Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 implications for her policies of the US Administration's decision to impose sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, for threatening the stability and integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Sanctions are an important part of the UK toolkit for the Western Balkans, for both corruption and destabilising activities. Experience has shown they work best when used in close coordination with our partners, and we are actively discussing with partners, including the US, how best to use these tools to target both the leaders of these moves, and those around them who help and facilitate. We keep all evidence and potential designations under close review. We will consider targets, guided by the objectives of the relevant sanctions regime and the evidence. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future sanctions targets as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Hikvision CCTV or other surveillance software or equipment from Hikvision, is used on any property owned or administered by her Department.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 implications for his policies of the UN Secretary-General’s annual report on children and armed conflict; and what steps the Government is taking to hold perpetrators of violations against children to account.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) which leads the international response to the use of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC, to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. We apply diplomatic pressure to listed governments and armed groups, and fund projects to help protect and rehabilitate vulnerable children.
The FCDO has established a new Conflict Centre, which will focus on developing a more integrated UK approach to conflict and instability, harnessing conflict expertise from across FCDO, HMG, and beyond, and applying these where the UK can make the most difference. It will identify and develop capabilities where the UK has a comparative advantage, and work bilaterally and with international partners to increase our impact in preventing, managing and resolving conflict. The Conflict Centre will continue to ensure that the children and armed conflict agenda is reflected in this work.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the annual report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and armed conflict, published on 21 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report; and what assessment his department has made of how the new conflict centre outlined in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy can tackle violence against children.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) which leads the international response to the use of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC, to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. We apply diplomatic pressure to listed governments and armed groups, and fund projects to help protect and rehabilitate vulnerable children.
The FCDO has established a new Conflict Centre, which will focus on developing a more integrated UK approach to conflict and instability, harnessing conflict expertise from across FCDO, HMG, and beyond, and applying these where the UK can make the most difference. It will identify and develop capabilities where the UK has a comparative advantage, and work bilaterally and with international partners to increase our impact in preventing, managing and resolving conflict. The Conflict Centre will continue to ensure that the children and armed conflict agenda is reflected in this work.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) financial and (b) other support the Government provides to cultural industries around the world.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCDO provides project and programme funding to the British Council, BBC World Service and the GREAT Challenge Fund (GCF) to support UK soft power. As the Integrated Review states, our soft power is central to our international identity as an open, trustworthy and innovative country, and helps to build positive perceptions of the UK, create strong people-to-people links and familiarity with our values. The FCDO is providing the British Council with £189 million of funding for 2021-22. We will be providing £94.4 million to the World Service for 2021-22, through our BBC World2020 programme, including an £8 million uplift to expand programming to tackle disinformation and develop digital platforms. Through the GCF, our Overseas Network is able to deliver projects which promote the UK's cultural credentials in their local markets. This year the GCF will be dedicated to a range of projects which support cultural and soft power activities.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the new conflict centre announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the centre makes atrocity prevention the focus of the Government's work on conflict; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the centre makes use of expertise from outside of government.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The FCDO's new conflict centre will support a more integrated HMG approach to conflict prevention, management and resolution, including working with teams across FCDO and HMG to support the wide range of interconnected agendas aimed at building inclusive and stable environments and preventing possible atrocities. A core part of the centre's role will be to draw on expertise from across HMG and beyond to support the UK's work on conflict, including from civil society, academia, and the private sector, and through cooperation with bilateral partners and multilateral organisations.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being taken to vaccinate his Department's staff in missions overseas.
Answered by Nigel Adams
FCDO and MOD have worked together to deliver supplies of Covid-19 vaccine to over 30,000 people at more than 200 posts around the world since the end of February. This distribution is aligned to the UK national programme covering staff and dependants for whom the UK Government has duty of care. FCDO staff in the UK have access to the NHS programme in the same way as everyone else.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 risk to the Rohingya population in Myanmar of the recent coup; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help protect the Rohingya from further violence.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Our assessment is that the coup in Myanmar may increase the risks faced by the Rohingya population. We are in close contact with networks on the ground in Rakhine to monitor risks of atrocities, human rights abuses and deterioration in the humanitarian and health situation in camps and villages.
We continue to regularly raise the challenges facing the Rohingya diplomatically. Most recently in the UN Security Council Presidential Statement agreed on 10 March. The UK has provided over £44 million to all communities in Rakhine since 2017, including over £25 million for the Rohingya.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
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 accuracy of recent claims made by the COVAX facility in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina's vaccine distribution capability; and what steps he is taking with international partners to support vaccine delivery in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Wendy Morton
COVAX is the key multilateral mechanism for delivering global equitable access to vaccines, and hopes to deliver two billion doses to 192 countries in less than a year. It has been working with its members - including Bosnia and Herzegovina - on distribution and roll-out plans, and has recently announced the first tranche of vaccine allocations, which will provide protection to the most vulnerable across the globe. We understand Bosnia and Herzegovina will receive both Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines in the coming months as part of this first tranche. It is for members to work with COVAX directly, where appropriate involving relevant partners such as regional bodies, on procurement, delivery and distribution of doses. The UK will continue to put equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines at the heart of our international approach. We remain a leading supporter of COVAX and, having already contributed £548 million, I am pleased to say we are one of the largest donors to its Advanced Market Commitment, which provides donor-funded vaccine doses to the 92 most vulnerable countries.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the UK Government is providing for the protection of (a) biodiversity and (b) aquatic biodiversity in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Since 2012, the Government's Darwin Plus Programme has committed £22 million towards 122 individual projects across the Overseas Territories, supporting conservation in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments, this has included funding for 15 projects in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In the most recent round of Darwin Plus, there were three successful projects working exclusively in the Turks and Caicos Islands, totalling over £800,000, including a project to improve the evidence base on marine and coastal assets in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) has also supported the drafting of territory specific biosecurity legislation, which has included funding for specific legal expertise.