Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will take steps to seek renewed negotiations on a resolution in Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK Government remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus Settlement within the UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. We engage with all parties on this. The UK Government believes that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can potentially be found. In the meantime, the UK continues to support confidence-building initiatives to build links between the communities to prepare for any future Settlement.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart on the removal of military personnel in Northern Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
HMG regularly discusses the prospects for Cyprus Settlement with Turkish authorities at all levels. The Minister for Europe did so with his Ministerial counterparts on 16 November during his visit to Ankara. We continue to believe that a just and lasting settlement in Cyprus is the best means of resolving the difficulties caused by the division of the island.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the number of people that migrated from Turkey to the occupied region of Northern Cyprus since 1983.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The FCDO does not hold any information about the number of people that emigrated from Turkey to Cyprus since 1983.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the news release of 18 October 2023 from Human Rights Watch, entitled Israel/Palestine: Videos of Hamas-Led Attacks Verified, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of the recommendation that the attacks by Hamas-led gunmen on 7 October 2023 should be investigated as war crimes.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is for competent courts to determine if the barbaric attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October constitute war crimes, after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. In the first instance, the Government would expect the Israeli domestic judicial system to investigate and, where appropriate, to try or extradite those accused of grave breaches of international law.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate his Department has made of the extent of violence against civilians in Yemen.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Civilian casualties in Yemen have remained largely unchanged, despite truce-like conditions over the past eighteen months having reduced frontline violence. 500 fatalities and 1300 injuries were recorded among civilians in the year up to September 2023. Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) continues to be perpetrated, including in detention as a form of torture. According to the International Organisation for Migration, over 77,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa remain at risk in Yemen from human rights violations including torture, violence, and trafficking.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of Hamas terrorists that have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has not made an official estimate of the number of Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. We continue to engage closely with the Government of Israel on the conflict.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict between Sudan’s Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces around Jebel Aulia in southern Khartoum in the last week.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The United Nations estimate that up to 9,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Sudan since April. We do not have verified data on the number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflicts around Jebel Aulia or El Fasher specifically.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of civilians that have been killed in El Fasher in the last two months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The United Nations estimate that up to 9,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Sudan since April. We do not have verified data on the number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflicts around Jebel Aulia or El Fasher specifically.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the news release of 14 November 2023 from Human Rights Watch, entitled Japan: Women Seriously Abused in Prisons, whether his Department has made representations to the Japanese Government over the treatment of women prisoners in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ending gender-based violence is a priority for the FCDO and HMG. This is reflected in the 'UK's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security' and as a key pillar in the new 'International Women and Girls Strategy'. The UK Government continues to raise, at appropriate levels, issues relating to Japan's prison system, including guidance on the treatment of prisoners. For individual cases, our consular teams work regularly with Japanese authorities to ensure appropriate treatment of British nationals, including on access to medical care.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made to further detail and quantify the role, motivations and aims of the Muslim Brotherhood, since the publication of the Sir Jenkins Review.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In December 2015, the Government laid the main findings of an internal review commissioned to improve understanding of the Muslim Brotherhood before both Houses. The review was written by Sir John Jenkins of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Sir Charles Farr of the Home Office, and involved wide consultation, including with Muslim Brotherhood representatives in the UK and overseas, and substantial research. We stand by the main findings of the review, but continue to keep the Muslim Brotherhood and its activities under review, working across the range of relevant government departments and drawing on our network of posts in the region.