Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for applicants for research places at Newcastle University waiting longer than five months for an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK takes seriously its responsibility towards countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional military technology. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence to military programmes of concern. As reflected in our guidance, processing takes at least 30 working days. While the majority of cases are processed within this time, more complex cases can take longer, in order to ensure that a thorough assessment can be carried out.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in the time taken to respond to applications for Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificates.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK takes seriously its responsibility towards countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and advanced conventional military technology. The Academic Technology Approval Scheme is a thorough, necessary and proportionate tool to protect UK research from misappropriation and divergence to military programmes of concern. As reflected in our guidance, processing takes at least 30 working days. While the majority of cases are processed within this time, more complex cases can take longer, in order to ensure that a thorough assessment can be carried out.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Kenya on potential human rights violations on the Ogiek people of Mau.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. I have not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September to Question 197866 on Saudi Arabia: Migrants, what the response was of the (a) Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and (b) President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission to the representations made by the Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK Government discussed the allegations in private and will continue to do so using a range of diplomatic channels. No aspect of our relationship prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in Saudi Arabia on the reports by the Human Rights Watch of 21 August 2023 of lethal force used against Ethiopian migrants at the Saudi-Yemen border.
Answered by David Rutley
We are aware of NGO and media reports about the deaths of migrants at the Saudi-Yemen border. The UK Government has raised the matter with the Saudi authorities, including at Ministerial level. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised the issue with the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in August, and most recently with the President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission. The UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia covers a broad range of interests, however no aspect of our relationship prevents us from speaking frankly about human rights. We regularly discuss human rights with the Saudi authorities through a range of diplomatic channels including Ministers, our Ambassador, and the British Embassy in Riyadh.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the development of the SCALE programme; and which countries will be included in that programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Scaling Access and Learning in Education (SCALE) will increase the delivery of cost-effective education interventions in low and lower middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs).
SCALE will provide technical support to adapt evidence-based approaches to new contexts and implement rigorous test-learn-adapt pilots to prepare these for scaling in national systems.
SCALE is in its inception phase. Progress is underway to mobilise technical expertise and scope high-potential pilots. Technical assistance will be available to all ODA-eligible countries. Pilots will focus on LICs and LMICs and will be selected against a set of rigorous criteria (found in the SCALE business case on DevTracker).
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the report A/HRC/53/21: Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government is grateful for the report of the Special Rapporteur and the working group which sheds further light on the Taliban's severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Officials are considering the report's recommendations.
We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls, including through the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements. We continue to work with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their harmful policies.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Global Health Framework Objective 4, what steps he has taken to lead a global campaign promoting open science for global resilience.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government recognises the importance and benefits of creating a more equitable and transparent global research ecosystem, including for health. This is the drive behind the 'Open Science for Global Resilience' campaign announced in April 2023. Whilst we have world leading open access levels, we are stepping up our efforts. This is reflected in our investments in policies for data infrastructure and sharing, and in partnerships for evidence synthesis and access. We work with delivery partners that share our values; for instance, all clinical trials funded via our partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)/Medical Research Council (MRC) are registered in public clinical trials databases.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support international collaboration on research projects to improve crop resilience.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The FCDO supports the global research organisation, the CGIAR (formerly known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), to deliver the agriculture science and innovation needed to support effective responses to climate and conflict. This includes developing and scaling more productive, nutritious and climate-resilient crop varieties. The CGIAR has delivered spectacular long-term success stories: CGIAR wheat varieties are now planted on nearly half the world's wheat lands overall - and over 70 percent of all wheat varieties released in South Asia, Central and West Asia and North Africa come from CGIAR. In Ethiopia, 4 million households grow CGIAR maize varieties, representing 35% of the entire rural population. In Africa more than 37 million people benefit from new CGIAR stress-tolerant maize varieties, which cover almost 5.5 million hectares. These varieties have demonstrated increased yield and yield stability, resulting in greater production and improved livelihoods.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the Taliban regime to enable (a) women and girls to have a full education including university, (b) women to take up employment and (c) women and girls to (i) visit parks and (ii) engage in normal activities outside their homes.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Government strongly condemns the restrictions the Taliban have imposed on Afghan women and girls. We are working with our mission in Doha and the international community, including through the G7 and UN, to press the Taliban to reverse their harmful policies.
Respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls are prerequisites for sustainable economic development in Afghanistan. We continue to support the delivery of education, including Community Based Education through our bilateral and multilateral contributions.
On 6 March, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, met UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, and the Director of UN Women, Sima Bahaus, after their visit to Afghanistan to discuss the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls.