Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the governments of (1) the United States of America, (2) Saudi Arabia, (3) China, and (4) Malawi, regarding abolishing the death penalty in those countries.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We work through multilateral organisations, such as the UN Human Rights Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to raise concerns about the use of the death penalty, as well as through direct conversations with states that continue to retain the death penalty, including with the US, Saudi Arabia, China and Malawi.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that members of the Welsh football support team will not attend the World Cup in Qatar because of that country’s treatment of gay people, what discussions they have had with the government of Qatar about such treatment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and senior officials have raised LGBT+ visitors with the Qataris at all levels, including Minister Milling with the Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on 15 March. Qatari authorities have repeatedly committed that "everybody is welcome". This engagement will continue between now and the tournament so that anyone, of any background, can go and enjoy themselves.
We are encouraging all British nationals considering travel to the World Cup to read the Travel Advice page, and sign up for email alerts to stay up to date on the latest information.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel over continuing reports of the killing of Palestinians, including children, by Israeli military personnel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly raise the issue of the high numbers of Palestinians killed and injured by Israeli Defense Forces in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli authorities, encouraging them to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations and, if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many contracts were awarded to Infosys in the last five years by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and what was the cost to the taxpayer of each of those contracts.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials have found no record of any contracts having been awarded by the FCDO to Infosys in that timeframe.
Records of Government contracts above £10,000 in central government and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their policy is to de-escalate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in order to restore peace; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK welcomes Ukraine's ongoing commitment to a diplomatic path to de-escalate. We will continue to support them in achieving an outcome that delivers for Ukraine and its people. President Putin seems determined to pursue his path of violence and aggression, as evidenced by his increased military action in the Donbas and the barbaric assault of Mariupol. We are therefore continuing to increase our economic pressure on him through sanctions, as well as providing the military assistance Ukraine needs to defend itself.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on reforming procedures in the UK’s Overseas Territories to eliminate (1) tax avoidance, and (2) money laundering.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Overseas Territories are committed to meeting international standards on illicit finance, tax transparency and anti-money laundering; including those set by the OECD and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Overseas Territories have their own democratically elected governments that set their financial services and fiscal policy. The Overseas Territories are all introducing publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership and they already share confidential information on company beneficial ownership with UK law enforcement bodies under the Exchange of Notes Arrangements. Information provided has enabled the seizure of illicit funds, including information to support the National Crime Agency's first Unexplained Wealth Order, which froze approximately £25 million. All Overseas Territories with financial centres are committed to global tax transparency standards such as the OECD Common Reporting Standard, an agreement to automatically exchange financial account information with other jurisdictions. The UK Government welcomes these commitments, which demonstrate that the Overseas Territories are responsible jurisdictions that will implement changing UK, EU and global norms.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to the government of Tuvalu to counter the effects of climate change on those islands.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Tuvalu, and other Pacific Island Countries, are amongst the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As hosts of COP26, the UK brought together tens of thousands of delegates from 196 countries plus the EU to agree The Glasgow Climate Pact. Keeping global temperature rises below 1.5°C is essential for low lying atoll nations, such as Tuvalu, to cope with the impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels.
Most UK aid in the Pacific is delivered through multilateral institutions such as the Green Climate Fund, which currently has two projects under implementation that
assist Tuvalu to counter the effects of climate change. The Tuvaluan Coastal Adaptation Project aims to protect Tuvalu from the impact of rising sea levels and increasing cyclone events. The second Green Climate Fund project aims to enhance the climate information services in five Pacific countries, including Tuvalu, and support increased climate-resilient sustainable development.
The UK has also provided £1.2 million in co-funding to the Pacific to establish the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Hub. By supporting the planning and achievement of climate targets in NDCs, the Hub is contributing to sustainable and resilient development and the transition to a net-zero emissions development pathway in the Pacific.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of intimidation and violence perpetrated by (1) ZANU-PF activists, and (2) the Zimbabwe Republic Police, during the current election campaigns; and what representations they have made to the government of that country regarding video footage of violence against protestors by police officers at Harare Central Police Station.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK remains concerned by the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. This includes a lack of accountability for human rights violations, including those responsible for the death of protestors in August 2018 and January 2019, at the hands of the security forces. We are also aware of recent reports of police brutality and efforts to frustrate the opposition's right to free assembly. While the UK welcomes steps to legislate for an Independent Complaints Commission, the test will be its ability to act independently and effectively.
We have been clear that we want to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and safeguarding human rights. The Minister for Africa emphasised these messages when she spoke to President Mnangagwa on 1 November 2021 at COP26 and our Ambassador in Harare continues to raise concerns about human rights in her meetings with senior government ministers and officials. Alongside significant development assistance to help ordinary Zimbabweans, we continue to support civil society organisations focused on human rights.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of comments by President Masisi of Botswana on 2 December that (1) the Omicron variant of COVID-19 may have been brought into Botswana by European diplomats, (2) that travel bans on Botswana are “unacceptable, inhumane and demeaning”, and (3) that no one is safe until everyone has access to vaccines.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government acted quickly to impose travel restrictions, including on travellers from Botswana, when the Omicron variant first appeared. This was to protect the progress made in the UK while we work to better understand the challenges of the new variant. We recognise the frustrations in the many countries affected and the Minister for Africa spoke to her counterpart in Botswana on 26 November to discuss and explain the restrictions. UK scientists are working closely with colleagues around the world to tackle COVID-19 and will keep the travel restrictions under review.
The UK is committed to ensuring that people in the poorest countries receive vaccines. We were a leader in setting up the international COVAX facility, to provide access to vaccines for both self-financing countries and up to 92 low and middle income countries eligible for subsidised vaccine doses. As a self-financing participant in COVAX, Botswana has received 700,000 COVID vaccine doses to date.
Asked by: Lord Jones of Cheltenham (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported remarks of the co-chair of the African Union Vaccine Delivery Alliance regarding distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa; and what steps will they take to reduce the likelihood of further mutations of the virus due to a lack of vaccine availability.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We share the concerns raised by Dr Alakija, co-chair of the African Union Vaccine Delivery Alliance, on the inequity in COVID-19 vaccine coverage across Africa compared with the rest of the world. That is why under our G7 Presidency, we gained commitment from G7 Leaders to share at least 870 million surplus doses with low- and middle- income countries by 2022. This includes 100 million by the UK. As of 29 November, over 6 million UK donated doses have gone to 14 African countries. The UK has also donated £548 million to the COVAX Facility, set up to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries, 46 of which are in Africa.
To reduce the likelihood of further mutations, we will continue to push for accelerated vaccine coverage through our existing support. We are also supporting work beyond vaccines to strengthen global surveillance, including through the UK Health Security Agency's New Variant Assessment Platform. This will help identify new variants of interest and support a rapid response.