Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has for UK participation in non-European country election monitoring after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mark Field
UK officials and private citizens take part in electoral observation missions organised by international organisations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Commonwealth and the EU. The Government does not organise such missions unilaterally. After the UK has left the EU, UK officials and private citizens will continue to take part in electoral observation missions organised by international organisations of which the UK is a member or is otherwise eligible to participate.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the advice available to mountaineers and explorers visiting remote areas overseas.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Our foreign travel advice covers 225 countries and territories. For many countries or regions that are popular with mountaineers and explorers, such as the Arctic, we include specific information on travel to remote areas. Travellers can use this alongside specialist advice from other sources to plan a safe and healthy trip, and we always recommend travellers take out appropriate insurance.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will take steps to seek the release of Osman Kavala from prison in Turkey.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not taken action directly relating to Osman Kavala's case. We regularly raise human rights concerns both in public and privately and have long encouraged Turkey to work towards the full protection of human rights, particularly on freedom of expression. Whilst we have recognised the Turkish government's right to act against the perpetrators of the coup attempt in 2016 and those involved in terrorism, we have always stressed that this must be done in a proportionate, justified manner and in line with Turkey's democratic principles and international human rights obligations. The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and I have all raised these concerns with the Turkish government.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with their German counterparts on antisemitism and on implementing the conclusions of the recent report by the Second Independent Expert Group on Antisemitism.
Answered by Alan Duncan
In October 2017, Foreign and Commonwealth officials attended a briefing given by the authors of the report commissioned by the German parliament on Antisemitism. On 18 January, the German parliament voted to establish the position of Antisemitism Commissioner, which is the first recommendation of the report. We continue to cooperate with Germany in international work to combat antisemitism.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on alleged disappearances, threats, harassment and intimidations exerted against the political opposition, journalists and activists in Rwanda ahead of the presidential elections due to take place in August 2017.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The British High Commission in Kigali and the Central Africa Team in London have received reports from opposition candidates themselves, Non Governmental Organisations, and the EU Delegation in Kigali. We take any such reports very seriously.
We remain concerned about the limited democratic space in Rwanda. The number of opposition candidates standing in the Presidential elections on 4 August is an example of these limitations.
Although we support the Government of Rwanda's Vision 2020 development programme, that programme clearly sets out their commitment to "the rule of law and the protection of human rights". We continue to speak candidly with Rwanda, raising concerns about Human Rights, freedom of expression, media freedoms and the lack of political space.