Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 escalation of attacks on the Baha’i community in Iran.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities. Reports this year indicate Iran has redoubled this repression, with expropriation and repossession of land, destruction of homes, and increasing detention of members of the community. As the Minister with responsibility for the Middle East and Human Rights Lord (Tariq) Ahmad said on 5 August: persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022.
We reiterated our commitment to holding Iran to account for its persecution of the Baha'i at the UN General Assembly Third Committee on Wednesday 26 October. We raise Iran's dire human rights record at all appropriate opportunities, both directly with Iranian authorities and in multilateral fora.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 4 July to Question 26842, whether he has representations to his Israeli counterpart on Israel's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that depriving children of their liberty should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We are aware of Israel's use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary. We call on the Israeli authorities to either charge or release detainees. We are committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 the government of Zimbabwe on the withholding of medical attention for the Zimbabwean Member of Parliament Job Sikhala, who is currently detained in prison in that country.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The UK is monitoring the ongoing detention of opposition Member of Parliament Job Sikhala in Zimbabwe. The former Minister for Africa met the Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe on 30 June and reiterated the importance of all political parties respecting the rule of law, refraining from violence and respecting the right for all to campaign freely ahead of upcoming elections in 2023.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 whether any arms exported from the UK under arms export licences have been used in reported attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank in August 2022.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The UK Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates some of the most robust export controls in the world. All applications for export licences are assessed on a case-by-case basis against strict criteria. We will not issue a licence if there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used for internal repression. The UK Government continues to monitor closely the situation in Israel and the OPTs and if extant licences are found to be no longer consistent with the criteria, those licences will be revoked.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 potential impact of not having a specific ministerial role for the Middle East on the UK's influence in that region.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Ministerial appointments are a decision for the Prime Minister. The Middle East ministerial post remains within the FCDO.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 potential impact of the Israeli government's E1 settlement plan on the human rights of Palestinian residents in that area.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The UK welcomes the decision to postpone the discussion to advance the E1 settlement plan. We will monitor developments closely. The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to permanently end its settlement expansion and settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and advancement of the E1 settlement plan. The former Minister Milling, raised our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll on 22 June. The UK continues to raise our opposition to settlement advancements at the UN Security Council.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to the Israeli government on its E1 settlement plan.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The UK welcomes the decision to postpone the discussion to advance the E1 settlement plan. We will monitor developments closely. The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to permanently end its settlement expansion and settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and advancement of the E1 settlement plan. The former Minister Milling, raised our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll on 22 June. The UK continues to raise our opposition to settlement advancements at the UN Security Council.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 potential merits of allocating funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes for (a) education, (b) climate change resilience, (c) gender equality, (d) economic development and (e) political stability.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK is committed to defending and promoting universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights and supports a wide range of investments to achieve this. We know that these are fundamental to unlocking the potential, agency and freedom of women and girls around the world - underpinning progress on gender equality, health, education, economic opportunities, climate resilience and stability. Realising sexual and reproductive health and rights means that women and girls can make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures. It means that girls can complete their education and take up better jobs, which in turn boosts global prosperity, stability and resilience of individuals and communities to better handle climate change shocks and contribute to climate solutions.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance will be allocated to sexual and reproductive health programmes in 2022-23.
Answered by Amanda Milling
As set out in the International Development Strategy, the UK Government intends to restore bilateral funding for women and girls, which includes programmes focused on universal, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working to complete its business and country planning process as soon as possible, which will allow us to finalise budget allocations, taking account of our Spending Review settlement. We cannot comment on funding allocations until this is finalised.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2022 to Question 28505 on Melilla: Asylum, whether (a) she or (b) Ministers, as opposed to officials, have contacted their counterparts in (i) Spain and (ii) Morocco on that matter.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Neither the Secretary of State, nor Ministers, have contacted their Spanish or Moroccan counterparts on this issue.