Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any representations from the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar about human rights violations committed by those Gulf states who have imposed a blockade on Qatar since June; and if so, what discussions they have had with the Committee, or with the government of Qatar, regarding those reported violations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government has held meetings with representatives from the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar to discuss the impact on Qatar as a result of the regional dispute. We continue to engage and monitor the situation.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any British citizens with connections to Qatar have been subject to violations of their human rights since the blockade of Qatar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are not aware of any specific British cases. We continue to call upon the Gulf States to find a way of de-escalating the situation and lifting the current restrictions, which are having an impact on the everyday lives of people in the region.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the independence and credibility of the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We understand that the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar has been accredited as 'A' status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, whose rating means it is considered to be in compliance with the Paris Principles.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take with their international partners in respect of the government of Israel's decision to retrospectively legalise the previously illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), issued a statement on 7 February condemning the passing of the Land Regularisation Bill and expressing concern that the bill paves the way for significant growth in settlements deep in the West Bank, threatening the viability of the two-state solution. The UK also welcomes the recent statement by Federica Mogherini, Vice-President of the European Commission, condemning the adoption of the bill.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in response to the government of Israel's recent announcements of additional settlements on the West Bank and what representations they have made to that government about the impact of those announcements on the viability of a two-state solution.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
On 5 July, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), issued a Statement expressing deep concern about the announcement of new settlements units in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Whilst officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have not yet raised this issue with the Israeli authorities, Mr Ellwood said in his statement "Settlements are illegal under international law. As noted in the report issued by the Middle East Quartet on 1 July, steps like this also make a two state solution more difficult to achieve."
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have received from the UN or other independent sources about the number of (1) deaths of, and (2) injuries to, (a) Palestinians, and (b) Israelis, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a result of attacks for each of the last three years; what information they have on the number of perpetrators brought to justice for such attacks in the last 12 months; and what representations they have made to the government of Israel in the past 12 months on those issues.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs website, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in 2013 there were 38 Palestinians fatalities and 3,800 injured; in 2014 there were 2,310 Palestinian fatalities and 16,626 injured; and so far from 1 January 2015 to 16 November 2015 there have been 106 Palestinian fatalities and 10,626 injured. According to the same website, there were 77 Israeli fatalities in 2014 in the OPTs; and so far from 1 January to 16 November 2015 there have been 14 Israeli fatalities in the OPTs.
We regularly discuss these issues with the Israeli government, both our condemnation of the attacks and the need to ensure justice for victims, and for the need for the perpetrators to be arrested and brought to justice. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently discussed these issues with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 3 November 2015.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 June (HL502 and HL503), what assessment they have made of the reports, on 29 June, that Israeli forces boarded and took control of a Swedish vessel in international waters on route to Gaza with humanitarian aid and with a number of European citizens on boards; and what representations they have made to the government of Israel about this.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have been in close contact with the Israeli authorities regarding this flotilla and in particular the Marianne of Gothenburg. We are pleased that Israel performed its intended action to maintain its maritime restrictions peacefully. The Israeli authorities informed us that there were no British nationals on board the Marianne. Nationals from other Commonwealth countries were present and we offered consular assistance for unrepresented New Zealand nationals.