Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of Iran's ballistic missile programme.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Iran's ballistic missile programme remains a significant concern. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran to not undertake activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, and we urge Iran to abide by this. We keep Iran's ballistic missile programme under constant review and we remain committed to enforcing all international restrictions on it.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 expansion of Hezbollah's weapons arsenal.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK proscribed the military wing of Hizballah in 2008 and maintains a no contact policy with the political wing. We are aware of reports that Hizballah continues to amass an arsenal of weapons in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1559. Hizballah’s arsenal has been increasing since the 2006 war with Israel and their involvement in the Syria conflict where they have provided essential support to the Syrian armed forces. It is estimated they now have tens of thousands of rockets (including sophisticated rocket systems).
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 Spanish Government on the most recent incursion into Gibraltar waters by a Spanish vessel.
Answered by David Lidington
The unlawful incursion by a Spanish State research vessel into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on 3 July - during which its probe struck a Royal Navy vessel - was unacceptable. We protested immediately to the Spanish government at a senior level. It is fortunate that no-one was hurt and no serious damage was done.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 Chinese government on the promotion of Christianity in China.
Answered by Lord Swire
Freedom of religion or belief is a human rights priority anchored in the Government’s manifesto. We regularly urge governments around the world to protect the right of all individuals, including Christians, to practise their religion or belief free from persecution or discrimination.
We remain concerned by all restrictions to freedom of religion or belief in China, including restrictions against Christianity. We are aware of reports that some church members have been harassed or detained, and that a number of churches in Zhejiang Province in particular have been forced to remove their crosses, close or be destroyed.
We raised these, and our broad range of concerns around religious freedom, directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year. We have also highlighted them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk).
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he is satisfied with the speed of border crossings between Spain and Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Lidington
No. Delays at the Gibraltar-Spain border have been causing inconvenience for EU citizens over the past 18 months. We have made clear to Spain at the highest level that these delays are unacceptable. The European Commission has confirmed our view, stating that checks giving rise to waiting several hours to cross the border are ‘disproportionate’. We are working with the European Commission to ensure that Spain implements the recommendations it has received on improving the flow of people and traffic.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
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 government of Guinea-Bissau on dealing with Ebola.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The government has had conversations with the government of Guinea-Bissau about its response to the Ebola crisis: most recently in September when the non-resident British Ambassador to Guinea Bissau visited Bissau and met with Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira. Discussions will continue when the Ambassador visits again later this month. We are also working closely with multilateral partners such as the EU and UNICEF to support Guinea-Bissau to focus on its own preparedness in line with World Health Organization recommendations and guidelines.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to end the persecution of Christians in Iraq by the Islamic State.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government is providing £23 million in humanitarian assistance to those who have fled areas of Iraq controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and have taken part in a series of airdrops to people trapped by ISIL. We are providing military assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga as set out in the Prime Minister’s statement on 1 September so that they can restore control over areas taken by ISIL. I also met leaders of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the church to which many Iraqi Christians belong, making a statement strongly condemning the persecution that Iraq’s religious minorities have suffered.
I visited Iraq on 26-27 August and pressed the then Prime Minister-designate Haider Al-Abadi to ensure his new government in Iraq would ensure the protection of all minorities, promote human rights and reassert the rule of law.