Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on transnational repression.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly supports individuals' rights to expression without censorship, intimidation or unnecessary restriction, both in the UK and overseas. During my visit to Pakistan in November, I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to respect these fundamental freedoms, underlining that any human rights violations should be fully investigated in line with international human rights law.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in West Papua.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK recognises there are significant challenges in the region, including human rights concerns, sporadic violence, and the security situation in some areas. The UK regularly raises our concerns, both with the Indonesian Embassy in London and directly with the government in Jakarta. Most recently, I visited Indonesia in January 2025 and raised the human rights situation in Papua with both the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigrations and corrections.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is negotiating a new UK-Egypt Association Agreement.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Egypt are not negotiating a new Association Agreement. The UK and Egypt have a strong bilateral trade relationship under the existing UK-Egypt Association Agreement. There are multiple mechanisms contained in the Agreement which will allow the UK and Egypt to enhance their overall trading relationship, as well as commitments to consider further liberalisation and provision for Ministerial meetings.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many evacuations from Gaza to the UK of (a) British nationals including dual Palestinian and British nationals, (b) their immediate family members, (c) UK visa holders who have spouses or partners or children under 18 living in the UK who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months and (d) UK visa holders who have valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months granted outside the Immigration Rules or on the basis of Article 8 ECHR have been facilitated by his Department since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many evacuations of Palestinians in Gaza with (a) pre-determination and (b) biometric excuse decisions his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza with visas that are valid for more than six months his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government has helped 505 people to leave Gaza since October 2023. 306 are British nationals and their Palestinian dependants; 38 are Palestinian nationals who qualified for assistance under the extended eligibility criteria for Gaza published on 14 December 2023. Israeli exit clearance was sought and received in each of those cases. The extended eligibility criteria are published on FCDO Travel Advice and provide for the UK Government to try to support the exit of Palestinian nationals who have a spouse, partner or a child aged 17 or under living in the UK; and who hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months. Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians since Israel took control of Rafah crossing in May 2024. Nevertheless, the FCDO has helped 21 people to leave Gaza, mostly children, since October 2024.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for how many medical evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza who are non-British nationals his Department has sought permission from the Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly press Israel at senior levels to re-open safe, regular medical evacuation routes, and to protect healthcare facilities and staff. It is unacceptable that north Gaza now has no functioning hospitals and that medical personnel are being detained without justification.
Our support to UK-Med has treated over 300,000 patients in Gaza and we recently provided £1m, delivered through WHO, to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. We are keeping our policy under constant review to ensure the UK does everything we can to support sick and wounded Palestinian civilians.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many medical evacuations to the UK of Palestinians in Gaza who are non-British nationals there have been since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly press Israel at senior levels to re-open safe, regular medical evacuation routes, and to protect healthcare facilities and staff. It is unacceptable that north Gaza now has no functioning hospitals and that medical personnel are being detained without justification.
Our support to UK-Med has treated over 300,000 patients in Gaza and we recently provided £1m, delivered through WHO, to support medically evacuated Palestinians in Egypt. We are keeping our policy under constant review to ensure the UK does everything we can to support sick and wounded Palestinian civilians.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Committee to Protect Journalists press release entitled, Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war, published 3 December 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers. The UK calls on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and for those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect (a) journalists and (b) media workers (i) based and (ii) operating in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, together with his French and German counterparts, wrote to the Israeli government to urge action on the unacceptable situation in Gaza. The UK has been clear that Israel must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians, which includes journalists and media workers, and we call on all parties to the conflict to comply with international law and guarantee the protection of journalists and media workers covering the conflict. On 02 November, I highlighted the ongoing situation in Gaza and those that had lost their lives in the name of press freedom. The UK remains committed to Media Freedom and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a functioning society.