Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on whether UK-manufactured (a) arms and (b) weapons components have been used in (i) Israel and (ii) the Palestinian Occupied Territories.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The export of strategic goods is controlled by export licensing and the government publishes data on its export licensing decisions: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-dataLicences. We continue to monitor closely the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We will not issue an export licence to any destination where to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria. Licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, or refuse new licence applications, as circumstances require.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on whether UK-manufactured (a) weapons and (b) components of weapons have been used in countries it has assessed as being in potential breach of (i) the Genocide Convention and (ii) Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government operates a robust and thorough assessment of licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with that Criteria including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of violence in the West Bank.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are clear that settler violence and the targeting of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank is completely unacceptable. It undermines security and stability at a time when Israelis and Palestinians are desperate for both and increases the risks of atrocities and intercommunal violence. Israel must prevent these acts and hold those responsible to account, ensuring any perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted. Ultimately, to prevent further conflict, there must be a political solution: a two-state solution which provides justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, ending the security threat posed by Hamas and with the Israelis taking more precautions regarding civilians and tackling settler violence.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the urgent question on Israel and Hamas: Humanitarian Pause in the House of Lords on 29 November 2023, Official Report column 1091 HL, what his Department's policy is on whether there should be a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel has a right to self-defence and needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas, in a manner that abides by International Humanitarian Law. The UK is supportive of humanitarian pauses, and the temporary cessation of hostilities, to enable humanitarian organisations to deliver aid and give respite to civilians. As noted in the response of 29 November, the recent pause was a welcome opportunity to get hostages out and to allow increased amounts of aid and fuel in. We continue to press, at the UN and with Israel, for unhindered humanitarian access and substantive, repeated humanitarian pauses.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the humanitarian pause in the conflict between Israel and Hamas on the provision of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The recent humanitarian pause demonstrated what can be achieved to get vital aid into Gaza including the levels of aid that is possible and it is important that this level of aid is now, at a minimum, sustained. The UK is supportive of humanitarian pauses as part of measures to facilitate the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid and ensure civilians are safe. The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We will continue to use all the tools of British diplomacy and development to enhance the prospects of peace and stability in the region, working closely with our partners.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will hold discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the potential merits of re-opening additional crossings into Gaza for humanitarian access.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is actively engaging with international partners and those operating on the ground to do all we can to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary engage regularly and closely with regional counterparts including Israel and Egypt on the humanitarian response. However, the flow of aid into and through Gaza continues to be insufficient and we are urgently exploring all diplomatic options to increase this, including urging Israel to open other existing land border crossings such as Kerem Shalom. Fuel remains a critical component and without sufficient aid, fuel cannot be distributed by humanitarian organisations and hospitals, bakeries as well as desalination plants cannot operate. We are also actively exploring other routes for aid to get into Gaza. The UK Government has already announced £60 million in humanitarian funding and has sent more than 74 tonnes of emergency relief for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Prime Minister raised the provision of arms to Myanmar by Indian suppliers with Prime Minister Modi at the G20 Summit.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Discussions between the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi covered the breadth and depth of the UK-India relationship, ranging from trade to cooperation on education, research and defence.
Although the provision of arms to Myanmar was not discussed, we continue to raise this issue bilaterally with those who are reported to be providing arms to the Myanmar military.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if their Department will publish an Ethnicity Pay Gap Report for financial year 2023-24 in line with the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance for employers published on 17 April 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is liaising with Civil Service HR colleagues and other government departments to work through the details of the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance that was published on 17 April 2023. In line with Gender Pay Gap Reporting, the Civil Service is looking to develop a consistent methodology to produce the data and Ethnicity Pay Reports. The outcomes of this work will inform whether we are able to publish a report for 2023/2024. More generally the Civil Service is undertaking extensive work both centrally and within departments to promote diversity across its workplaces, including ethnicity.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in other high-income countries on investing a higher proportion of Official Development Assistance in foundational literacy and numeracy programmes.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
FCDO and likeminded education partners have come together to promote a shared commitment to improving foundational learning for all. At the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022, countries and organisations were invited to endorse a Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning. This aims to build a global coalition of education partners collaborating on foundational learning. The UK is also asking the G7 and G20 to focus on foundational learning, including by prioritising more global Official Development Assistance (ODA) for education. This builds on our 2021 G7 Presidency, where we secured G7 support for two Global Objectives on girls' access and foundational learning objectives.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to intervene in the Rohingya genocide case before the International Court of Justice.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 25 August 2022, the UK announced its intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case regarding Myanmar's compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, in relation to acts committed against the Rohingya. The UK is currently working on the scope of its intervention, including detailed consideration of the legal arguments. It intends to make a formal declaration to the Court in due course.