Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will establish a fully independent judicial inquiry into UK involvement in rendition and torture.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) of 5 January 2015 (PQ 218898).
Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to secure the release of Raif Badawi.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are seriously concerned by Raif Badawi’s case. The UK condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in all circumstances. We have raised the case at a senior level with the Saudi authorities, most recently the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the matter with the Saudi Ambassador to London.
Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Yazidis still trapped on Mount Sinai in Iraq; and what steps the Government is taking to support those people.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government is in close contact with partner agencies, including the UN, on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. We have not received any information or requests that would suggest that humanitarian assistance is required on Mount Sinjar but we continue to monitor the situation closely. The Government is providing £39.5 million of humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis in Iraq. All UK aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure that civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity.Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect the rights of Ghoncheh Ghavami in Iran.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the detention of Ghancheh Ghavami, and have pressed the Iranian Government repeatedly over her welfare and our concerns about due process in her case. Both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed this matter with President Rouhani and Foreign minister Zarif respectively in September. The UK’s non resident Charge d’Affaires continues regularly to raise the case with his Iranian counterpart, including most recently on 9 November. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing consular assistance to Ms Ghavami’s family at this difficult time.Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the human rights protections afforded to British citizens visiting countries that (a) are and (b) are not parties to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by David Lidington
Countries party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are legally bound to secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section 1 of the Convention. There is legal recourse to the European Court of Human Rights for all persons within the jurisdiction of a state party who believe their rights to have been violated by a state party whilst they were within the jurisdiction of that State, and they have exhausted their domestic remedies in that State. The Court’s judgments are binding on the state against which the case was brought, though in practice implementation differs from country to country.
The situation in countries which are not party to the ECHR will depend on the provisions of domestic law and the international legal obligations applicable to the state in question which will vary depending on the human rights provisions in treaties to which that country is a party.
Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on British citizens living in other EU member states of any restrictions on freedom of movement in the EU.
Answered by David Lidington
Free movement works both ways and there are a significant number of British nationals who benefit from these rights abroad. The Government is working to respond to public concern about the abuse of free movement, and to return free movement to a basis that will protect all Member States from sudden or uncontrolled migrations in the future.Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Attorney General and (b) the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) about Saudi concerns over the SFO's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have not discussed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd with the Attorney General, but we are assisting the SFO with its investigation as required.
Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department has discussed the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into GPT Special Project Management Ltd with the Saudi government.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Our Embassy in Riyadh informed the Saudi Government of the announcement of the investigation.
Asked by: Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat - Cambridge)
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 political situation in Bangladesh since the elections in that country.
Answered by Hugh Robertson
Bangladesh's political parties must address political accountability and find a long-term solution to run participatory and non violent parliamentary elections. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi, last discussed this issue with the Bangladesh Foreign Minister on 12 June. Reports of intimidation, violence and interference in local elections must be addressed. We have urged the Election Commission to fully and transparently investigate. The British Government are also deeply concerned at reports of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. We have pressed the Bangladesh government to conduct impartial, credible and transparent investigations.