Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department plans to make an announcement regarding resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory by Chagos islanders.
Answered by James Duddridge
A twelve week public consultation ended on 27 October. Nearly 850 written responses were received from as far afield as Tanzania, Switzerland, Thailand, France, and of course the main Chagossian communities in the UK, Mauritius and Seychelles. Officials are continuing their analysis of these, and the results of meetings held with Chagossians in their own communities, to allow a decision on a way ahead soon.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 governments of the Gulf Co-operation Council on improving bilateral trade and security.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our mutual security and prosperity are key parts of our bilateral relations with the Gulf states. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed security and bilateral trade with the governments of Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on his visit to the Gulf at the end of October.
In the last month, I have discussed these issues with Oman and Qatar, at our regular working group meetings; with the Bahraini Royal Court Minister for Follow Up Affairs, Sheikh Ahmed bin Attiyatallah al Khalifa; and with UAE Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, at the Coalition Counter ISIL Strategic Communications meeting.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to announce the Government's decision on possible resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory by Chagos Islanders.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The member for Crawley will note from the written answer of 23 June 2015 (British Indian Ocean Territory: Written question – 2386) given by my honourable friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge MP), that steady progress is being made on the further analysis of resettlement of BIOT. There is no date yet when an announcement on possible resettlement will be made.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to promote trade within the Commonwealth.
Answered by Lord Swire
This Government is committed to working to increase trade across the Commonwealth. Most recently, the Government has provided financial and public support to the new Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council so it can fully establish itself as the leading business representation and trade advocacy organisation in the Commonwealth.Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from hon. Members on the forthcoming KPMG study into resettlement of the Chagos Islands.
Answered by James Duddridge
Since work on the study began in January 2014, FCO Ministers and Parliamentarians, most notably the Chagos All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) as well as the hon. Gentleman, have continued to discuss its progress and timescales for the subsequent policy review by Ministers. We are aware of specific representations from my hon friend the Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), Chair of the Chagos APPG, who has written four times to FCO Ministers, including the Foreign Secretary, about the policy review of resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and right of return of the former islanders (Chagossians). In addition, my honourable friend himself has tabled three Parliamentary Questions (PQs), and my hon friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell MP) has tabled one PQ on the resettlement feasibility study. The study is nearing completion and its draft final report will be circulated very shortly to allow for further consultation before it is finalised and published in the New Year.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage the Sri Lankan government to cooperate with a UN investigation into alleged war crimes.
Answered by Lord Swire
We continue to urge the Sri Lankan government to co-operate fully with the UN Human Rights Council resolution of March 2014, which calls for an international investigation into alleged violations of international law on both sides of Sri Lanka’s recent conflict. Our High Commissioner to Sri Lanka has raised this point directly with members of the Sri Lankan government and in public statements. We also continue to call for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, to use their leverage to encourage Sri Lanka’s co-operation.
More recently, during the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council in September, our Ambassador to the UN also called upon the Sri Lankan government to co-operate with the investigation and ensure those co-operating with the investigation can do so without fear of intimidation or reprisal.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 947, on Diego Garcia, what factors the Government will take into account when deciding on future plans for British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
In my answer in the House on 17 June I spoke about the key factors that the Government will consider in coming to a policy decision on resettlement of the Territory – value for the UK taxpayer, long-term contingent liabilities, and defence requirements of Diego Garcia to the UK and our allies. This consideration will clearly be driven by the report on the feasibility of resettlement by the independent consultants, which will provide us with a factual analysis of the practicalities that any resettlement might involve, including the economic sustainability of a resettled population, and its environmental impact, and of course the views of Chagossians themselves about what they want to see from our policy. We look forward to the final report which is expected by January 2015.