Asked by: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative - North Cotswolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will consider altering the frequency of the Government's report to Parliament on Hong Kong from six-monthly to yearly.
Answered by Lord Swire
There are no plans to alter the frequency of Her Majesty's Government reports on Hong Kong from six monthly to yearly.
Asked by: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative - North Cotswolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, covering the period of 1 July to 31 December 2014 relating to the decision of the PRC Government to ban the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee from conducting an official inquiry by taking evidence within the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, whether he obtained legal advice on international law before its publication, and if he placed a record of all understandings and agreements reached by both countries under the Joint Declaration and subsequently through the Joint Liaison Group before the Foreign Affairs Committee before compiling the report; for what reasons universal suffrage was not incorporated in the Joint Declaration; and if the Government will take steps to encourage implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law and immediately release all understandings and agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group relating to Article 45 prior to 1990.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have made clear, repeatedly, that the decision to refuse to allow the members of the previous Foreign Affairs Committee to enter Hong Kong in December 2014 was wholly unjustified and counter-productive. The Government did not obtain legal advice on international law before publishing the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong in question. Neither did it place a record of understandings and agreements reached by the UK and China before the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Joint Declaration does not refer to universal suffrage, but it provides for the Chief Executive to be selected by election or consultations and the legislature to be constituted by elections. The Government has made clear that implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law is the best way to guarantee Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, and continued momentum towards that goal is essential. There are no plans to release agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group.
Asked by: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative - North Cotswolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Maldives on the trial of former President Mohammed Nasheed.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have a number of serious concerns about increasing political tensions in the Maldives and the arrest of former President Nasheed, who has now been sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for forceful abduction. As I said in my statement of 13 March, despite calls from the international community for due process to be followed, we are concerned that the former President's trial has not been conducted in a transparent and impartial manner nor in accordance with due legal process.
I made my concerns very clear when I discussed this issue with the Foreign Minister of the Maldives, Dunya Maumoon, on 6 March. As I also said in my statement of 13 March, should Mr Nasheed decide to appeal, we will watch that process closely and hope that Mr Nasheed will be properly and transparently accorded the rights that every citizen of the Maldives is entitled to.
Asked by: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative - North Cotswolds)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the British Embassy in Pyongyang has had with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials on reports to the UN Commission of Inquiry of widespread use of sexual violence against women within the Workers' Party of Korea, the government of the DPRK and the Korean People's Army.
Answered by Lord Swire
We welcome the spotlight shone by the Commission of Inquiry report on horrific and systemic violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), not least with regard to sexual violence against women. We have urged the DPRK authorities, through both our Embassy in Pyongyang and the DPRK Embassy in London, to respond in detail to the contents of the report and to address the violations that it documents. The DPRK continues to reject the Commission’s findings and will not engage on the detail of the Commission’s report.