Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that the British company Lonmin is held accountable for the loss of life at its mine in Marikana in August 2012.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In 2012 the South African Government established the Marikana Commission of Inquiry (also known as the Farlam Commission) to ascertain the facts surrounding the events at Lonmin mine. Following recommendations made by the Farlam Commission, the British Government sought assurances from Lonmin that the human rights of employees were upheld.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will provide the names of the four independent experts the Government has appointed to advise on deep sea mining.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We are not aware of the supposed four experts to which the Hon Member refers.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the use of the amending procedure of the Rome Statute, Article 121(5), to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the crime of aggression, is consistent with the UK's ratification of articles 12-15, which commits the UK to accepting the Court's jurisdiction over this crime.
Answered by Mark Field
In December 2017, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Assembly of States Parties considered how and when to activate the Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. It confirmed that the Court does not have jurisdiction in respect of the territory or nationals of a State that has not ratified the crime of aggression amendments to the Rome Statute, absent a UN Security Council resolution. This position is entirely consistent with Article 121(5) and all other Articles of the Rome Statute. It is now for each State to choose whether to ratify the relevant amendments, and thereby accept the Court’s jurisdiction. To date, only 35 States Parties have done so. The UK has no plans to ratify the amendments, as we consider that the UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and it is for the UN Security Council to determine when an act of aggression has occurred, as provided for in the UN Charter.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent permanent staff in his Department are allocated to working on negotiations towards securing an agreement on the proposal to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Weddell Sea at the next annual meeting of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Issues pertaining to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources are covered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Polar Regions Department, which currently has 6.5 full-time equivalent permanent staff. This team is also supported on the development of the Weddell Sea Marine Protection Area proposal by FCO Legal Advisers and scientific and technical experts from the British Antarctic Survey and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Guatemalan counterpart on reports of threats against the leader and members of the Nuevo Dia Ch'orti Indigenous Association in Guatemala; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Officials in our Embassy in Guatemala City will raise these reports at the EU Filter Group, an informal human rights monitoring mechanism, in order to discuss with the international community and collectively raise concerns with the Guatemalan authorities . Our Embassy will continue its work to promote consultation with indigenous populations in advance of major infrastructure projects.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 merits of ratifying the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression to the Statute of Rome.
Answered by Mark Field
The Kampala amendments are activated on 17 July 2018. Thereafter, the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the crime of aggression only applies, in the absence of a UN Security Council referral, to acts of aggression committed by States Parties that have ratified or accepted the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression. The UK has no plans to ratify these amendments, as we believe that the UN Security Council should be the body responsible for determining when an act of aggression has occurred.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Thai counterpart on the recent ruling that UK human rights activist, Andy Hall, must pay 10 million Baht in damages to the Natural Fruit Co Ltd. as a result of his conviction for civil defamation conviction; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
I am aware of the civil court order issued on 26 March by Prakhanong Court, calling for Mr Andy Hall to pay 10 million Thai baht in damages to Natural Fruit. We have not raised this court order with the Thai authorities as legal proceedings are ongoing.
We remain in contact with Mr Hall, and have taken action to support him and the important issues he works on, including by raising these with the Thai authorities. We will continue to do so. The UK government supports the right of human rights defenders to carry out their work without fear of harassment or reprisals. We also support full implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 prepare for formal negotiations on a new UN oceans treaty; and how many officials at his Department at each grade will attend the UN conference in September 2018 on the treaty.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) have been actively involved in the preparations for formal negotiations to develop a new agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. We were actively involved in developing and shaping the EU and Member States' positions during the initial stages of discussions at the UN Ad Hoc Working Group on this issue and during the Preparatory Committee, which reported in July 2017. This Preparatory Committee led to the establishment of the intergovernmental conference which will start its work on the substance in September 2018. The FCO leads, with close cooperation from DEFRA, on these negotiations. We have also consulted with and will continue to consult with other government departments during these negotiations. We will also continue to discuss these issues with external stakeholders including the scientific community and civil society.
The UK delegation to the intergovernmental conference in September will include three officials, supported by policy and legal expertise from DEFRA. We will continue to review the composition and size of the delegation as the negotiations develop in order to ensure that we have the right people in place to promote the UK's interests and the interests of global conservation.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent permanent staff in his Department he been assigned to (a) preparations and (b) negotiations on a new UN oceans treaty.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has two full-time equivalent permanent staff assigned to preparations and negotiations on a new agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. As of June, this number will rise to three full-time equivalent permanent members of staff and we are currently recruiting for a fourth. Other members of staff will also be available to support the negotiations as required. The FCO also works closely with other government departments, in particular the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on these negotiations.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to secure a global agreement on protecting at least 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, the UK will work with partners internationally to make sure that a robust evidence base informs the adoption of ambitious, realistic and measurable post-2020 targets at the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention for Biological Diversity in 2020.
This should include the agreement of new ambitious targets for protection of the world's oceans. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to promote the UK's ambitions in this respect.