Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 accuracy of reports that Algerian and Sudanese Islamist jihadists are present in central and northern Mali where the joint G5 regional stabilisation force operates.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK strongly supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force and condemns the attack against the Force's Headquarters in Sevare in June 2018. The UK has contributed 15.5% of the €100m of EU support to date for the Force, as well as £2m in bilateral funds. Since October 2012, there have been reports of significant numbers of foreign terrorists, including Algerian and Sudanese fighters, operating in Gao and Timbuktu. We assess that the G5 Sahel Joint Force is having a positive impact against the Islamist terrorist threat, evidenced by a number of effective joint operations since November 2017. The challenge is nevertheless significant and it is urgent that the Force becomes fully operational and the international community makes good on pledges of financial support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 progress made by Saudi Arabian education authorities in removing from school textbooks (a) incitements to commit jihad, (b) passages describing Christians and Jews in a derogatory manner and (c) passages encouraging extremist ideologies likely to incite hatred of religious minorities within Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The British Government strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia. Our views are well known.
A major component of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is educational reform. As the Saudi Minister of Education recently commented, this will take a number of years. During the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the UK in 2018, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will enable a partnership in developing educational curricula.
We closely monitor freedom of religion or belief issues in Saudi Arabia.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 merits of the recommendations made in the recent report by Amnesty International on violence and human rights violations in Anglophone Cameroon; and if he will discuss those recommendations with his Cameroonian counterpart.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We have noted Amnesty International's recent report on the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. We are deeply concerned by this and other reports of violence in the region. It remains incredibly challenging to secure access to the region to obtain an accurate account of what is happening on the ground. Reporting in social media is equally challenging to verify. The British Government wants to see an end to the violence, political prisoners released and a meaningful process of national dialogue to address the core issues. All parties have a responsibility to work for peace and stability and to use only legal and peaceful means to voice grievances.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects on business and human rights his Department has funded in each of the last five years; and what the total spend of each such project was in each of those years.
Answered by Mark Field
For the 2018-19 financial year, the department intends to spend through the Magna Carta Fund a total of £107,000 supporting business and human rights projects. Information for projects relating to business and human rights in previous financial years is not readily available; we will write to the Hon Member in due course.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of how (a) free and (b) fair the elections in Cameroon were on 7 October 2018.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The African Union's Election Observation Mission found that the elections were conducted in a relatively orderly manner in most of the country but violence affected polling in the Anglophone regions. I was concerned by reports of violence and casualties on polling day in Anglophone regions and by how difficult it was for citizens to vote there. I called on all parties to follow proper procedure for tallying results and exercise restraint.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 accuracy of reports of the escalation of violence in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We are aware of reports of increase in violence in the Anglophone region, especially in the lead up to the Presidential elections which took place on 7 October. The situation there is such that it is difficult to obtain an accurate account of what is happening or verify social media reports. We continue to engage with the Government of Cameroon on this and wider issues and deliver the message that we want to see an end to violence and a meaningful process to address the core issues in the Anglophone region of Cameroon. We will also continue to underline that all parties have a responsibility to work for peace and stability and to use only legal and peaceful means to voice grievances.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the (a) membership and (b) remit of the Cross-Whitehall Steering Group on Business and Human Rights is; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
The Cross-Whitehall Steering Group on Business and Human Rights is chaired jointly by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business Energy and Industry Strategy and is attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Department for International Trade, UK Export Finance, the Home Office, the Department for International Development, the Department for Exiting the European Union, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Government Equalities Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, Crown Commercial Services, and with the Devolved Administrations. It builds on the commitments which the UK Government made in response to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights report 'Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability'.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions the cross-Whitehall steering group on business and human rights has met since the publication of the updated National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.
Answered by Mark Field
Since the update of the National Action Plan, the Cross-Whitehall Steering Group on Business and Human Rights has met five times and also liaise between its meetings.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 (a) the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and (b) UK businesses on updating the national action plan on business and human rights after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Mark Field
Our shared focus is implementing the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights as it stands and on sustaining the UK's high standards in protection of human rights. There is no intent to review the Plan before at least 2020. Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy officials liaise frequently on the Plan and its implementation. We are clear that any future development of the Plan, must be informed by wide consultations, including with business representatives, about our approach and the delivery of commitments, so officials intend new engagement early in the New Year.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
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 potential effect on the implementation of the updated national action plan on business and human rights of the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
Foreign and Commonwealth officials discuss the implementation of the National Action Plan regularly at working level, with officials from the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, and through the Cross-Whitehall Steering Group on Business and Human Rights, taking all relevant developments into account.