Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter from Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) dated 14 February 2022, which states that the Answer of 3 February 2022 to Question 114769 is inaccurate and calls for the Government to correct the record, if the Government will (a) correct the record as requested by Human Rights Watch and BIRD and (b) issue a response to that letter.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A reply to the Human Rights Watch/BIRD letter of 14 February 2022 will be issued shortly.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of cancelling Ukraine's national debt.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary has reiterated the UK's commitment in standing ready to guarantee up to £381 million in loans to support Ukraine and mitigate the economic effects of Russian aggression. The UK stands ready to offer guarantees of Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) lending for projects that will support economic stability and vital reforms such as tackling Anti-Corruption. This support will help mitigate economic impacts on Ukraine's economy due to Russia's aggression. The UK has pledged £174 million in aid to support Ukraine's economy. This includes $100 million (£74 million), announced on 7 March, for the Ukrainian Government budget and the £100 million three-year package to support Ukraine's energy security and reform.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the understandable diversion of resources and attention towards managing the ongoing crisis in Ukraine does not detract from the UK’s efforts to support the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Our commitment to Afghanistan is enduring and work on priority areas, including responding to the humanitarian crisis remains one of our highest priorities. Of the £286 million committed in this financial year, £265 million has now been disbursed to partners to deliver lifesaving services to more than 6 million people, and all funds will have been transferred by 31 March 2022. We have been at the forefront of efforts to repurpose existing funds to support the Afghan people. In January, we successfully worked with the Asian Development Bank to make $405 million available. On 1 March the World Bank Board agreed to make over $1 billion in the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund available for health, education, livelihoods and food security. The UK has agreed to co-host the Afghanistan Pledging Conference with the UN, to take place at the end of March, to help raise $4.4 billion for 2022. This is the largest humanitarian appeal on record, reflecting the magnitude of the humanitarian challenge ahead.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing measures to assist companies that wish to relocate their employees to Europe for work purposes.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We recognise how important it is for UK businesses to continue to be able to send their employees to the EU, for example for business meetings or fulfilling a contract. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement includes reciprocal arrangements for business visitors between the UK and the EU, covering: short-term business visitors; travel for establishment purposes; intra-company transferees; contractual service suppliers and self-employed professionals. EU Member States may require a visa and/or work permit for some of these activities, and this will vary by country. UK nationals should check the entry requirements and rules of the country they intend to travel to well ahead of time, in case they need to apply for a visa, work permit or provide other documentation. They should also check that their passport has at least six months validity for the duration of their stay.
The Government has published information about entry requirements, including for companies that wish to relocate their employees to Europe for work purposes, covering all EU Member States and the EFTA countries. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/travelling-to-the-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-or-liechtenstein-for-work.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2022 to Question 112655, what human rights topics were discussed, and whether the following matters were raised (a) human rights violations in Bahrain (b) human rights violations in Saudi Arabia (c) cases of political prisoners (d) the death penalty, and (e) Gulf states’ role in human rights abuses in Yemen, in her meetings with high-level representatives of the GCC on 20 December 2021.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
A wide range of issues were discussed during the meetings with Gulf Cooperation Council representatives at Chevening House on 20 December 2021, including human rights. The UK has a strong record of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally. We regularly encourage Gulf States to uphold international human rights obligations. Our close relationship with Gulf counterparts allows us to raise sensitive human rights issues, in private and in public. Our views, including our opposition to the use of the death penalty, are well known.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the pro-democracy movement in Sudan.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We remain concerned at the political crisis and continued violent repression of protesters in Sudan following the 25 October coup. Following the resignation of Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister the Troika (UK, Norway, US) and EU issued a statement on 4 January, urging all sides to engage in dialogue. We therefore welcome that the UN are facilitating talks and with our Sudan Quad (UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US) partners released a statement on 8 January urging all political actors to seize this opportunity.
Since the coup, British Embassy staff in Khartoum, the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan and other FCDO officials have engaged with all parties to encourage dialogue and demonstrate support for the democratic transition. We have also consistently called for an end to detentions and media infringements, and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. This includes through statements the Foreign Secretary and I have made, and in international fora such as the UN Security Council and G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. With our international partners we will continue to show our support for a return to the democratic transition and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to deliver people's demands for freedom, peace and justice.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken in response to the political situation in Sudan.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We remain concerned at the political crisis and continued violent repression of protesters in Sudan following the 25 October coup. Following the resignation of Abdallah Hamdok as Prime Minister the Troika (UK, Norway, US) and EU issued a statement on 4 January, urging all sides to engage in dialogue. We therefore welcome that the UN are facilitating talks and with our Sudan Quad (UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE and US) partners released a statement on 8 January urging all political actors to seize this opportunity.
Since the coup, British Embassy staff in Khartoum, the UK Special Representative to Sudan and South Sudan and other FCDO officials have engaged with all parties to encourage dialogue and demonstrate support for the democratic transition. We have also consistently called for an end to detentions and media infringements, and for Sudanese people to be able to protest without fear of violence. This includes through statements the Foreign Secretary and I have made, and in international fora such as the UN Security Council and G7 Foreign and Development Ministers meeting. With our international partners we will continue to show our support for a return to the democratic transition and maintain pressure on the Sudanese military to deliver people's demands for freedom, peace and justice.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the ongoing free trade agreement negotiations between the UK and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and with reference to meetings between the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and high-level representatives of the GCC on 20 December 2021, whether human rights were discussed during that meeting.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We never pursue trade to the exclusion of human rights. The UK has a strong history of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally and we continue to encourage all states, including our friends in the Gulf, to uphold international human rights obligations. A wide range of issues were discussed during the meetings with GCC representatives at Chevening House on 20 December 2021, including human rights.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Saudi Arabian counterparts on reports of torture and arbitrary detention of political prisoners in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
FCDO Ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights in our engagement with the Saudi authorities. We have consistently pressed for due process and raised concerns about the use of solitary confinement, lack of family contact and allegations of torture. On 26 October 2021, Lord Ahmad spoke to the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, and raised a number of human rights issues, including specific cases and women's rights defenders.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the future of funding for the BBC World Service after March 2022.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is committed to providing grant-in-aid funding for the BBC World Service through to 2025. The details of the settlement are still to be finalised.