Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what operational orders are given to the armed forces serving in Yemen on the protection of cultural property.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi led Coalition’s operations. We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the Government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic representations the Government made to Latvia on the Latvian Legion Day event on 16 March 2016.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK made no representations about the event on 16 March 2016. The Latvian government has made clear that it does not support Legion Day, but that it respects and also guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2016 to Question 38785, what the content was of the three most recent representations the Government has made to the Saudi Arabian government relating to religious freedom.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We frequently raise religious freedom as part of our dialogue with the Saudi authorities on a wide range of human rights issues, including freedom of thought, conscience and religion. We pursue this dialogue though a variety of means, including diplomatic channels and Ministerial visits.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised human rights most recently during his visit to Saudi Arabia on 29 May. During my visit to Riyadh in January I discussed Human Rights with the National Society of Human Rights. Our Ambassador to Saudi Arabia continues to raise UK concerns on a regular basis.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on the case of Andargachew Tsege and efforts to ensure proper legal and consular access for Mr Tsege and visitation rights for his family.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Mr Tsege’s case with the Ethiopian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during his visit to Ethiopia on 1 June 2016. The Foreign Secretary received assurances that Mr Tsege will be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. We will continue to press the Ethiopians as necessary to ensure that Mr Tsege has legal representation. As a result of sustained lobbying by the British Government, we now have more frequent consular access to Mr Tsege. He has been visited by UK Government officials on 10 occasions, most recently by both Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and by the FCO’s Africa Director on 1 June 2016. Mr Tsege is also receiving regular visits from his family in Ethiopia, and the FCO continues to provide consular support to Mr Tsege’s family in the UK.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will initiate a resolution of the UN Security Council related to whether genocide is being committed against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.
Answered by James Duddridge
As the Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (David Cameron) has said, there is a very strong case for saying that the atrocities committed by Daesh amount to genocide, but recognition of genocide should be a matter for international courts, not political bodies.
When an attempt was made in 2014 to have the UN Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We have no reason to believe another referral would deliver a different outcome.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote religious freedom in Saudi Arabia; and what recent representations the Government has made to Saudi Arabia on that matter.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We strongly support the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia, reflecting views which are widely held in Saudi society. The authorities are encouraging reforms at a pace that is acceptable to Saudi society. This includes allowing foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to practice religions other than Islam in private.
We regularly raise human rights issues, including in relation to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, with the Saudi Arabian authorities.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the scale of human rights abuses against the Oromo people in Ethiopia; and what representations he has made to his Ethiopian counterpart on that issue.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the handling of protests in Oromia and the reported number of deaths, including many students. I raised these concerns with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros at the African Union Summit in January, stressing the importance of exercising restraint and addressing the root causes of the protests. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) also raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January at the World Economic Forum. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission are currently undertaking an investigation into the allegations, and our Ambassador has stressed the need for transparency and that any members of the security forces who are found to have used excessive force be held to account.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will invite Maryam Rajavi to visit Parliament and the UK.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Maryam Rajavi remains excluded from the UK and Her Majesty's Government has no plans to invite her to visit the UK.