Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
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 the security situation in Tripoli.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We continue to monitor carefully the ongoing security situation in Tripoli and across Libya. We are deeply concerned at the attacks in and around Tripoli International Airport, and condemn actions which put lives in danger whether in the East or West of the country.
We support the Libyan Government’s call for a ceasefire and urgent dialogue. Violence and the threat of violence are unacceptable, and should not be used to pursue political goals. The situation in which armed groups operate outside government control, and without respect for either Libyan or international law, threatens the stability of the state and Libyan people’s aspirations for a secure and prosperous future.
Our travel advice remains current, and is updated as necessary to reflect the situation on the ground.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the reaction of the government of (a) Iran and (b) Turkey to the announcement of the President of Kurdistan that he intends to hold a referendum on independence of the region of Kurdistan from Iraq.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
We are aware of reports that the President of the Kurdistan Region has expressed an intention to hold a referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region. It is for the people of Iraq to determine the shape of Iraq's future. We continue to urge all Iraqi leaders to work together to tackle the challenges Iraq faces, particularly the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the source of supply of the arms being used by Jihadi groups fighting in (a) Syria and (b) Iraq.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
We believe terrorist groups are likely to have acquired weapons and ammunition from stockpiles captured in fighting with Assad's regime in Syria, and in recent clashes with the Iraqi Security Forces. During his recent visit to Iraq, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement in which he highlighted the need to intensify international efforts to stem the flow of weapons and fighters to extremist groups.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the current political situation in Lesotho.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
Through our High Commission in South Africa who cover our relations with Lesotho, we are closely monitoring the political situation in the country, following the decision on 10 June by Lesotho's Prime Minister to prorogue parliament for 9 months (until 27 February 2015). The UK supports the South African Development Community's (SADC) call for all parties to follow the constitution.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2014-2017, in what way, as part of the implementation of that plan, women's participation at grassroots level will be measured.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, along with the Secretaries of State for International Development and Defence, launched the 2014-2017 National Action Plan (NAP) at the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit earlier this month.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working with Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence, is committed to ensure that the promotion of women's participation in conflict resolution is an integral part of our overseas conflict policy and forms one of the main focuses of the NAP. The NAP outlines several ways we will do this, for example providing financial and capacity building support to civil society organisations promoting women and girls' participation in peacebuilding.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also funded and helped to facilitate workshops in two of the NAP's focus countries (Afghanistan and Burma) with another being held in a third (Somalia) in the next few months. The workshops have been well attended by civil society groups that, in many cases, represent the views of women from the grassroots level.
Measuring participation of women from grassroots level is challenging; there is a lack of baseline and country-level data on women in peace and security issues. With this in mind, the UK has allocated specific funding to the external and independent monitoring and evaluation of this NAP.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the predicted cost of the implementation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security is in each of the next three years.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
The National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security was launched at the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit and builds on lessons to date, and address some of the challenges in the previous NAP. The NAP's Implementation Plan will be launched later this year.
In line with our UN commitments on women, peace and security we will continue to address violence against women and support women's role in building peace and promote their participation, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia and Syria.
The aims of the NAP and Implementation Plan are to ensure a more coherent and effective approach to the work on Women, Peace and Security. They provide the frameworks for activities which are funded through existing departmental budgets. Those budgets include: the Conflict Pool (the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund from 2015-16), the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, the Arab Partnership Fund and Official Development Assistance – all of which help to fund the work on women, peace and security across the world.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the details of the new parliamentary elections law in Egypt.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
The new parliamentary elections law, enacted by the decree of former interim President Adly Mansour on 5 June, increases the number of parliamentary seats to 567, with 420 seats to be elected by single member constituencies and 120 through party lists. On 3 June, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) issued a statement urging Egypt's leaders to ensure that the transition leads towards accountable and democratic governance, underpinned by strong and accountable institutions.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he had held with his Egyptian counterpart on the new parliamentary elections law in that country.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has yet to meet his new counterpart, Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri who was sworn in on 17 June. He did raise the issue of parliamentary elections and the need for political inclusiveness with former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 14 May before the new law was passed.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 367-8W, on armed conflicts: minerals, which companies have joined or have applied to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights initiative.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
In the last two years, UK-headquartered companies Tullow Oil and Premier Oil have joined the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. An application from another company based in the UK is currently under consideration by the Steering Committee of the Voluntary Principles Initiative.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 367-8W, on armed conflicts: minerals, which UK companies he has met to discuss the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
I have met the following companies to discuss the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights – Anglo American, BG Group, BP, Dana Petroleum, Dominion Energy, Ophir Energy, Perenco, Premier Oil, Rio Tinto, Shell, Soma Oil and Gas, Stellar Diamonds and Tullow Oil.