Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that parties to the conflict in Yemen exercise maximum restraint and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Yemen by all sides to the conflict and take these very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities and have received repeated assurances of IHL compliance and we continue to engage with them on those assurances. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with international human rights law.
Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach families in the North of Yemen despite the blockade of port Hodieda.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We remain very concerned about access for commercial and humanitarian shipping in Yemen. The UK has made clear to all parties that access for commercial goods and humanitarian aid, including via Hodeidah port, must be improved, and emphasised the importance of the non-politicisation of aid. The UK is also supporting the UN in working with the Saudi Arabian-led coalition and Government of Yemen to make the system for verifying shipping more efficient. The UK has so far announced £75 million in humanitarian aid – delivered through UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs - to support Yemenis affected by the crisis.Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will make representations to all parties in the conflict in Yemen to ensure humanitarian access.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have made clear to all parties to the conflict that they must take all reasonable steps to facilitate access for humanitarian aid, and have emphasised the importance of non-politicisation of aid, as well as the need to facilitate access for commercial goods. The UK is also supporting the UN in working with the Saudi-led military coalition and Government of Yemen to make the system for verifying shipping more efficient, which should further ease access for aid. The Foreign Secretary met President Hadi on 28 September and spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Al Jubeir on 29 September in the margins of the UN General Assembly, and underlined the importance the UK attaches to finding a political solution to the current crisis as soon as possible. The Foreign Secretary also reinforced the necessity of full compliance with international humanitarian law and of facilitating access humanitarian and commercial shipping to the Saudi Foreign Minister. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) co-chaired an international meeting on the Yemen humanitarian crisis on 28 September in the margins of the UN General Assembly. This was attended by representatives of the military coalition governments and by the government of Yemen. In this meeting, she reiterated that it was critical for all parties to the conflict to facilitate immediate humanitarian access into and within Yemen, and lift any restrictions on commercial and humanitarian shipping. To tackle the humanitarian crisis, the UK has so far announced £75 million – through UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs - to support Yemenis affected by the crisis, including those forced to flee their homes, with emergency shelter, healthcare, water and food assistance, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the humanitarian response.Asked by: Harry Harpham (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions has he had with the Burmese government on (a) the Rohingya community in Rakhine state and (b) democracy and human rights in that country.
Answered by Lord Swire
We have consistently raised our concern at the situation of the Rohingya community in all recent Ministerial contacts with the Burmese government. Most recently, I called the Burmese Ambassador in to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 18 May to express our concern at the migrant crisis in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, and press Burma to take urgent steps to deal with the humanitarian implications of the crisis, as well as the underlying causes in Rakhine. It is vital that Burma addresses the longer-term issues which lie at the root of the problem - namely the desperate conditions in which Rohingya communities are living in Rakhine State.
We recognise the significant steps towards democratic reform that the government of Burma has taken over the past two years. At the same time, we are clear that much more needs to be done, and that progress in some areas of human rights has declined. The November parliamentary elections will be a critically important test of the government’s commitment to see the reforms through to their conclusion. It is vital for Burma’s future development that these are inclusive and credible. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) made this point to President Thein Sein at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Brisbane in November.