Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
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 current security situation in Daraa Al-Balad, Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK strongly condemns the brutal violence inflicted by the regime on the city of Daraa al-Balad, particularly the assault launched after the agreement of a ceasefire on 1 September and the ongoing deaths of civilians, including children. We remain alarmed by the continued humanitarian crisis and we call on all parties to avoid further death and displacement and adhere to the ceasefire, which resumed on 6 September. We further call for the regime and its backers to urgently grant humanitarian access to the UN and humanitarian actors for civilians trapped in Daraa, and we urge that the UN work to ensure effective provision of basic life-saving items such as food, water and medical assistance which remains in short supply there.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the (a) welfare and (b) situation of (i) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and (ii) Anoosheh Ashoori.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Government remains extremely concerned about all dual British nationals detained in Iran, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees. The safety and security of dual British national detainees in Iran is of paramount importance, and we call on Iran to uphold its commitments under international law to treat all detainees in line with international standards. We continue to urge the Iranian Government immediately to release all British-Iranian nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran to enable them to return to their families in the UK. We continue to raise these cases at the most senior levels and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts. We continue to raise Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case at the most senior levels, and discuss it at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) recent unrest in Nigeria and (b) reported abuses being conducted by the special anti-robbery squad.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports of widespread violence during recent protests in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, including horrific reports of protestors being killed. We are following events closely and offer condolences to the families of those affected. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 21 October calling for an end to the violence and for the Nigerian Government to urgently investigate reports of brutality by its security forces and hold those responsible to account. I also tweeted on 21 October to urge the Nigerian Government to restore peace and address concerns about brutality towards civilians. The British High Commissioner in Abuja has raised the protests with representatives of the Nigerian Government. I expressed my concern over recent violence in Nigeria to Foreign Minister Onyeama on 23 October.
The Nigerian security services must uphold human rights and the rule of law in all operations, investigate any incidents of brutality towards civilians and hold those responsible to account. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government and international and civil society partners to support justice, accountability and a more responsive policing model in Nigeria.