Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
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 levels of religious freedom in Nepal.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Constitution of Nepal declares Nepal a secular state and affirms the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). However, laws that criminalise proselytization and blasphemy can be used to discriminate against religious minorities. Attacks on minorities and places of worship have also been reported, but are relatively rare. We raise concerns with the Government of Nepal and engage with faith groups to demonstrate support for religious freedoms. British Embassy Kathmandu also chairs a Human Rights Core Group of likeminded partners to discuss issues such as freedom of religion, and actions to promote tolerance.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has assessed its premises (a) in the UK and (b) overseas for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. Cabinet Office is coordinating development of a Government RAAC Register to capture and track suspected and confirmed presence of RAAC in Government buildings. This will be updated regularly as buildings are surveyed.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the number of Chevening scholarships awarded to people from (a) the ASEAN nations and (b) Timor-Leste.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Chevening is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and since the programme began in 1983 it has granted Chevening scholarships to over 6200 people from ASEAN nations and over 50 to people from Timor Leste.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing a multi-year funding settlement for its work on China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO receives multi-year funding settlements at each Spending Review, which are then allocated internally. The FCDO have published their planned budget allocations for the remaining years of the current Spending Review period (2023-24 and 2024-25) within the 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts.
As set out in the Integrated Review Refresh in March, we will double our funding (financial year 2024-25) to build China capabilities across the Government in recognition of the evolving and epoch-defining challenge that China poses. We are unable to comment on funding allocations outside of the current Spending Review period.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with his international counterparts to (a) share and (b) adopt best practice on tackling Chinese espionage.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary laid out in his Mansion House speech, our China policy involves deepening cooperation and strengthening our alignment with friends and partners across the world. This includes sharing our awareness and understanding of threats we, and our allies, face so that we can strengthen our national security protections wherever actions pose a threat to our people or our prosperity.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country's sanctions on the (a) Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and (b) Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank; and whether the Government is considering sanctioning those entities.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime. We will continue to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to revenue, arms, and equipment. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population. This will be a key consideration for any future designations. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future targets by either ourselves or our partners.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on possible sanctions on the Myanma Economic Bank.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime. We will continue to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to revenue, arms, and equipment. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population. This will be a key consideration for any future designations. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future targets by either ourselves or our partners.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the level of third-country military support to the Junta in Myanmar; and what discussions has he had with his counterparts in the region on that support.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a longstanding supporter of an arms embargo on Myanmar. We are clear that countries should not sell arms to the Myanmar military. In March 2022, the UK coordinated a joint statement with 47 countries, committing signatories to preventing the flow of arms to Myanmar. In March 2023, the UK announced its fifteenth round of sanctions, targeting those profiting from supplying aviation fuel and military equipment to the military. We raise the Myanmar crisis regularly with international partners bilaterally and in multilateral fora, including at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and G7.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with international counterparts on (a) strengthening and (b) supporting the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to regularly raise the human rights situation in Myanmar with international partners and in international fora. In April, the UK co-sponsored a Human Rights Council Resolution welcoming the work and extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar. We regularly meet with the Special Rapporteur to discuss the human rights situation in Myanmar, most recently in June.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with international counterparts on the issuing of arrest warrants for Hong Kong nationals living overseas.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary made clear on 3 July, we will not tolerate any attempts by China to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK. The US, Australia and Canada have also spoken out in robust terms. The UK and its allies will always defend the universal right to freedom of expression and stand up for those targeted simply for exercising that right.
We will continue to act as a convening power, bringing together our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out violations of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.