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 his policy is on a ceasefire in Yemen being sought by means of a UN Security Council resolution; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The military intervention by the Saudi-led Coalition came at the request of President Hadi, who was forced to flee Sana’a when the city fell to the Houthi's. The aim is to facilitate the return of the legitimate Yemeni government. The UK continues to play a leading role in supporting the UN’s efforts to facilitate a peaceful solution, including by bringing together leading regional and international players and through leadership in multilateral fora. In June the UK sponsored and coordinated a UN Security Council Presidential Statement, which called upon the parties to agree the modalities for a ceasefire, address the humanitarian crisis, and restart political talks. We are now working urgently with our partners to ensure that the Security Council's words are converted into action.
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 his counterpart in Russia on recent reports of torture and murder of gay people in Chechnya.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK remains deeply concerned by the continued persecution of members of the LGBT community in Chechnya. Through a statement issued on 7 April by the former Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, the UK was one of the first countries to express concern and call for a full and thorough investigation to be undertaken by the Russian authorities, to ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice. I delivered a statement condemning the reports in the House of Commons following the tabling of an Urgent Question on 20 April. On 28 April, The Foreign Secretary co-signed a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov urging his government to investigate the reports and ensure the safety of activists and journalists investigating these abuses. UK officials in Russia continue to raise our concerns directly with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and are working closely with the relevant NGOs who are supporting victims fleeing the persecution in Chechnya.
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 his US counterpart on facilitating access to medical treatment in that country for two-year old Syrian refugee Abdul Jawad.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Any decision to admit Abdul Jawad is a matter for the US.
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, whether the Government (a) has raised or (b) plans to raise with the Government of Israel the issue of deportations from Israel of activists who support a boycott of illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are seeking clarification from the Israeli government on the potential impact on British nationals. We have updated our travel advice to highlight this issue.
However, ultimately, Israel's immigration policy is a matter for the Israeli government. Israeli immigration officials, as mentioned in our travel advice, have the right to deport or refuse entry to anyone they wish. The UK's immigration policies and controls are similarly protected.
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 13 March 2017 to Question 66495, on nuclear disarmament, for what reasons the Government believes that a step-by-step approach is a more effective route to nuclear disarmament; and what steps the Government is taking to further nuclear disarmament using that approach.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government firmly believes that the best way to achieve a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step by step approach and within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Such an approach is needed in order to build trust and confidence and to take tangible steps towards a safer and more stable world where countries with nuclear weapons feel able to relinquish them. We continue to work on disarmament verification, and will continue to press for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and successful negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament as key steps towards multilateral disarmament.
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 the Premier of the British Virgin Islands on the Panama Papers.
Answered by Alan Duncan
None. Financial regulation is a matter for the BVI Government, which has made clear its commitment to addressing the concerns raised. In November 2016, the BVI Financial Services Commission imposed a record administrative penalty against Mossack Fonseca's BVI operation, citing breaches of BVI's Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Code and its Regulatory Code.
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 steps his Department is taking to encourage the Overseas Territories to introduce public registers of beneficial ownership.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to my response of 17 March to written question 67174.
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 the Government will prioritise the issue of extrajudicial executions and torture in detention in its discussions with (a) the Syrian authorities and (b) states that support the Syrian Government, in its role as a member of the International Syria Support Group.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
At the UN Human Rights Council, the UK asked the Syrian regime about unlawful detentions during the Universal Periodic Review of Syria in October 2016. Within the Review, we also questioned the regime about torture and disappearances of detainees from formal and informal detention centres in areas under state control and called for the release of those unlawfully detained. The UK as a member of the International Syria Support Group raised its concerns about detainees, and the Group called for any party holding detainees to protect their health and safety in its statement of 17 May 2016.
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, whether the Government plans to raise with the (a) Government of Syria and (b) UN the need for unhindered access by independent international monitors to all places of detention in Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
During the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Syria in October 2016, the UK urged the Syrian regime to grant unhindered access to independent human rights monitors, including the UN Commission of Inquiry. We have also discussed the plight of detainees with UN officials. UN Human Rights Council resolutions on Syria, which the UK co-sponsored, call for the appropriate international monitoring bodies to be granted immediate access without undue restriction to all detainees and for the Syrian authorities to publish a list of all detention facilities.
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 the Government will take steps to ensure that alleged crimes perpetrated by the Syrian Government at Saydnaya detention facility are investigated.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has a mandate to investigate alleged violations and abuses of human rights in Syria, including at detention facilities such as Saydnaya. Its report of February 2016, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic" detailed its concerns and it continues to monitor and report on the situation. The Government strongly supports the work of the Commission of Inquiry and has repeatedly called for it to be given access to Syria so it can fully investigate allegations.