Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to review its consular and embassy arrangements in Libya.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
Our Embassy in Tripoli has been temporarily closed since 6 August, due to ongoing fighting and instability. We advise against all travel to Libya and are not currently able to provide consular services in Libya. A small team of British diplomats focused on relations with Libya are currently working from our Embassy in Tunis, as well as a team in London. Our core diplomatic activity also includes the work of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Jonathan Powell, who is continuing to work with the UN on the ground in Libya to pursue mediation efforts to agree a negotiated political settlement, which offers the best hope of stability for the country. We are keeping these arrangements under constant review, and the safety and security of our staff is paramount. We will review re-opening our Embassy in Libya when the security situation has sufficiently stabilised.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the Tunisian election results on the prosperity and security of that country.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
I congratulated the Tunisian government and people on their successful parliamentary elections last month. The future government, like governments everywhere, will face economic and security challenges. But these elections, which represent a significant milestone for Tunisia’s democratic transition, will provide a stable and credible platform for the government to address these challenges. The peaceful transfer of power bodes well for what the Tunisians themselves call their ‘start-up democracy’.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the Burmese government on ensuring that elections in that country in 2015 are open, free and fair.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The 2015 parliamentary elections will be a watershed for Burma’s road to democracy. We have made clear to the Burmese government that we want to see inclusive and credible elections, underpinned by freedom of expression and respect for human rights. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) most recently discussed the elections with the Minister for Immigration in October, the Minister for Electric Power in July and the Deputy Foreign Minister in June.
The Department for International Development has allocated around £25m over five years to strengthen democratic governance, including support to the elections. UK funding will support the provision of technical advice to the Burmese election commission, voter education and monitoring and observation of the electoral process.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK Government is providing to the Tunisian government in advance of the presidential elections in that country in November 2014.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The British Government has provided significant support for Tunisia since its 2011 revolution. When the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) met the Tunisian Deputy Foreign Minister at our Bilateral Forum earlier this month he congratulated him on Tunisia’s successful Legislative elections and reiterated our support. Bilaterally, our Arab Partnership programmes have supported political participation, good governance, transparency, and freedom of expression. On elections we have supported programmes on voter awareness and registration campaigns. We have provided financial support including through the UN for technical advice and operational support to the Independent Electoral Commission (ISIE). We have also supported civil society in monitoring campaign finances for both the legislative and presidential campaigns. Our support for economic development has been primarily channelled through multilateral donors. This support will continue, including in the period leading up to the Presidential elections.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Egypt.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
We assess there to be a high threat of terrorism in Egypt. To date this has largely been focused against the Egyptian security services. The threat is highest in the Governorate of North Sinai to which we advise against all travel due to the significant level of criminal activity and fatal terrorist attacks on security services. We advise against all but essential travel to parts of southern Sinai with the exception of the Sharm El Sheikh area, which benefits from its geographical location and the enhanced security measures provided by the Egyptian security services. We also advise against all but essential travel to the area west of the Nile Valley and Delta Regions, excluding Siwa, Fayoum and the coastal area. We continue to review regularly the security situation when considering our travel advice for the country. During the recent visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri to the UK, Ministers discussed the security situation with him and reiterated the UK’s commitment to working with Egypt on countering terrorism, including to tackle ISIL and the threat it poses in the region.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made on the decision by Egypt to suspend talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Cairo.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
Ministers discussed the situation in Gaza and the talks between Israel and the Palestinians with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri during his visit to the UK on 27 October and stressed the importance we place on Egypt’s mediation role. Foreign Minister Shukri said that Egypt was still committed to the negotiation process and that talks would resume as soon as possible. We continue to discuss this issue with the Egyptian government.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Egyptian authorities' efforts to tackle terrorist activity in the Sinai region.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
We assess there to be a high threat of terrorism in Egypt. To date this has largely been focused against the Egyptian security services. The threat is highest in the Governorate of North Sinai to which we advise against all travel due to the significant level of criminal activity and fatal terrorist attacks on security services. During the recent visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri to the UK, Ministers discussed the security situation with him and reiterated the UK’s commitment to working with Egypt on countering terrorism, including to tackle ISIL and the threat it poses in the region.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of the deadline for a comprehensive Iranian nuclear deal being met.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The E3+3 have made progress with Iran in the nuclear negotiations but significant gaps - especially over Iran's enrichment capacity - remain. Reaching agreement on these areas in particular by 24 November will be challenging.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Tunisian government to encourage continued progress towards stability and security through (a) EU or (b) bilateral means.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK is providing support to the Tunisian government to promote economic stability and to provide support for security. Both through the EU and bilaterally: (a) EU programmes in Tunisia (€169m in 2014), to which the UK contributes as a Member State, promote stability by supporting economic growth and development of civil society and political institutions. The EU, together with the IMF and World Bank, lead on economic policy dialogue and provide technical assistance for reforms, which will also promote long term stability. A €300m EU macro-financial assistance loan to support economic stability was approved in March 2014. The UK funded an expert to lead a €3m comprehensive EU review of the needs for security sector reform in 2013. The review was approved by Tunisia in May 2014; programmes should launch in 2015. (b) Bilateral UK-Tunisia security cooperation has increased hugely since the revolution. This includes work on security sector reform to build capacity to counter threats; crisis response; security in tourist areas; and border security.
Asked by: Douglas Alexander (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that religious persecution is on the agenda for the next session of the Human Rights Council.
Answered by Lord Hammond of Runnymede
The UK will co-sponsor the regular resolution on Freedom of Religion or Belief tabled by the EU at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2015. The UK also supports the work of Professor Heiner Bielefeldt , the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He will deliver his annual presentation to the Human Rights Council at the March 2015 session, followed by an interactive dialogue during which we intend to make a statement.