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Written Question
Ethiopia and Somaliland: Ports
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia to provide port access.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO noted the 1 January 2024 announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which suggests that Ethiopia will recognise Somaliland's independence in return for the lease of territory along its coastline. The UK is clear that we respect Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our position on Somaliland remains unchanged: alongside our international partners we do not recognise Somaliland as an independent state. We believe the settlement of Somaliland's status is for Somalia and Somaliland to resolve, through a consultative process. We are engaging all countries involved to call for calm and encourage dialogue.


Written Question
Jagtar Singh Johal
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 1785 on Jagtar Singh Johal, whether the Minister of State for South Asia and the Indian External Affairs Minister discussed when the Indian authorities plan to decide whether to charge or release Jagtar Singh Johal.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, has raised Jagtar Singh Johal's case with the Government of India on numerous occasions. He did so most recently on 13 November with the Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Lord Ahmad raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including the length of his detention and the need for a resolution. The UK Government will continue to raise our concerns about Mr Johal's case with the Government of India.


Written Question
Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Tuesday 17th October 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Canadian counterparts on the potential implications for (a) the UK and (b) its Sikh residents of the statement by the Canadian Government on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Prime Minster spoke to Prime Minister Trudeau on 6 October about the serious allegations raised in the Canadian Parliament and the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with his Canadian counterpart. All countries should respect sovereignty and the rule of law. It is important Canada's investigation runs its course, with the perpetrators brought to justice. We have raised this matter with the Government of India and we encourage them to cooperate fully with the investigation.


Written Question
Jagtar Singh Johal
Monday 24th April 2023

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department last made representations to the government of India on the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government has consistently raised issues about Mr Johal's case with the Government of India on over 100 occasions, including allegations of torture and his right to a fair trial. Mr Johal's case was raised most recently by the Foreign Secretary with the Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Delhi on 1 March. Consular staff visit Mr Johal regularly to check on his welfare and did so most recently on 7 March. Consular staff also continue to attend relevant court hearings in an observer capacity, most recently on 10 March.


Written Question
Salar Abnoush
Thursday 20th October 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

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 need to apply Magnitsky sanctions against Salar Abnoush.

Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education

The UK has over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. On 10 October, the UK used the dedicated Iran Human Rights sanctions regime to designate the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sanctions-on-iran-relating-to-human-rights


Written Question
Nigeria: Abduction
Monday 25th April 2022

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made representations to the Government of Nigeria regarding those abducted from train AK9 on 28 March 2022, some of whom have relatives in the UK.

Answered by Vicky Ford

I expressed my public condemnation following the tragic Abuja-Kaduna train attack, and expressed my condolences to Foreign Minister Onyeama.

Officials from the British High Commission in Nigeria have raised the attack with representatives from the Kaduna State Government. The UK Government is committed to working with Nigeria to tackle insecurity, and we have provided support to the Nigerian police to improve their anti-kidnap capacity. I discussed rising insecurity in Nigeria with the Vice President and with the Foreign Minister when I visited Nigeria in February; and with Nigeria's National Security Advisor during the first dialogue of our Security and Defence Partnership in February in London. At the dialogue, the UK and Nigeria committed to further our cooperation on preventing kidnaps in Nigeria.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Dams
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential threat to regional stability posed by the time being taken to reach agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Answered by James Duddridge

We welcome the resumption of talks between the Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to work towards a peaceful resolution. We continue to urge all parties involved to come to an agreement and to avoid taking any unilateral action. The whole region has a shared interest in the peaceful utilization of its natural resources.

We note the recent talks held on the 4-5 April hosted by African Union (AU) Chairperson President Tshisekedi did not reach a conclusion and urge all parties to redouble efforts to reach an agreement, via the AU-led process.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the letters of 3 February 2021 and 13 August 2020 from the hon. Member for Warley on the report into the content of Palestinian Authority school textbooks.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

A response was sent on 15 April 2021.


Written Question
USA: Trade Unions
Monday 22nd February 2021

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with new US Administration on advancing trade union rights in international fora and agreements.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The UK Government supports the promotion of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) fundamental principles and rights at work in Free Trade Agreements, which includes freedom of association, and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. We continue to be active members of the ILO, and maintain our own high levels of employment rights. To date, the UK Government has not raised the issue of Trade Union rights in international fora with the new US Administration.


Written Question
Belarus: Sanctions
Tuesday 13th October 2020

Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international partners on the imposition of new sanctions on Belarussian officials.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to impose sanctions in response to the human rights violations and fraudulent election in Belarus. With Canada, we imposed sanctions against Lukashenko and his inner circle on 29 September.

The UK welcomed the announcement by the EU and the US on 2 October of further sanctions on Belarus. EU sanctions will continue to apply to the UK during the Transition Period and we will carry over the EU Belarus sanctions regime as an autonomous UK sanctions regime at the end of the Transition Period. We encourage our global partners to join the UK, Canada and US in sanctioning the leadership responsible for the ongoing crisis in Belarus.