Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Russian government following the Russian airstrike in Hazzano, Syria, which damaged the bakery funded by the Department for International Development.
Answered by David Lidington
We have repeatedly made clear to the Russian Government our serious concerns about its bombing campaign in Syria. We have consistently called on Russia to focus its targeting on Daesh and to cease the targeting of moderate opposition groups. We have also expressed concern over the numbers of civilian casualties being reported as a result of Russian strikes.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has raised our concerns about Russia’s approach with Foreign Minister Lavrov, including at meetings of the International Syria Support Group. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed Syria with President Putin at the G20 Summit in Antalya, and in a telephone conversation on 9 December following Parliament’s vote to support military action against Daesh in Syria.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Dutch government ahead of the publication of the Programme of the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
Reflecting the strength of the UK-Netherlands relationships, my Ministerial colleagues and I hold regular meetings with our Dutch counterparts to discuss a range of issues, including their current Presidency of the Council of the EU.
I discussed their Presidency programme with Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plassechaert during my visit to The Hague in November 2015, alongside a number of shared EU priorities.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20871, who the (a) applicants and (b) successful bidders were for the £5.5 million Human Rights and Democracy Programme; and how much funding each such successful bidder was allocated.
Answered by David Lidington
For the Financial Year 2015-16, the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 27 bids for democracy projects from the following applicants:
Ba Futuru
British Council Libya
Carter Centre
DanChurchAid
Democracy Reporting International
Global Partners Governance
Guatemalan Archbishopric´s Human Rights Office
International Media Support
International Republican Institute
Investigative Journalists NGO (HETQ)
Jamii Media Company Limited
John Smith Trust
Law Association of Zambia
Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice
National School of Government International (NSGI)
Northern Ireland-Cooperation Oversees (NI-CO) in partnership with Politics Plus
Safer World Bangladesh and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI)
Saferworld
Stakeholder Democracy Network
The Asia Foundation
UN Development Programme
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Young African Leaders Initiative
Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO)
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum,
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
These bids were then considered on a case-by-case basis by the Programme Team, and evaluated against criteria including: value for money, project design, evidence of need, viability, sustainability, risk and local influence. Seven applicants were successful, and were allocated the amounts listed below:
DanChurchAid: £80,000
Global Partners Governance: £99,727
NI-CO in partnership with Politics Plus: £35,000
NSGI: £37,220
Safer World Bangladesh and BEI: £103,422
The Asia Foundation: £99,168
Young African Leaders Initiative: £51,397
The £100,000 Magna Carta Partnerships Fund, to assist democracies in crisis or transition, is also channelled through the HRDP. In the financial year 2015/16, we have so far agreed funding for the following implementers:
Bingham Centre: £9,993
British Embassy Mexico City: £8,000
Chatham House: £10,000
Citizen’s Watch International: £10,000
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch: £20,000
King Prajadhipok Institute: £2,752
Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas: £2,000
Slynn Foundation: £9,020
Westminster Foundation for Democracy: £5,150
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the US (a) government and (b) Congress on comments made by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on banning Muslims from entering the US.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have not made any formal representations to the US Government or Congress. However, the Prime Minister, my right hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has made clear that he completely disagrees with Mr Trump’s comments, which the Prime Minister described as “divisive, unhelpful and wrong”.Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian government on the UK-Saudi trade relationship.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our prosperity relationship with Saudi Arabia is important, but it is only part of the relationship, not the key driver. We have a broad and deep relationship that covers security, culture, health and trade.
Saudi Arabia is one of the UK’s largest trading partners in the Middle East, and the leading Middle Eastern exporter of goods to the UK. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), visited Saudi Arabia most recently in October 2015 and held discussions on a range of bilateral issues.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has received from the government of Saudi Arabia that no British-made equipment was used in recent executions in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. Each application for an export licence is subject to a rigorous case-by-case assessment against these high criteria. The British Government is satisfied that the current licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria and that we are not in breach of our international obligations. No licence is issued if it does not meet these requirements. This includes the export of arms to Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend promoting democracy abroad in 2016; which organisations have received such funding since 7 May 2015; and how much such funding each of those organisations have received.
Answered by David Lidington
This Government is firmly committed to supporting democratic values and the rule of law. Since the start of this Parliament, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has supported many projects and organisations promoting democracy and will continue to do so up to 2020. In addition to the FCO’s longstanding sponsorship of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, to which we allocated £3.5m this financial year, in September 2015 the FCO launched a new fund called the Magna Carta Partnerships, to assist democracies in crisis or transition. This fund is worth £100,000 in this financial year. The FCO also continues to support democracy work overseas through its Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP), an annual fund which has a budget of £5.5 million in this financial year. In addition to these dedicated funds, the FCO uses a range of other bilateral and programme funds across its global network to promote democratic values, and works to strengthen democratic values through our relationship with institutions such as the European Union, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The total cost of these various democracy strengthening activities, and lists of beneficiaries, is not held centrally and could only be collected at disproportionate cost in the time available.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding his Department has allocated to promoting democracy abroad in each year to 2020; and what criteria are used for the allocation of such funding.
Answered by David Lidington
This Government is firmly committed to supporting democratic values and the rule of law. Since the start of this Parliament, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has supported many projects and organisations promoting democracy and will continue to do so up to 2020. In addition to the FCO’s longstanding sponsorship of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, to which we allocated £3.5m this financial year, in September 2015 the FCO launched a new fund called the Magna Carta Partnerships, to assist democracies in crisis or transition. This fund is worth £100,000 in this financial year. The FCO also continues to support democracy work overseas through its Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP), an annual fund which has a budget of £5.5 million in this financial year. In addition to these dedicated funds, the FCO uses a range of other bilateral and programme funds across its global network to promote democratic values, and works to strengthen democratic values through our relationship with institutions such as the European Union, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The total cost of these various democracy strengthening activities, and lists of beneficiaries, is not held centrally and could only be collected at disproportionate cost in the time available.