupings which include parliamentarians with extremist views.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
All members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are elected or appointed from the members of their national parliaments. Membership of the political groupings within the Parliamentary Assembly is a matter for the political groups themselves.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the European Conservatives Group of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to invite members of the Alternative für Deutschland group to join its parliamentary grouping.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Members of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are independent parliamentarians. Membership of the political groupings within the Parliamentary Assembly is a matter for the political groups themselves.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 March (HL14319), whether they will now answer the question put, namely what support they are giving to the government of Turkey in its request for those accused of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to be returned to stand trial in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As the Foreign Secretary has said, the Government condemns Jamal Khashoggi's killing in the strongest possible terms. The Government remains clear that anyone found responsible must be held fully accountable.
The ongoing Saudi judicial process is an important element in the process to establish accountability. The question of those accused standing trial in Turkey is a matter to be resolved by the Turkish and Saudi Arabian governments.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the gender-related policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran before supporting its election to the UN’s Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women of the Commission on the Status of Women; whether, before supporting its election to the Working Group, they took account of the reported sentencing by a court in Iran of the human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotudeh, to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes; and whether the gender-related policies of that country are consistent with their objective of promoting gender equality.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has serious concerns about Iran's human rights record, including with respect to women's rights. The UK did not support the Islamic Republic of Iran's election to the UN's Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women. Iran was nominated by the Asian Group without objection; there is no mechanism for Member States to object to the nomination of a representative from another UN regional group. Separately, the Foreign Secretary publicly shared his concerns on 12 March in relation to Nasrin Sotoudeh's sentence, stating that 'human rights must be defended, not prosecuted'.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 March (HL13948), what support they are giving to the government of Turkey in its request for those accused of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to be returned to stand trial in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The ongoing Saudi judicial process is an important element in the process to establish accountability. We expect it to proceed in line with internationally recognised legal standards. The question of those accused standing trial in Turkey is a matter to be resolved by the Turkish and Saudi Arabian governments.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 March (HL13947), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what support they are giving, together with other European members of the UN Human Rights Council, to the special rapporteur appointed to consider the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been in contact with the UN Special Rapporteur, Agnes Callamard. We regularly discuss with our partners in the EU and UN Human Rights Council how best we can support Ms Callamard in her assessment of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, as noted in the statement we supported at the Human Rights Council on 7 March.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of Turkey’s request for those accused of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to be returned to stand trial in that country; and whether they support that government’s request.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The ongoing Saudi judicial process is an important element in the process to establish accountability. We expect it to proceed in line with internationally recognised legal standards.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving, together with other European members of the UN Human Rights Council, to the special rapporteur appointed to consider the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are aware of the investigation by the UN Special Rapporteur, Agnes Callamard. We will consider the report closely ahead of the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they have given to the government of Turkey to bring those who murdered Jamal Khashoggi to justice in Turkey.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Both the Minister for Europe and the Americas and the Foreign Secretary have had a number of conversations since Mr Khashoggi's death with our Turkish counterparts. In addition, both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have raised the issue with the Saudi authorities, including King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. We have stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible are held to account, and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such an incident could not happen again.
The British Government is also aware of the investigation by the UN Special Rapporteur, Agnes Callamard. We will consider the report closely ahead of the UN Human Rights Council.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are countries in which there is no European External Action Service office or delegation and UK diplomatic representation is provided by a UK ambassador resident in another country; and if so, where.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The EEAS website provides a listing of where they hold delegations. As is standard, HMG cannot vouch for the accuracy of information provided by third parties. There is no country where the UK is currently represented or has services provided by the EEAS, whether due to a lack of local UK representation, or any other reason. In most countries, the UK is represented by resident or non-resident Ambassadors. EU Exit will not reduce UK representation overseas.