Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2020 to Question 49098 on Iran: Arms Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UN Security Council Resolutions 2231, 1540, 2216 and 1701 in tackling Iran’s regional threat.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have long been clear about our concerns over Iran's continued destabilising activity throughout the region. As part of this, we have significant and longstanding concerns, alongside our international partners, over Iran's ballistic missile programme, which poses a further threat to regional security. Reports that Iran has carried out a satellite launch - using ballistic missile technology - are of significant concern and inconsistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. Iran must abide by this.
We remain concerned about the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the revelation it has developed an independent military space launch capability, and call on Iran urgently to cease all forms of destabilising activity. We regularly examine options and activity to address these issues and call on Iran to fully comply with UNSCRs 2231, 1540, 2216 and 1701.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
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 level of regional threat posed by Iran re-entering the arms market following the expiration of the UN conventional arms embargo in October 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), a reciprocal deal that lifts sanctions in exchange for tough nuclear limits. Iran has broken the nuclear limits in the JCPoA and we are working to bring Iran back into compliance through the deal's Dispute Resolution Mechanism.
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231, which underpins the JCPoA, includes a number of clauses designed to allow sanctions to expire on fixed dates: the UN conventional arms embargo is due to expire in October 2020. We have repeatedly set out concerns about Iranian destabilising behaviour, including proliferation to non-state actors. UNSCRs 1540, 2216 and 1701, which prohibit the proliferation of weapons to the Houthis and Lebanese Hizballah, will remain in place after the arms embargo expires. The EU arms embargo and UN ballistic missile restrictions will also remain in place until 2023. We are consulting partners on the broader implications of the UN arms embargo expiry and encourage all states to implement national export control best practice.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many emergency repatriation loans have been paid; and what the total value is of those loans.
Answered by Nigel Adams
British nationals and UK residents who are overseas and wish to return to the UK, but cannot afford travel costs and have exhausted all other options for getting funds to return home, may apply for an emergency loan from the government as a last resort. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) usually issues around 250 emergency repatriation loans per year. We estimate that over 750 loans have been issued this year with an approximate total value of over £100,000. Some loans are still being processed. Since 7 April, the FCO has been working with Corporate Travel Management (CTM), which is authorised to administer such loans on behalf of the FCO, to extend the FCO's capacity to consider loan requests from British nationals.
The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we remain committed to ensuring that British travellers around the globe are able to return home.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
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 British Overseas Territories during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK Government is firmly committed to supporting the Overseas Territories in dealing with Covid-19. Baroness Sugg (Minister for the Overseas Territories) is in regular contact with the political leaders and Governors of the Territories, to understand the situation on the ground and identify how the UK Government can best support them. The impact of the pandemic on the Territories varies, and our support is being calibrated accordingly. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development are leading a cross-Whitehall effort, working closely with the Overseas Territories governments to provide support across the key areas we have identified, of healthcare, economy, security and access.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
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 care needs of British children trapped in north-east Syria.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has no consular presence within Syria from which to assess the needs of or provide assistance to British children, but we carefully consider all requests for consular assistance on a case by case basis. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that the Government will seek to assist any British unaccompanied minors and orphans in Syria who are brought to our attention, where feasible and subject to national security concerns.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with the Kurdish authorities on their ability to deliver repatriated children to the Syrian border.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Officials have discussed the evacuation and repatriation of British orphans and unaccompanied minors with representatives of the civilian de facto authorities in north east Syria on several occasions, most recently on 21 October. Any repatriation will be subject to national security concerns.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
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 counterpart in the US Administration on that Administration's decision to classify Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Answered by Mark Field
We regularly engage with the US on Iran policy at a variety of levels, including through a visit to Washington by our Ambassador to Iran last month.
We have long expressed our deep concerns about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC's) destablising activity both within and outside Iran, including its illicit economic activity and its role in Iran's ballistic missile development and support to non-state groups around the region.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the involvement of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in terrorist activity in the region.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government is deeply concerned by Iran's destabilising involvement in regional conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC Qods Force, and by reported financial and military support to militant and proscribed groups, such as Hizballah and the Houthis. The Foreign Secretary raised these concerns directly during his visit to Iran last November.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
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 Israeli counterpart on (a) Gazan patients allegedly using medical permits to smuggle weapons or explosives into Israel at the behest of Hamas and (b) the extent of fraudulent applications for medical permits by Gazans.
Answered by Alistair Burt
While we are aware of the background behind the question, we have not specifically raised this issue with the Israeli Government. We strongly condemn all acts of terrorism and call upon Hamas and other terrorist groups to permanently end their incitement and rocket fire against Israel. We are also aware that Israeli restrictions severely restrict the movement of medical professionals and patients in Gaza, hampering the provision of quality health services. Our Embassy to Israel regularly raises the matter of medical permits with the Israeli authorities.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will assess the merits of the conclusions and recommendations of the report entitled, No Choice: It takes a world to end the use of child soldiers, published by World Vision International in February 2019; and what steps his Department is taking to protect children at risk of recruitment by armed forces and his groups.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK government actively engages with civil society organisations, recognising that collaborative engagement can strengthen the protection of children in armed conflict. On 12 February 2019, the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon met four youth participants from World Vision UK's newly launched campaign entitled 'It takes a World...To End Violence Against Children', to discuss their views and recommendations for government action regarding the use of children in armed forces and groups. The UK government recognises the importance of amplifying young people's voices and the powerful impact this can have in raising the profile of the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) Agenda. The UK government therefore continues to engage with World Vision on this agenda. An invitation has been extended to World Vision to present at the newly established cross-government Working Group on CAAC.
The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on CAAC, which leads the international response to the issue of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. The UK is the largest single financial contributor to the office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for CAAC, contributing £800,000 in the last five years. We have shown our support for the SRSG's recently launched Global Coalition for Reintegration (GCR) by joining the 'Friends of Reintegration' group, a forum to generate new ideas for supporting reintegration programmes and prevention of re-recruitment for children formerly associated with armed groups. The UK has confirmed it will be increasing its funding to the office of the SRSG for CAAC to £450,000 for the FY19/20 to continue assisting the SRSG with her current mandate and will be giving an additional £50,000 to fund extended activities pertaining to the GCR.