Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 to ensure safe passage for students in Gaza due to commence university programmes in the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are working urgently to support Chevening Scholars in Gaza who have offers from British universities to leave and take up their places in the UK. The Government is working through options on how best to support other students with scholarships to take up their places at UK universities this academic year, in the context of an extremely challenging situation on the ground in Gaza.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 Syrian counterpart on (a) preventing human rights violations, (b) protecting people and (c) ending sectarian violence in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We are pressing the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised this with Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his recent visit to Damascus, and during his call with Syria's Foreign Minister on 18 July. We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 help protect the (a) rights and (b) safety of (i) Armenian and (ii) Arab Orthodox Christian communities in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We are pressing the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised this with Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his recent visit to Damascus, and during his call with Syria's Foreign Minister on 18 July. We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 Syrian counterpart on the protection of Christian minorities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We are pressing the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised this with Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his recent visit to Damascus, and during his call with Syria's Foreign Minister on 18 July. We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 potential impact of sectarian violence on Christian minorities in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We are pressing the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised this with Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his recent visit to Damascus, and during his call with Syria's Foreign Minister on 18 July. We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 help tackle sectarian conflict between Syria's ethnic groups.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply concerned about sectarian tensions and violence in Syria. We have consistently advocated for an inclusive, representative and non-sectarian political transition and underlined the importance of protecting the rights of all Syrians, both publicly and as part of our engagement with the Syrian Government. We are pressing the Syrian Government on the need to improve their response to sectarian violence and hold those responsible to account. I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised this with Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his recent visit to Damascus, and during his call with Syria's Foreign Minister on 18 July. We will continue to judge the Syrian Government by its actions, not its words.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department supports the right of return for Armenians ethnically cleansed from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is essential that Azerbaijan makes its recovered territories safe for the return of its own internally displaced population and provides clarity on the rights and security of ethnic Armenians who wish to return. To this end, we strongly welcome the initialling of a peace agreement and the signing of a joint declaration by President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan on 8 August in Washington, and commend President Trump's role in securing this breakthrough. The UK stands ready to support Armenia and Azerbaijan in securing long-term peace, stability, and prosperity for the South Caucasus - I discussed how the UK could do this in practical terms with both leaders during my visit to Baku and Yerevan on 25 and 26 August respectively.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Azerbaijani counterpart on private sector investment by UK companies in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to promoting sustainable economic growth and supporting British businesses overseas. During my visit to Baku on the 24 and 25 August, I discussed economic cooperation and commercial opportunities across Azerbaijan with President Aliyev, Foreign Minister Bayramov, and UK businesses operating in Azerbaijan. This Government's growth mission places an emphasis on unlocking opportunities for UK companies in emerging markets, including the South Caucasus. We continue to encourage responsible investment that supports growth in alignment with regional stability and international legal obligations.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
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 merits of placing an arms embargo on Azerbaijan until it complies with international legal obligations relating to (a) Nagorno-Karabakh and (b) the right of return for Armenians.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK warmly welcomes the recent progress made by Armenia and Azerbaijan towards peace, as summarised by the joint declaration made by their respective leaders in Washington on 8 August. I visited Baku and Yerevan on 25 and 26 August respectively and met with President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan to discuss our support for the recent agreements and to upgrade our relationships to strategic partnerships with both countries. Export licence applications for Azerbaijan are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK's Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, and licences are not issued where doing so would be inconsistent with these criteria, and wider policies. We continue to keep our wider policies under review.
We have called for Azerbaijan to provide clarity on the rights and security of ethnic Armenians who wish to return to Karabakh.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Chinese counterpart on the potential merits of negotiating an agreement between China and Tibet.
Answered by Catherine West
This Government stands firm on human rights, including China's repression of the people of Tibet. This includes concerns about the erosion of Tibetan cultural rights and traditions by the Chinese authorities.
We raise our concerns at the highest levels: the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and I all raised human rights recently with our Chinese counterparts. We also continue to work closely with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations. On July 2 the UK convened an event in the Human Rights Council to reaffirm the right to freedom of religious belief for all, including Tibetan Buddhists.
The Government recognises Tibet as part of the People's Republic of China. We view the appointment of the next Dalai Lama as a matter for the Tibetan Buddhist community to decide in line with freedom of religion and belief.