Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) South Africa, (b) Botswana, (c) Namibia and and (d) Malawi on the situation in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I travelled to South Africa on 30 January and raised Zimbabwe with key regional interlocutors, emphasising the need for urgent action by the international community.
I also attended the EU-AU Ministerial meeting in Brussels on 21 January and discussed a range of issues, including Zimbabwe at the meeting.
I will continue to raise the political and security situation in Zimbabwe with key counterparts, including those from Commonwealth states, as I did with the Foreign Minister of Mozambique on 3 February.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Zimbabwean counterpart to ensure that Evan Mawarire is given a fair trial in accordance with international law.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
I raised the need for all those arrested to be given a fair trial with the Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Moyo on 30 January. Our Ambassador has reinforced this message in Harare, in meetings with Home Affairs Minister Mathema on 23 January and Foreign Minister Moyo on 25 January.
Following his recent arrest, the British Embassy have been monitoring Pastor Evan Mawarire’s court hearings. We were pleased to see he was released on bail on 30 January.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We agree that climate change is exacerbating conflict in Mali and the broader Sahel region, particularly by increasing competition over land and resources. The causes of conflict in Mali are, however, wider than climate change and include in particular issues around governance, demography, terrorism and organised crime.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department is spending on a public information campaign to prepare people for the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government has a duty to inform citizens and businesses about how leaving the EU might affect them, and to advise on the steps they may need to take to prepare for EU Exit.
We have developed a cross-departmental public information campaign to help achieve this. Over the coming weeks, we will be using a range of channels to direct UK citizens, businesses, EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU to a dedicated area on GOV.UK at Gov.uk/EUexit
Information on the costs associated with this campaign will be released in due course as part the normal data transparency releases by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of his Department's ODA-funded projects are listed on the Department for International Development's Development Tracker website.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We list nearly all of our ODA-funded programmes on gov.uk and on the Department for International Development's Development Tracker website. Information on a small number of policy programmes is not in the public domain due to the need to protect national security and the safety and security of beneficiaries, partners or partner governments.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the level of the presence of Islamist extremist cells and jihadist training camps in Sudan and (b) the accuracy of reports of an Al Qaeda Club operating openly at the University of Khartoum.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We are aware of historical reports related to the presence of extremist groups in Sudan, including the presence of Al-Qaida. The Government of Sudan has in recent years taken steps to address the presence of such groups, and to meet the bilateral requirements set by the US Government for Sudan to be removed from the US State Sponsor of Terrorism List. We continue to encourage the Government of Sudan to address drivers of radicalisation and ensure that all forms of extremism are tackled in compliance with human rights standards. Through bilateral engagement including our biannual Strategic Dialogue we continue to raise issues of concern and discuss areas where we could work together on a range of issues, including counter terrorism and countering violent extremism.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the joint G5 regional stabilisation force that was targeted by a suicide bomber in June 2018 at its headquarters in Sevare.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK strongly supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force and condemns the attack against the Force's Headquarters in Sevare in June 2018. The UK has contributed 15.5% of the €100m of EU support to date for the Force, as well as £2m in bilateral funds. We assess that the G5 Sahel Joint Force is having a positive impact against the Islamist terrorist threat, evidenced by a number of effective joint operations since November 2017. The challenge is nevertheless significant and it is urgent that the Force becomes fully operational and the international community makes good on pledges of financial support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that Algerian and Sudanese Islamist jihadists are present in central and northern Mali where the joint G5 regional stabilisation force operates.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK strongly supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force and condemns the attack against the Force's Headquarters in Sevare in June 2018. The UK has contributed 15.5% of the €100m of EU support to date for the Force, as well as £2m in bilateral funds. Since October 2012, there have been reports of significant numbers of foreign terrorists, including Algerian and Sudanese fighters, operating in Gao and Timbuktu. We assess that the G5 Sahel Joint Force is having a positive impact against the Islamist terrorist threat, evidenced by a number of effective joint operations since November 2017. The challenge is nevertheless significant and it is urgent that the Force becomes fully operational and the international community makes good on pledges of financial support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the progress made by Saudi Arabian education authorities in removing from school textbooks (a) incitements to commit jihad, (b) passages describing Christians and Jews in a derogatory manner and (c) passages encouraging extremist ideologies likely to incite hatred of religious minorities within Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia. Our views are well known.
A major component of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is educational reform. As the Saudi Minister of Education recently commented, this will take a number of years. During the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UK in 2018, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will enable a partnership in developing educational curricula.
We closely monitor freedom of religion or belief issues in Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the merits of the recommendations made in the recent report by Amnesty International on violence and human rights violations in Anglophone Cameroon; and if he will discuss those recommendations with his Cameroonian counterpart.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We have noted Amnesty International's recent report on the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. We are deeply concerned by this and other reports of violence in the region. It remains incredibly challenging to secure access to the region to obtain an accurate account of what is happening on the ground. Reporting in social media is equally challenging to verify. The British Government wants to see an end to the violence, political prisoners released and a meaningful process of national dialogue to address the core issues. All parties have a responsibility to work for peace and stability and to use only legal and peaceful means to voice grievances.