Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the steps taken by the Government to meet the commitments in Section 2 of the 2020 UK Approach to the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Situations, with particular reference to the monitoring and reporting of human rights.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government continues to be guided by principles set out in the updated Approach to Protection of Civilians paper published in August 2020. By way of example, in the past year, the UK has supported strengthening human rights provisions in the mandates for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) peacekeeping operations. Our deployment to MINUSMA has provided assurance enabling civilian UN human rights teams to conduct their investigations. We have supported human rights monitors in Syria and encouraged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to promote humanitarian coordination there. We have drawn on UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) mandated investigations to inform and structure our approach to promoting civilian protection in Yemen and been consistent in our support for the work of the UNHCR Fact Finding Mission on Libya.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the future provision of additional visa opportunities to British students wishing to study in the EU.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
EU Member States are responsible for the implementation of their immigration systems, including the provision of visas and routes of entry for third country nationals, including students. The Government will continue to work with bilateral partners, including EU Member State authorities, to ensure that the rules and requirements for British citizens wishing to study in the EU are clearly communicated.
The Government has been working with UK stakeholders, such as Universities UK International (UUKi), who produced guidance for their members on the various visa regimes in operation across the EU. We will continue to work with the higher education sector to ensure that organisations and individuals are prepared to meet the new requirements.