Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety of British people is the main factor when determining our travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka. Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad. Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country. We will continue to keep Sri Lanka travel advice under close review.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of other G7 members or EU countries regarding bringing people-smugglers to justice.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for reform of the United Nations organisation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a strong proponent of UN reform to make it inclusive, dynamic and reinvigorated. The UN Security Council (UNSC) must become more representative of the world today and the UK has long called for its expansion, in both the permanent and non-permanent categories. Beyond the UNSC, we support the UN Secretary-General's vision for Our Common Agenda (OCA), including its goal of a UN 2.0, better adapted to the challenges of the 21st century. We are engaging to shape the OCA initiatives in order to accelerate the delivery of the Sustainable Developments Goals, and support the recipients of the UN System.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Srebrenica was a genocide, as confirmed by the international courts, and we must never forget the victims. It is important that such a significant anniversary is appropriately commemorated, and we will work with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to support their plans. The British Embassy Sarajevo has previously participated in commemoration events in BiH, and will continue to do so. Furthermore, the UK Government continues to support the Srebrenica Memorial Centre in its work to become a world-leading centre for the study and prevention of genocide.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with (1) the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and (2) other Malaysian ministers; and what topics were discussed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister congratulated PM Anwar on his recent appointment and our High Commission to Kuala Lumpur continuously engage with the new Malaysian government. The High Commissioner has spoken to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and on 2 February 2023, Minister of State for Trade Policy the Rt Hon Greg Hands was the first UK Minister to meet with members of the new government. Rt Hon Greg Hands also met the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz and Malaysian Minister of Economy YB Rafizi Ramli to discuss trade and economic opportunities, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the use of Bonn Powers by the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to (1) election law, and (2) the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and in any such plans, what consideration they are giving to the risk of denial of rights of representation in the House of Peoples for ethnic minorities in the cantons in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The delicate balance of power sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina is set out in the Dayton Peace Agreement and other documents. These afford certain protections to the three Constituent Peoples and 'Others'. However, misuse of these mechanisms is preventing functional government and blocking progress. There has been no domestic agreement on electoral and constitutional reform despite US and EU facilitated talks. With this in mind and aware of the need for a functional Federation, the UK strongly supports the High Representative and the use of his executive powers should the situation require it.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had within the Peace Implementation Council of the Dayton Peace Agreement regarding (1) election law reform, and (2) forthcoming elections, in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and to what extent any such discussions have noted the importance of maintaining the ability for full electoral participation by ethnic minorities within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly supports the High Representative and the use of his executive powers should the situation require it. Officials have made this clear in meetings of the Steering Board of Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council. The measures he imposed on 27 July are a valuable step towards increasing the integrity and transparency of the 2 October elections. He has also called on Bosnia and Herzegovina's political party leaders to develop domestic solutions to the significant functionality problems. We encourage leaders to engage constructively to find solutions.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for reform of the UN.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK actively supports UN Reform, including UN Secretary-General Guterres's vision in Our Common Agenda for a UN that promotes agility, integration and cohesion across the system. We also support reform of the UN Security Council to make it more representative and better reflect the realities of the Twenty-First Century.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (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 30 March (HL7011), how they are publicising the provision of access to transport for Ukrainian refugees coming to the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are working closely to monitor availability of transport from the region to the UK. Many commercial providers have generously offered free seats to Ukrainian passport holders. GB train operators are working together to provide support to Ukrainian arrivals by introducing the Ukrainian Displaced Persons Travel Scheme, an initiative to provide free onward rail travel to their final destinations in Britain, and many bus and coach operators are also offering free onward travel to final destinations. The GB Travel Scheme went live on Sunday 20 March 2022, and compliments offers made by the European Railway Family, to provide safe and free passage for Ukrainians. As of 1 April 477 Ukrainians have arrived via Eurostar and there have been 212 users of the rail onward travel scheme. FCDO missions around the region have been working as a priority to ensure that information on our visa schemes is widely publicised and that Ukrainian refugees are supported to consider a move to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (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 30 March (HL7011), how many Ukrainian refugees they have helped with the provision of transport to travel to the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are working closely to monitor availability of transport from the region to the UK. Many commercial providers have generously offered free seats to Ukrainian passport holders. GB train operators are working together to provide support to Ukrainian arrivals by introducing the Ukrainian Displaced Persons Travel Scheme, an initiative to provide free onward rail travel to their final destinations in Britain, and many bus and coach operators are also offering free onward travel to final destinations. The GB Travel Scheme went live on Sunday 20 March 2022, and compliments offers made by the European Railway Family, to provide safe and free passage for Ukrainians. As of 1 April 477 Ukrainians have arrived via Eurostar and there have been 212 users of the rail onward travel scheme. FCDO missions around the region have been working as a priority to ensure that information on our visa schemes is widely publicised and that Ukrainian refugees are supported to consider a move to the UK.