Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the United Nations Human Rights Council against the appointment of Iran’s ambassador to the UN as chairman of its Social Forum 2023; and for what reason no alternative candidate was nominated by the UK.
Answered by David Rutley
The Iranian Government is responsible for persistent, widespread and serious human rights violations and can have no international credibility in this sphere. This is why we worked with partners in December to ensure Iran was expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The Social Forum is a subsidiary body of the UN Human Rights Council which the UK does not traditionally attend. The chair rotates between members' ambassadors according to region and this year is the turn of the Asia-Pacific region. The UK will continue to work closely with our partners to hold Iran to account in international fora; to that end we regularly meet with UN representatives, both in the UK and overseas through UK Missions in Geneva, New York and around the world.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help support Malawi with the impacts of Cyclone Freddy.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is working closely with the Government of Malawi and international agencies to respond to Cyclone Freddy. We are supporting the Emergency Operations Centre established in Blantyre and working closely with partners to rapidly identify the needs of those affected. We are looking at options for further UK support including how we can help those still stranded, help manage trauma cases and extend our support to tackle the ongoing cholera outbreak.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many and what proportion of the places available in the first year under ACRS Pathway 3 have been filled, pending security checks, by eligible (a) British Council (i) contractors and (ii) contractors' family members, (b) GardaWorld (i) contractors and (ii) contractors' family members and (c) Chevening (i) Alumni and (ii) Alumni family members.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Government received over 11,400 expressions of interest (EOI) under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), which we have been assessing against the eligibility criteria. We have informed just under 200 individuals that they are eligible in principle for resettlement, subject to passing security checks. Including their dependents, this accounts for over 750 of the 1500 available places on Pathway 3 in year one. We will not be commenting on individual cohort numbers while EOIs are still being processed and security checks are outstanding. As initial security checks are completed, we are providing further information on next steps to eligible individuals. We will update Parliament further once we have completed the allocation process, have notified all those who submitted EOIs of the outcome and have assured data to share.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on people living under repressive regimes of losing the option of listening to the BBC World Service via radio, with particular reference to the ability of such regimes to (a) impede the availability of online broadcast services and (b) discover and arrest those listening illegally online; and how many (i) full-time and (ii) part-time posts in each country where BBC World Service radio broadcasts are ending (A) have been and (B) are scheduled to be lost.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The BBC recently announced plans to move certain language services to digital-only, whilst maintaining access to the full range of 42 language services, and providing assurance that the World Service will continue to serve audiences in need, ensuring continued access to vital news services.
The FCDO strongly supports the BBC's role in bringing high-quality, impartial news to audiences around the world, including where internet restrictions are a tool of repression. We recognise that in the current fiscal context, the BBC, like other organisations, is facing difficult financial decisions.
The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from Government, and it is for the BBC to comment on matters relating to staffing and service delivery.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating an augmentation force consisting of recently retired (a) diplomats and (b) other relevant officials to provide surge capacity in (i) Ukraine and (ii) other States facing emergencies; and if she will make it her policy to commission a pilot scheme to test the feasibility and practicability of that proposal.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The FCDO has established capabilities that provide surge capacity. These include FCDO's humanitarian and civilian stabilisation roster. These capabilities provide rapidly deployable, specialist expertise, are open to all non-civil servants, including retirees, and ensure the UK Government is able to access UK expertise to deliver impact and value for money for the taxpayer.