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, when his Department intends to answer Question 216778, tabled on 2 December 2014 for Answer on 11 December 2014, on political prisoners in the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by David Lidington
I would like to apologise to my hon friend for the delay in answer to his question. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has discovered an IT glitch whereby Answers to Written Questions had been uploaded but not submitted to the House. We have reviewed our processes and made changes to ensure this doesn't happen again. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) responded to the hon. Member's Question (PQ 216778) on 17 December 2014.
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 26 November 2014 to Question 214857, what estimate he has made of the number of political prisoners in the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold an estimate in relation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Our bilateral relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss important issues like human rights, even if we do not agree. If we have concerns regarding arrests, convictions or sentencing we make these clear to Emirati authorities, as part of our broader strategic engagement.
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 about democratic reform in the United Arab Emirates.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I have regular discussions on a wide range of issues of bilateral interest with my counterpart, Dr Anwar Gargash. Any reform will continue to be led by the region, not external actors.
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, if he will bring forward proposals to make military exports to Saudi Arabia contingent on human rights reform in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government of Saudi Arabia faces a number of security challenges, with concerns arising from the fractious regional situation and external sources, and so have a legitimate requirement for types of equipment in the performance of its sovereign defensive responsibilities.
The Government remains confident that the UK has a thorough and robust export control and licensing system, which distinguishes between exports for legitimate defence and security purposes and exports that breach the Criterion 2 threshold: a clear risk that they might be used for internal repression, violation of human rights or gender-based violence. These considerations are specifically identified in the Government’s Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, Criteria against which all applications for strategic export control licences for military goods, including arms and dual-use goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The Government is satisfied that the currently extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.
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 assessment he has made of progress with democratic reform in Egypt.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Since January 2014, Egypt has held a constitutional referendum; elected a new President, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi; and is preparing for parliamentary elections. We look to President Al Sisi to take steps to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution by opening up political space, in particular ensuring freedom of expression and association as well as ensuring that human and legal rights are fully upheld. I raised these issues with the Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe during my visit to Cairo on 25 August.
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 Burmese government on their treatment of the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have raised the treatment of the Rohingya in every one of our recent Ministerial contacts with the Burmese government.
The former Foreign Secretary, my Right Hon. Friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) ( Mr Hague), raised the situation in Rakhine State in a call with his Burmese counterpart, U Wunna Maung Lwin, in April. He called for the Burmese government to facilitate humanitarian assistance to all communities in the State. I also raised this issue with Khin Maung Soe, Burmese Minister for Electric Power in July, as well as with the Burmese Ambassador, whom I summoned in April to register my concerns. More recently, Minister of State for International Development, Mr Desmond Swayne, discussed Rakhine with Minister for the President’s Office, U Soe Thein in August.
Our Ambassador and Embassy officials consistently discuss these concerns with representatives of the Burmese government.
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 April 2014, Official Report, column 139W, on Burma, what commitments the Burmese immigration minister made on conduct of the census.
Answered by Lord Swire
On 26 March, I spoke to Immigration Minister U Khin Yi, reminding him of the Burmese government's assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnicity and that international observers would be allowed to monitor the census across the country. I also made clear that the census must have adequate security. The Immigration Minister acknowledged our concerns.
We are pleased that international observers were invited to monitor the enumeration process across the country. However we were deeply disappointed that the Burmese government went against its long-standing assurances on census conduct, in particular the right to self-identify ethnicity. The Burmese Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 7 April, where I made clear that this decision was in contravention of international norms and standards on census conduct.
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 the outcome was of his meeting with his Egyptian counterpart on 2 April 2014; and when the next meeting is planned.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
During the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond's (Yorks) (Mr Hague) meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 2 April, he discussed the political situation in Egypt, including the Presidential elections scheduled for 26-27 May. The Foreign Secretary raised his strong concern over the death sentence imposed on 529 people on 24 March and the case of two British journalists who have been charged in Egypt and are currently being tried in absentia. He asked the Egyptian Government to review these issues as a matter of urgency and to ensure that the individuals' human and legal rights are properly upheld.
The Foreign Secretary condemned the terrorist attacks of 2 April in Cairo and sent his condolences to the family of the victim and those who had been injured. He reiterated the importance of cooperation against the shared threat from terrorism. He also raised the UK's concerns regarding the security situation in the South Sinai region. He urged the Egyptian Government to do all it could to protect British nationals in Egypt, including those visiting the Red Sea resorts over the holiday season, and to take further measures against the risk of terrorism.
The two ministers also discussed recent events in the Middle East, including the crisis in Syria and the importance of progress on the Middle East Peace Process.
There has been no date set for their next meeting.