Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 Bahraini counterpart on allegations of torture by Bahraini activist Najah Al Sheikh; and whether UK representatives will attend her next hearing on 25 June.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has a continuing dialogue with the Government of Bahrain in which we raise individual cases. Our Embassy in Bahrain has monitored this specific case and will attend the next hearing. The UK encourages those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies. We urge these bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on detention conditions and access to medical care for detainee Hajer Mansoor.
Answered by Alistair Burt
I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave to question 139036. We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the appropriate oversight body. We urge these oversight bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such claims. We understand that the National Institution for Human Rights is aware of this case and is monitoring the situation, and that the Ombudsman of the Ministry of the Interior is also investigating the claims and has been in touch with Ms Mansoor. We have raised the case with the Government of Bahrain at a senior level and continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on the outcome of the trial which revoked the citizenship of 115 people and left some stateless.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has concerns about the revocation of nationality when it renders a person stateless. We have raised this at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to support the Government of Germany in its efforts to use an international arrest warrant to detain a member of the Syrian regime on grounds of crimes against humanity.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are aware of these reports which have not been confirmed publicly by the German authorities. The UK strongly supports efforts to hold to account those responsible for atrocities in Syria, including the work of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria and the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism established to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those atrocities.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2018 to Question 149909, if he will raise with the Government of Israel whether weapons or defence equipment exported from the UK have been used against unarmed protesters in Gaza in the recent violence.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used against protesters in Gaza.We therefore have no plans to raise this issue with the Israeli authorities at this time We continue to assess export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated Criteria.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 146721 on UK arms sales to Israel, whether the UK Government (a) has made representations to and (b) sought reassurances from the Government of Israel on the use of arms exported from the UK against unarmed protesters in Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Whilst we have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities, we continue to assess export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and we have been keeping the situation in Israel under review. We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used against protesters in Gaza.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144790 on Israel: Palestinians, whether the Government has sought (a) assurances and (b) information from (i) the Israeli government and (ii) non-governmental sources on the use of arms exported from the UK against protesters in Gaza in recent weeks.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used against protesters in Gaza. The UK takes its defence exports obligations extremely seriously. We will not issue a licence if there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used for internal repression or in violation of international humanitarian law. The UK is supportive of an independent and transparent investigation into the recent events in Gaza.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
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 whether UK arms were used at the Gaza border against protesters.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government takes its defence exports responsibilities extremely seriously. We operate some of the most robust export controls in the world. We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used in contravention of UK arms licensing criteria.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Bahrain on reports of sexual abuse and torture and on the imprisonment of female political activist Najah Ahmed Yousif for her social media activity against Bahrain Grand Prix; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has a continuing dialogue with the Government of Bahrain in which we raise individual cases. Our Embassy in Bahrain monitors this specific case. The UK encourages those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies. We urge these bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations. The UK encourages the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2018 to Question 135976, on Israel: Palestinians, what assessment he has made of the (a) independence and (b) impartiality of Israel’s investigation into the shooting of Palestinian protesters in Gaza by Israeli forces.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We have not made an assessment of this matter. We certainly urge that any investigation should be independent and transparent, its findings are made public, and if wrongdoing is found, that those responsible be held to account.