Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Yazidi women from sexual assault in north-eastern Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Bahraini counterpart on reports of violent incidents at the British Embassy in that country.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
We are not aware of any recent reports of violent incidents at the British Embassy in Bahrain. We have a close relationship and where we have concerns we are able to raise them with the Government of Bahrain.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Bahraini counterpart on reports of violent incidents at the British Embassy in that country.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to de-escalate tensions with Iran.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The UK remains in close contact with Iran and other international partners, including at Ministerial level, to find diplomatic solutions and to avoid provocative actions. The UK encourages positive engagement from all sides and will continue to work closely to de-escalate tensions.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi counterpart on the safety of Bhasan Char for Rohingya refugees.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific stressed to the Government of Bangladesh, most recently during his visit to Bangladesh in April 2019, that any relocation of refugees to Bhasan Char Island must be safe, dignified and in accordance with international humanitarian principles and standards.
The UK fully supports the UN's position that full and detailed technical and protection assessments should be conducted of Bhasan Char before any relocation of Rohingya refugees are considered. We welcome the Government of Bangladesh's commitment to ensure any relocation is voluntary and are conducted in coordination with UN agencies.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 threat posed by the oil tanker anchored off the coast of Yemen to the environment.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
We remain deeply concerned by the environmental threat posed by the decaying Safer oil tanker anchored off the cost of Yemen. We share the views of the UN and independent experts that an urgent assessment is needed on the vessel. We are urging the Houthis to facilitate UN access to the oil tanker to allow for the assessment to take place as soon as possible.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 his Jamaican counterpart to promote LGBTQ+ rights in Jamaica.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The defence of human rights, including LGBTQ+ is a key part of our foreign policy. Sexual acts between men remain illegal in Jamaica and there are wider issues of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community there. We are working with the Government of Jamaica and with LGBTQ+ organisations in the country, as well as others with an interest such as Church Groups and human rights organisations, to support equality of treatment for all and to raise awareness of particular issues that the LGBTQ+ community face. We welcome the commitment of Prime Minister Holness, including at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, that Jamaica should protect the human rights of every citizen regardless of sexual orientation or inclination.