Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on the case of Palestinian doctor Dr Hussam Abu Safiya.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 August to question 68153.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
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 merits of securing new Marine Protected Areas around Antarctica.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to establishing a representative network of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) around Antarctica. The UK-led proposal for the South Orkney Islands Southern Shelf MPA was agreed in 2009. The UK also strongly supported the designation of the Ross Sea Region MPA agreed in 2016. The UK is co-proponent to MPA proposals for the Weddell Sea and East Antarctica and is engaging in negotiations on balancing fishing activity and marine protection around the Antarctic Peninsula. Climate change presents a real and immediate threat to Antarctic marine life and the UK will continue to advocate for the importance of ensuring there is robust protection in place to enhance ecosystem resilience.
The UK has been a vocal advocate for conservation and marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean since the inception of the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources inception in 1982. As a world-leading Antarctic science nation producing impactful science through institutions such as the British Antarctic Survey the UK is active in calling for additional marine protection in the Southern Ocean.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the UK’s priorities are for this year’s meeting of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK will reinforce our strong commitment to the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as an important constituent of the Antarctic Treaty System; uphold the key objective of CCAMLR to conserve Antarctic marine living resources; and protect UK sovereign interests in the South Atlantic and Antarctica. The UK will also continue its efforts to progress discussions on enhancing conservation in the Southern Ocean, including progressing discussions on establishing a representative network of Marine Protected Areas. The UK is also working to progress the development of a krill risk assessment framework for the management of the krill fishery around the Antarctic Peninsula.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
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 impact of comments made by US President Trump about Gaza on the current schedule for the release of hostages under the Gaza ceasefire.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The new US administration played an integral role in negotiating the ceasefire agreement, alongside Qatar and Egypt. The Prime Minister reiterated his thanks for these efforts in his call with President Trump on 26 January. The government will continue to work with the US to sustain the fragile ceasefire, ensure that all the hostages are released, increase the supply of aid, and break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a permanent, sustainable peace. As the Foreign Secretary has emphasised, we continue to call for the immediate release of all hostages
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
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 US counterpart on President Trump's proposals for the US to (a) takeover and (b) own Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary had a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 27 January, prior to President Trump's comments on Gaza. The readout is available on gov.uk. We will continue to engage with the US Administration across the spectrum of foreign policy issues, including the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). Our priority in Gaza remains sustaining the fragile ceasefire, ensuring that all the hostages are released, increasing the supply of aid, and breaking the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a permanent, sustainable peace
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK aid trucks reaching Gaza in (a) September and (b) October 2024; what steps he is taking with international counterparts to tackle constraints reportedly imposed by the Israeli Government on the number of aid trucks entering Gaza; and if he will make an estimate of the average daily number of (i) aid trucks and (ii) tonnes of aid that were needed to meet the demand for aid in Gaza in the last month.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 2 September, this Government assesses that Israel must and should do more to ensure that life-saving food and medical supplies reach civilians in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has raised repeatedly with Israeli leaders the need for a rapid increase of aid into Gaza, including during his joint visit with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in August. I also raised this concern directly with the Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom during our meeting on 24 July. The UK does not operate independent trucking routes into Gaza, as this is more effectively managed by the UN and our other delivery partners. Truck numbers are a poor metric of humanitarian delivery, but UN figures show a daily average of 97 trucks (both humanitarian and commercial) entered Gaza in September, far below the 500 daily before 7 October 2023.