Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports that the Turkish army attacked a refugee camp in the Zaxo region of Northern Iraq on 30 August 2021 housing Yazidi refugees displaced during the ISIS genocide.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of reports of an explosion in a refugee camp in Zaxo in Northern Iraq on 30 August. Allegations of attacks against refugee camps are deeply concerning. We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, President Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London on the 15-17 September.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent reports of Turkish military activity in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK continues to follow the situation in northern Iraq closely. The Foreign Secretary met Iraqi President Saleh, Prime Minister Kadhimi and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's President Nechirvan to discuss the stability of Iraq and the KRI during his visit to Iraq on 8-9 June. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent reports of Turkish military activity in the Kurdish region of Northern Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We assess that the ceasefire in north east Syria is broadly holding, but we are not complacent and will continue to call for all actors to meet their obligations under international law. We are aware of the recent reports of increased violence in the region and I called for de-escalation on the 1st September.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will fulfil its commitment to the 2021 Afghan Chevening scholars; and what provisions have been made to enable those scholars to travel to the UK.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We successfully evacuated the majority of Afghan Chevening scholars in this year’s cohort and we will continue to uphold our commitment to support all of our Chevening scholars from Afghanistan.Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent reports that the Turkish Government is seeking to shut down the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, as well as human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We are aware that the Turkish Government is seeking to ban the People's Democratic Party (HDP). Our Embassy meets regularly with the HDP leadership, as it does with other opposition parties, to discuss their concerns, including the arrests of HDP MPs. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to insist that it fulfils its international legal obligations to secure the human rights of all people, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees. We will hold Turkey to account using established international mechanisms, and look for opportunities to raise these issues with our international partners.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Turkish Government to help prevent the further escalation of Turkish alleged persecution and inciting of violence against Kurdish people in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq and Syria.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK continues to follow closely the situations in northern Iraq and Syria. We reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians. The UK respects Iraqi sovereignty and acknowledges Turkey's security concerns regarding the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group. We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. In Turkey, we continue to urge an end to PKK violence and a return to a peace process. As in any conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided and human rights fully protected. In Syria, we welcome the fact that the ceasefires in north-east and north-west Syria broadly continue to hold, and we continue to call on all sides in the Syrian conflict to abide by their obligations under international law.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the attack and murder of a Kurdish family on 30 July 2021 in the Konya region of Turkey; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The murder in July of seven members of the Dedeoğulları family was shocking and deeply saddening. I understand that there were several arrests in the days following the murders, and that police investigations are continuing. We also note claims in the Turkish media that the attack was racially motivated. We expect the Turkish authorities to conduct a rigorous investigation into the killings.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 178778, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the treatment of prisoners in Jau Prison during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly discuss the challenges of managing Covid-19 in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government and continue to engage with the Government of Bahrain to support its reform agenda. 70% of prisoners are vaccinated and, since February, visits from vaccinated family members have been allowed in person.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 178778 Bahrain: Political Prisoners, what visits have taken place at Jau Prison during the covd-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly discuss the challenges of managing Covid-19 in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini Government and continue to engage with the Government of Bahrain to support its reform agenda. 70% of prisoners are vaccinated and, since February, visits from vaccinated family members have been allowed in person.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on the treatment of prisoners in Jau Prison during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly discuss the challenge of managing the covid-19 pandemic in prisons with senior members of the Bahraini government. We also continue to discuss with the Ombudsman, the NIHR (National Institute for Human Rights) and the PDRC (Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission), who actively monitor the covid-19 situation through inspection visits (NIHR and PDRC) and investigations (Ombudsman) into prison conditions.