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Written Question
Pakistan: Animal Welfare
Thursday 16th December 2021

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress her Department has made in promoting animal welfare in Pakistan (a) in general and (b) in relation to the practice of keeping Himalayan brown bears in captivity for entertainment and dancing purposes.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs published its Action Plan for Animal Welfare on 12 May 2021 setting out the Government's plans, aims and ambitions in this policy area. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare demonstrates this Government's commitment to a brighter future for animals both at home and abroad. Our exit from the EU affords us the opportunity to raise our already high domestic animal welfare standards, to act as a dynamic leader on the world stage, and to introduce measures and protections which are right in principle.

The UK Government is also at the forefront of international efforts to protect endangered animals from poaching and illegal trade. We are investing over £46m between 2014 and 2022 on work to directly counter the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) in animals and plants, including to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks and develop sustainable livelihoods. The IWT Challenge Fund has committed over £37m to 113 projects around the world since it was launched at the London IWT Conference in 2014. The UK is also contributing £250m to the Global Environment Facility between 2018-2022, which includes the world's biggest fund for tackling IWT, the Global Wildlife Programme (GWP), and supports IWT projects across 32 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.


Written Question
Bahrain: Human Rights
Tuesday 10th March 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

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 human rights situation in Bahrain in 2019; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

Our most recent assessment was published as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Human Rights and Democracy Report in June 2019. Bahrain remains an FCO human rights priority country, particularly because of the use of the death penalty, allegations of torture and mistreatment in detention and concerns over freedom of expression and assembly. We monitor events in Bahrain closely and continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.


Written Question
Palestinians: Agricultural Products
Monday 9th March 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

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 effect of the Israeli Government's ban on the export of some types of Palestinian agricultural produce to the Kingdom of Jordan on the Israel-Palestine peace process.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK is concerned about the impact of recent Israeli trade restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are committed to supporting Palestinian economic development. The UK Government strongly supports the principle of free trade. Businesses should be free to import Palestinian products without barriers. Her Majesty's Ambassador to Israel has raised this issue with the Government of Israel, most recently on 12 February. We welcome the agreement reached by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, on 20 February, to lift their respective trade restrictions. We urge both sides to ensure the continued implementation of this agreement.


Written Question
Palestinians: Agricultural Products
Monday 9th March 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help end the dispute between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority on trade of agricultural products.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The UK is concerned about the impact of recent Israeli trade restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are committed to supporting Palestinian economic development. The UK Government strongly supports the principle of free trade. Businesses should be free to import Palestinian products without barriers. Her Majesty's Ambassador to Israel has raised this issue with the Government of Israel, most recently on 12 February. We welcome the agreement reached by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, on 20 February, to lift their respective trade restrictions. We urge both sides to ensure the continued implementation of this agreement.


Written Question
Democratic Republic of Congo: Democracy
Wednesday 26th February 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

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 promote democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by James Duddridge

The UK is committed to promoting democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and continues to work with international partners to press the DRC Government to improve political space, confirm release of political prisoners, recognise people's right to peaceful protest and refrain from using excessive force against protestors. The UK funds the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to build the capacity of the DRC Parliament and improve evidence-based law making and democratic accountability. In 2019 we also funded a local NGO to improve monitoring of violations against press freedom. More broadly, the UK continues to fund efforts to support stability and security as well as human rights in DRC through contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, humanitarian funding and through the Department for International Development conflict programming supporting stabilisation and peacebuilding in the East.


Written Question
Children: Abduction
Monday 10th February 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has any plans to update the current guidance on cases of parental child abduction to Japan.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

The FCO provides information on International Parental Child Abduction on GOV.UK, as well as country specific information for Japan. The British Government continues to work closely with our Japanese partners to ensure the 1980 Hague Convention is operated effectively. In 2019, Japan introduced new legislation, which should come into effect in 2020, with the aim of improving the enforcement process in international parental abduction cases. Gov.uk will be updated to reflect this when the legislation comes into effect.


Written Question
Colombia: Peace Negotiations
Monday 27th January 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the 8 January 2020 UN Security Council Mission to Colombia report on the state of the Colombian peace process; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The United Kingdom is proud to act as penholder for the Colombian peace process in the UN Security Council, and supports the important work the UN Verification Mission does to monitor the progress made following the 2016 agreement. We welcomed the Special Representative's latest report to the Security Council, and agreed with his assessment of the situation.

We were glad to see President Duque's announcement that he would like the UN Mission to stay in Colombia until at least 2022, and commend the Colombian Government on the successes it has achieved so far.

As we mentioned in the UN Security Council session on 13 January following the Special Representative's report, the United Kingdom remains particularly concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders, community leaders and former FARC combatants. We have called on the Colombian Government to prioritise the tackling of this violence and to improve security conditions around the country, as well as accelerating implementation of reintegration programmes for former fighters. The United Kingdom is also committed to continuing its own programming to support the Government's efforts and mitigate risks to communities.


Written Question
Colombia: Violence
Monday 27th January 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart on the violence against (a) social activists and (b) FARC former combatants in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

​The United Kingdom shares the concerns of the Colombian Government regarding the ongoing violence in Colombia as organised armed groups fight for control of illicit economies. We have been vocal in expressing our concern about the persistent high levels of violence and threats towards social activists, former FARC combatants and others, and the impact this has on the future of peace.

We regularly raise these issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora. Most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on this issue at the UN Security Council on 13 January. Our Embassy regularly raises concerns about specific communities with the relevant state actors in Colombia.

We remain steadfast in our support of the Colombian authorities as they work towards sustainable peace, and will continue to work closely with the Colombian Government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.


Written Question
Colombia: Peace Negotiations
Monday 27th January 2020

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Colombian counterpart on the safety and security of the 9,000 FARC members living outside of official reincorporation zones in Colombia.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

The United Kingdom welcomes the Colombian Government's longstanding commitment to assisting former guerrilla fighters transition to civilian life following the peace agreement of 2016. We have committed almost £45 million over 5 years through the United Kingdom conflict Stability and Security Fund for Colombia to support development across conflict-affected regions. We have done this through programmes designed to build state capacity to ensure the safety of former fighters and of other vulnerable individuals and groups, including outside of official reincorporation zones.

Our Embassy regularly raises concerns about specific communities with the relevant state actors in Colombia.

We also raised our concern about this issue at the United Nations Security Council session on Colombia on 13 January, where we called on the Colombian government to accelerate its reintegration programmes for former combatants. We will continue to work closely with the Colombian government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.


Written Question
Colombia: Paramilitary Forces
Monday 21st October 2019

Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the accuracy of reports of attacks in Colombia on the headquarters of opposition parties by right wing paramilitary groups and (b) the adequacy of the Colombian’s Government's response to those attacks; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Christopher Pincher

​We are concerned by reports of violence against political groups as Colombia prepares for regional elections on 27 October. The United Kingdom is supportive of the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia, and we will continue to work closely with the Colombian government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.