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 counterpart in Colombia to support the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in test cases such as that of Congressman-Elect Jesus Santrich and other institutions created under the peace agreement; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The arrest of Seauxis Hernandez (Jesus Santrich) for allegations of drug smuggling since the signing of the Peace Agreement is a significant challenge for all those working to uphold the aims of the Havana accords. The British Ambassador in Bogota has discussed the case with the Attorney General, and the Embassy are monitoring the situation closely. In her statement on 19 April, Karen Pierce the UK Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council made clear the importance of handling it in accordance with the Peace Agreement. I understand that Mr Hernandez’s case will be reviewed by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. I welcome the joint message of commitment to due process made by President Santos and FARC Party leader Rodrigo Londono following their meeting on 11 April.
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 the Government plans to negotiate bilateral alternatives to the EU Mobility Partnerships.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK is considering its future migration, mobility and asylum relationships with other states post-Brexit. We hope to continue to cooperate on the issue of migration and build upon the relationships we already have.
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 the total value is of services delivered to his Department through contracts with Strategic Communications Laboratories since 2010.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not held any contracts with Strategic Communication Laboratories since 2010.
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, which external recruitment agencies are used by his Department's non-departmental public bodies.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has five Non-Departmental Public Bodies: the British Council, Marshal Aid Commemoration Commission, Wilton Park, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Great Britain China Centre. The external recruitment agencies used by them, or by the FCO on their behalf, are: Russell Reynolds Associates, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Pro Group, Rencai, DGH Recruitment Limited, La Fosse Associates, Interquest Group UK Limited, Whitehall Resources Limited, Sentinel IT LLP, The Audit & Risk Recruitment Company, Michael Page UK Ltd, Stop Gap Group Ltd, Elevate Recruitment, Morgan Law Partners LLP, Perrett Laver, Minerva, Neutral Vendor (Comensura), Women on Boards, NEDonBoard, Nurole Ltd, Accountancy Recruitment Worthing, Reed, Checkmate Resourcing, GCS Recruitment, Gatenby Sanderson, Badenoch and Clark, Mark Sattin, Huntress, Prospect-Us, Pulse, Business in the Community, Mentoring Foundation, The Women's Organisation, Board Ready, Business Disability Forum, Gay Business Association, Association of Disabled Professionals, Egon Zehnder.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Overseas Territories on the issue of public listing corporations.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 27 December 2017 to question 119811.
Asked by: Jo Stevens (Labour - Cardiff Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Overseas Territories on the issue of public listing corporations.
Answered by Alan Duncan
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 27 December 2017 to question 119811.
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 his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the recent murders of former FARC combatants, Vilmar Asprilla and Ansel de Jesus Montoya Ibarra, and the UN condemnation of those murders on the peace process in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK condemns attacks against former members of the FARC and their families. This includes the killing of Vilmar Asprilla and Ansel de Jesús Montoya Ibarra who were election campaigning in Antioquia on 16 January.
We are concerned about increasing number of attacks against human rights defenders and local community leaders in Colombia. The UN Office for Human Rights has reported that at least 78 human rights defenders were killed in 2017. Tragic incidents such as these undermine the peace process. Through our advocacy and project work we support efforts by the Government of Colombia to strengthen the protection of vulnerable groups and individuals.
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 murder of 34 demobilised FARC members and 13 relatives of former combatants on the peace process in Colombia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK condemns attacks against former members of the FARC and their families. This includes the killing of Vilmar Asprilla and Ansel de Jesús Montoya Ibarra who were election campaigning in Antioquia on 16 January.
We are concerned about increasing number of attacks against human rights defenders and local community leaders in Colombia. The UN Office for Human Rights has reported that at least 78 human rights defenders were killed in 2017. Tragic incidents such as these undermine the peace process. Through our advocacy and project work we support efforts by the Government of Colombia to strengthen the protection of vulnerable groups and individuals.
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, how many UK embassises and consulates were open in those EU Member States which were full member states in 2010 in each year since 2010.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK has Embassies in all EU Member States and currently has 19 Consulates, Consulates-General and Vice-Consulates across EU Member States – 1 in Croatia, 2 in France, 2 in Germany, 4 in Greece, 1 in Italy, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Portugal and 7 in Spain. This figure does not include our Honorary Consulates in Europe.
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 the Government is taking to support the arrest and apprehension of those individuals with outstanding ICC Arrest Warrants.
Answered by Mark Field
The United Kingdom is a strong supporter of the ICC and believes it is important that fugitives from international justice do not enjoy impunity. If an individual who is wanted by the ICC enters the United Kingdom, we have a legal obligation to arrest and surrender that individual in accordance with the International Criminal Court Act 2001. All State Parties to the ICC have a similar legal obligation to arrest and surrender an ICC-indicted individual if they enter their territory. The United Kingdom regularly raises the importance of cooperation between the ICC and States Parties to the Rome Statute (most recently on 12 December at the UN Security Council). We will continue to raise our concerns with non-cooperating governments, including through the European Union.