Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have met with Michael Lodge, Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority in the last four years.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The Minister for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia [Lord Ahmad] met Michael Lodge at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for an introductory call about the work of the International Seabed Authority in 2018. He also met him briefly in the margins of a workshop co-sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Royal Society in the same year.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Guatemalan Government in response to reports of threats against human rights defender Domingo Vasquez and other members of the Nuevo Dia Ch'orti Indigenous Association in Guatemala.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK is concerned by reports of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) facing frequent intimidation and violence in Guatemala. Officials at our Embassy in Guatemala met with Peace Brigades International (PBI) in April to discuss the threats against Mr Vasquez and the Nuevo Dia Ch'orti Indigenous Association (CCCND). Since then the Embassy has been following the issue and continues to engage with non-governmental organisations like PBI, with the Guatemalan Government and the private sector, bilaterally and through like-minded groups of donors, to promote consultation with indigenous populations and better protection for HRDs.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with international counterparts in the last 12 months on tackling the deforestation of the Cerrado savannah.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK has worked closely with Brazil's Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, Livestock and Supply to deliver a number of climate change mitigation and avoided deforestation programmes, including in the Cerrado savannah.
For example, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affiars has invested £10 million of international climate finance in the Reducing Deforestation in the Brazilian Cerrado Programme, which ran from 2012 to 2018 in partnership with the World Bank. The programme has successfully enabled 38,017 farmers to enrol on the Rural Environmental Registry in 43 municipalities in order to improve natural resource management and environmental compliance in the Cerrado. The programme also strengthened capacity to prevent and combat forest fires by developing a state of the art monitoring and warning system and supporting twelve municipalities and three Protected Areas to properly manage and combat forest fires.
Our current involvement in the Cerrado includes phase 2 of the Rural Sustentável programme, which will start implementation in July. The programme aims to support small and medium-sized farmers in adopting low-carbon agriculture in the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes in order to reduce deforestation. It is being delivered in partnership with Inter-American Development Bank and Brazil's agricultural research agency, with whom we have regular discussions.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether Aung Marm Oo, a journalist currently in hiding from arrest by the Burmese security forces, has been invited to the global conference on media freedom to be hosted by the Government in July 2019.
Answered by Mark Field
A number of civil society and media representatives from Myanmar will be invited to the Global Conference for Media Freedom. Invitations are still being finalised so we are unable to confirm individual attendees at this point. We would always consider the safety of the individual concerned before offering any invite, particularly if they are in hiding.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to repatriate UK citizens in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Mark Field
Following the tragic attacks in Sri Lanka over Easter, we have been in constant touch with the Sri Lankan authorities and other partners to establish the facts on the ground and assess the risks to British nationals. We have kept our travel advice under constant review, with regular updates in response to the evolving situation, in order to provide the best possible information and advice. The safety of British nationals is our main concern. We have strengthened our consular teams in London and Colombo to support British nationals, and have deployed additional Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff to the airport in Colombo to assist passengers who are leaving the country. We have dispatched a team of specialists from the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command, including Family Liaison Officers, to support the families of British victims and assist with the repatriation of deceased British nationals.
We have no plans to repatriate UK citizens in Sri Lanka. As there are a number of commercial options available to those wishing to leave Sri Lanka, we do not believe an evacuation funded by UK taxpayers would be appropriate in this situation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to protect UK citizens in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Mark Field
Following the tragic attacks in Sri Lanka over Easter, we have been in constant touch with the Sri Lankan authorities and other partners to establish the facts on the ground and assess the risks to British nationals. We have kept our travel advice under constant review, with regular updates in response to the evolving situation, in order to provide the best possible information and advice. The safety of British nationals is our main concern. We have strengthened our consular teams in London and Colombo to support British nationals, and have deployed additional Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff to the airport in Colombo to assist passengers who are leaving the country. We have dispatched a team of specialists from the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command, including Family Liaison Officers, to support the families of British victims and assist with the repatriation of deceased British nationals.
We have no plans to repatriate UK citizens in Sri Lanka. As there are a number of commercial options available to those wishing to leave Sri Lanka, we do not believe an evacuation funded by UK taxpayers would be appropriate in this situation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a ban on organ tourism to China as implemented by Italy, Spain, Israel and Taiwan.
Answered by Mark Field
We are aware of reports that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted. The British Government continues to take these reports extremely seriously although at present, our assessment is that there is not a strong enough evidential base to substantiate the claim that systematic state-sponsored or sanctioned organ harvesting is taking place in China.
We continue to scrutinise the situation carefully and review new information as it becomes available. To that end, I have asked officials to look into the measures reportedly introduced in several other countries relating to travel to China for organ transplants.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department’s policies in relation to human rights in China of the (a) 30 witness testimonies and (b) publicly available reading list for Tribunal members presented during the December public hearings of the ongoing China Tribunal.
Answered by Mark Field
We are aware of reports that allege that organ harvesting may be taking place in China, including suggestions that minority and religious groups are being specifically targeted. The British government continues to take these reports extremely seriously.
These reports include the 2016 update to the Kilgour, Matas and Gutmann report and other information provided so far, including witness testimonies, to the ongoing tribunal organised by the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China and chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC. Foreign and Commonwealth Ofiice officials attended the final day of the opening session of the Tribunal and continue to review new information as it becomes available, including from Non-Governemtnal Organisations, activists and likeminded countries.
At present, however, our assessment is that there is not a strong enough evidential base to substantiate the claim that systematic state-sponsored or sanctioned organ harvesting is taking place in China.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has provided to the community of Marikana following the loss of life at the Lonmin mine in August 2012.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In response to the Marikana shootings, the UK expressed our concern and condolences to the families of those killed. The UK welcomed the findings of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry that the South African Government established in 2012 to ascertain the facts surrounding the events at Lonmin mine. The Commission issued its report in 2015 and the South African Government accepted full responsibility for the incident, agreeing in 2016 to pay R1.17 billion (£75 million) in compensation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to seek the release of the miners imprisoned as a result of the strike at Lonmin’s mine in Marikana.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In 2012, the South African Government established the Marikana Commission of Inquiry (also known as the Farlam Commission) to ascertain the facts surrounding the events at Lonmin mine. The Commission issued its report in 2015 and the South African Government accepted full responsibility for the incident, agreeing in 2016 to pay R1.17 billion (£75 million) in compensation. The majority of the 270 miners charged under South African criminal law as a result of the strike at Lonmin have since been released after their charges were dropped by the South African Police.