Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of freedom of religion and belief for Christians in other countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Promotion of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a longstanding human rights priority for the UK. A range of analyses, including reports from organisations which look at trends, informs our work and approach to freedom of religion or belief. We demonstrated the depth of our commitment to FoRB by hosting an international Ministerial conference in July 2022. We continue to recognise the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside recognising the persecution of others on the basis of their religion or belief.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief in Somaliland, including for the Christian community.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We consistently urge the Somaliland authorities to uphold human rights. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief raised the issue of religious freedom and due process in the case of detained Christian converts in a letter to the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 22 October 2022. We see the promotion of respect for human rights as essential to peace and stability in the region. We will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Somaliland and to work with human rights defenders across Somaliland to use our collective voice to call for change.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother 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 relationship between the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Answered by David Rutley
I refer the honourable member to my (Minister David Rutley) reply of 3 December 2022 to his question 103053. https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-12-05/103053.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother 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 bilateral relations between the UK and the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK remains committed to strong relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government and Federal Government of Iraq and we want to see a strong and successful Kurdistan region within a thriving Iraq. We have a close and strategic partnership with the Kurdish Regional Government who continue to be a close ally in the fight against Daesh. In April 2022, the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, came to the UK on an official visit, meeting with the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and other Cabinet Ministers.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
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 (a) political situation and (b) impact on local people of trends in the level of inflation in Ghana.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Ghana is a well-established democracy with a history of successful political transitions. Following fair and transparent elections in 2020, the UK expects the Presidential elections in 2024 to continue in this pattern The UK understands that rising levels of inflation have had significant implications for people in Ghana, including rising costs of food and fuel. We will continue to work closely with Ghana to build economic resilience and welcome the Staff Level Agreement they have reached with the International Monetary Fund.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Ghana's gold for Oil policy on the Ghanian Cedi.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has noted Ghana's Gold Purchase Programme and will watch its development with interest. The UK is supporting Ghana as it navigates a set of economic challenges.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Cameroon on the Southern Cameroons.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister Mitchell met with Cameroon's Minister of Defence earlier this month, and set out the UK's commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution to conflict in the North-West South-West regions. The former Minister for Africa, Sir James Duddridge MP, also made this commitment to President Biya and Prime Minister Ngute when he visited Cameroon in March 2021.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother 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 Ghana’s response to the recent outbreak of the Marburg virus.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
On 16 September 2022, Ghana announced the country was free of Marburg virus disease, two months after the start of the outbreak. The Minister of State for Development and Africa congratulated the Government of Ghana on an effective response.
The UK continues to support Ghana's Ministry of Health to build a resilient health system able to respond promptly and effectively to outbreaks. Prior to the outbreak, the UK trained over 7,000 health workers on surveillance and response, including in the regions affected by the outbreak. The UK is contributing to outbreak investigation studies to identify the origin of the disease and will participate in the outbreak response review scheduled for February 2023.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother 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 Ghanaian counterpart on improving UK-Ghana relations.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK and Ghana have a strong, wide-ranging partnership and cooperate closely on areas of mutual interest. The Minister of State for Development and Africa was pleased to visit Ghana in December 2022 to co-host the UK-Ghana Business Council and meet with senior figures. Minister Mitchell looks forward to the next meeting which will take place later this year. In addition, we hosted the second UK-Ghana Security Dialogue in London in July 2022, where we agreed steps to advance our bilateral cooperation to tackle organised crime and terrorism. In November 2022 the Minister for Armed Forces attended the Accra Initiative conference in Ghana, to express the UK's commitment to supporting regional stability.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother 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 value of the British Indian Ocean Territory as a strategic and geopolitical asset to the UK.
Answered by David Rutley
The joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia has contributed significantly to regional and global security. The base helps the UK, US and other allies and partners to combat some of the most challenging threats, including from terrorism, organised crime and instability.