Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 Bangladeshi counterpart on the right to freedom of religion in that country.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. In July, the Foreign Secretary and I expressed concern about the situation in Bangladesh and called for all sides to work together to end the violence. We support the independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations to identify human rights violations in Bangladesh.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all children in (a) Palestine and (b) Gaza have access to polio vaccination.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK convened the August 2024 emergency session of the UN Security Council to drive urgent action to address the risk of a polio outbreak in Gaza. We are supporting delivery through our funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), alongside our wider support to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary noted the importance of the full and effective delivery of the polio vaccination campaign in his statement to the House on 2 September. The UK continues to work with international partners to reinforce the importance of pauses in military operation to allow the delivery of the second vaccination campaign this month. The UK also funds Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is helping wider immunisation of children living in Gaza, the West Bank and within the Palestinian populations in Lebanon.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will raise the case of Alice Kisiya with his Israeli counterpart; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help protect land rights of Palestinians.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position is clear. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We recognise settlements have reached record levels in the past year and have been accompanied by an increase in settler violence. We urge Israel to take greater action to hold violent settlers to account. During his visit in July, the Foreign Secretary met Palestinians displaced in the West Bank. He was horrified to hear of acts of violence carried out by settlers. The UK has sanctioned eight people and two entities responsible for perpetrating, inciting, and promoting human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. While we do not comment on specific cases, we keep all these issues under review, and we discuss them with our closest allies. The Foreign Secretary was clear with PM Netanyahu on his visit to Israel and the OPTs (July 2024) that the Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and end settlement expansion.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the reported (a) use of violence and (b) detention of Palestinian land owners in the West Bank by Israeli (i) settlers and (ii) soldiers.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position is clear. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We recognise settlements have reached record levels in the past year and there has been an increase in settler violence. We urge Israel to take greater action to hold violent settlers to account. The UK strongly condemns settler violence and provocative remarks such as those made by Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir which threaten the status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem. The UK has sanctioned eight people and two entities responsible for perpetrating, inciting, and promoting human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We keep all these issues under review and we discuss them with our closest allies.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 Israeli counterpart on recent Israeli settlements in the Al Makhrour area of Beit Jala in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has raised the UK's concerns about settlement expansion and settlers with Israeli Ministers. The UK's position is clear. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. During his visit in July, the Foreign Secretary met Palestinians displaced in the West Bank. He was horrified to hear of acts of violence carried out by settlers. The UK strongly condemns settler violence and provocative remarks such as those made by Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, which threaten the status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the increase in Israeli settlement expansion and the depopulation of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position is clear. Settlements are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We recognise settlements have reached record levels in the past year and there has been an increase in settler violence. We urge Israel to take greater action to hold violent settlers to account. During his visit in July, the Foreign Secretary met Palestinians displaced in the West Bank. He was horrified to hear of acts of violence carried out by settlers. The Israeli Government has seized more of the West Bank in 2024 than in the past 20 years. This is completely unacceptable. The UK strongly condemns settler violence and provocative remarks such as those made by Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, which threaten the status quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem. The UK has sanctioned eight people and two entities responsible for perpetrating, inciting, and promoting human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. We keep all these issues under review, and we discuss them with our closest allies.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to assess Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are clear that International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and we are following the necessary processes.
As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he tasked officials with a comprehensive review of Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law, and that process is now under way. We will update the House again once the process is complete.