Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of electoral irregularities in the Pakistani general election of 8 February 2024; and whether he has had discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on allowing an impartial and fair investigation of such irregularities.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a longstanding and close relationship with Pakistan. Following the general election in Pakistan on 8 February, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement which recognised the serious concerns raised about the fairness and lack of inclusivity of the elections. He underlined these points in a call with Pakistan's new Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, on 25 March. The UK encourages Pakistani authorities to examine all allegations carefully and take steps to address any irregularities.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of some countries pausing funding to the UN relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA) on the humanitarian response in Gaza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, and our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands, and we are getting on with aid delivery through funding multiple implementing partners including other UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. This support is helping people in Gaza get food, water, shelter and medicines. The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the Israeli government's compliance with the provisional measures set forth by the International Court of Justice in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We regularly review advice about Israel's capability and commitment to International Humanitarian Law, and acts in accordance with that advice.
We respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, we have stated that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with International Humanitarian Law, as we have said from the outset. Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we thought South Africa's decision to bring the case was wrong and provocative. However, we welcome the Court's call for the immediate release of hostages and the need to get more aid into Gaza. We are clear that an immediate pause is necessary to get aid in and hostages out, and then we want to build towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to the fighting.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding for the UN relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA) in the context of Israeli military action in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK is appalled by allegations that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. The UK is pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.
We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, and our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. Our commitment to trebling aid to Gaza still stands, and we are getting on with aid delivery through funding multiple implementing partners including other UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. This support is helping people in Gaza get food, water, shelter and medicines. The UK is providing £60 million in humanitarian assistance to support partners including the British Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to respond to critical food, fuel, water, health, shelter and security needs in Gaza.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
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 help ensure the safety of Afghan people who have been accepted for transfer to the UK who have remained in Pakistan after 1 November 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are in close contact with the Government of Pakistan to try to ensure that Afghans eligible to resettle in the UK are not subject to deportation. The former Foreign Secretary, received assurances from Foreign Minister Jilani on 27 October that they would be safe (recorded in their exchange on X (formerly Twitter) the same day). We have provided photo ID approved by the Government of Pakistan to all eligible families to show that they are part of the UK's schemes. And we have provided guidance to those families on what to do if they are approached by the police and a telephone number to allow them to contact the British High Commission if needed.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many expressions of interest have been made to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in each month since the opening of that scheme.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, where eligible individuals were able to express an interest in UK resettlement under the first stage of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3. The online system remained open for 8 weeks and closed on 15 August 2022. During these 8 weeks, the FCDO received over 11,400 expressions of interest (EOI) under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3.
In June, we received approximately 2,900 EOIs (25 per cent of total), in July we received approximately 5,200 EOIs (46 per cent of total), and in August we received approximately 3,300 EOIs (29 per cent of total).
The FCDO has been in contact with all individuals who submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 in its first stage, and we have communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98 per cent) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate remaining places, and will notify others of the outcome as quickly as we can.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government does not publish the names of people who have lodged legal appeals against UK Government-imposed sanctions; and for what reason the Government does not publish whether law firms based in the UK are providing legal assistance to those individuals.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 provides a robust, fair and transparent process for a designated person to firstly seek an administrative review of their designation and then, if not satisfied by the outcome, to challenge the decision by review in the High Court. In Court Review proceedings, the identities of claimants and their legal representatives are a matter of public record. Accordingly, the UK Government does not, as a matter of routine, deem it necessary to release specific information on law firms or their clients.
Lawyers must abide by their professional codes of conduct, enforced by independent regulators such as the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). We welcome the fact that in response to the Russia crisis, the SRA stepped up spot checks and investigations to monitor and enforce compliance with the sanctions regime.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will follow the steps taken by Canada and impose further sanctions on Iranians involved in the perpetration of torture and State hostage-taking of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK has over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. On 10 October, the UK used the dedicated Iran Human Rights sanctions regime to designate the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list#full-publication-update-history
It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had on the reported Houthi offer of direct talks in Sanna with representatives of Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US and the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen. The UK supports fully the efforts of the UN Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, to drive forward the political process in Yemen. The Foreign Secretary and Ministers continue to lobby the parties to engage constructively with the Special Envoy.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of the number of seriously ill people who are unable to leave Yemen for treatment by air from Sana’a International Airport since the war in Yemen began and Saudi Arabia closed the airspace.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware that information about individuals wishing to leave Yemen via Sana'a International Airport has in the past been shared by the Houthis with the UN. However, due to restrictions in place, it is not possible to verify the accuracy of the information. The UK continues to lobby the parties to end restrictions on humanitarian access across Yemen.