Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Israeli government on reports of a new illegal settlement at Shiloh in the West Bank.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
On 5 October I issued a public statement condemning the announcement of plans to construct a new settlement near Shilo. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) also raised our concern over settlements with Prime Minister Netanyahu when they met in Jerusalem on 30 September. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv also regularly raises our concerns with the Israeli authorities on the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Israeli and Palestinian authorities on measures to reduce hostilities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the recent violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. We have had a number of discussions with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority over recent weeks. We have urged both sides to de-escalate the tensions. Most recently, on 15 October, the Charge d'Affaires at our Embassy in Israel raised our concerns with Israel’s Deputy National Security Adviser. He did likewise on 12 October, with Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister. On 9 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to President Abbas about the violence, urging him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of the recommendations of the report on children in military custody published by his Department in June 2012 have been implemented.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention.
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv held roundtable meetings with Israeli officials, most recently on 19 May. These meetings confirmed that progress is being made including a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to push for further progress with Israeli officials.
On 2 June, the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns met the Israeli Military Advocate General and the Israeli Ambassador to London where the issue of child detention was discussed. She made clear that while we welcome improvements, we continue to push for the full implementation of changes and to encourage further changes in practice.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Israeli and Palestinian authorities on measures to reduce hostilities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the recent violence across the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel. We have had a number of discussions with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority over recent weeks. We have urged both sides to de-escalate the tensions. Most recently, on 15 October, the Charge d'Affaires at our Embassy in Israel raised our concerns with Israel’s Deputy National Security Adviser. He did likewise on 12 October, with Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister. On 9 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to President Abbas about the violence, urging him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many Rohingya have died in violence this year; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The situation of the Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State remains of grave concern. It is clear that desperate living conditions are driving many people to make the dangerous journey to other countries in the region, fuelling the humanitarian crisis we have seen this year in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to tackle this situation by working towards a long-term solution that brings peace and reconciliation and ensures the civil and human rights of all communities within Rakhine State, including full citizenship for the Rohingya. We are playing our part to resolve the situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors there, investing over £18m in humanitarian support, including an additional £6.2m this year.
While we have not this year seen intercommunal violence, as witnessed in 2012, the situation remains fragile. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying problems and de-escalating tensions. We have made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through an independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. The UK was instrumental in securing the strong UN Resolution on Burma at the Human Rights Council in March, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Yanghee Lee. We very much support Professor Lee’s investigations into the human rights situation in Burma, including in Rakhine, and the reports she has issued on these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
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 broker a regional solution which would provide a safe haven for the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Swire
The situation of the Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State remains of grave concern. It is clear that desperate living conditions are driving many people to make the dangerous journey to other countries in the region, fuelling the humanitarian crisis we have seen this year in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to tackle this situation by working towards a long-term solution that brings peace and reconciliation and ensures the civil and human rights of all communities within Rakhine State, including full citizenship for the Rohingya. We are playing our part to resolve the situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors there, investing over £18m in humanitarian support, including an additional £6.2m this year.
While we have not this year seen intercommunal violence, as witnessed in 2012, the situation remains fragile. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying problems and de-escalating tensions. We have made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through an independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. The UK was instrumental in securing the strong UN Resolution on Burma at the Human Rights Council in March, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Yanghee Lee. We very much support Professor Lee’s investigations into the human rights situation in Burma, including in Rakhine, and the reports she has issued on these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the government of Burma admit UN investigators and allow them to freely investigate alleged atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Swire
The situation of the Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State remains of grave concern. It is clear that desperate living conditions are driving many people to make the dangerous journey to other countries in the region, fuelling the humanitarian crisis we have seen this year in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to tackle this situation by working towards a long-term solution that brings peace and reconciliation and ensures the civil and human rights of all communities within Rakhine State, including full citizenship for the Rohingya. We are playing our part to resolve the situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors there, investing over £18m in humanitarian support, including an additional £6.2m this year.
While we have not this year seen intercommunal violence, as witnessed in 2012, the situation remains fragile. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying problems and de-escalating tensions. We have made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through an independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. The UK was instrumental in securing the strong UN Resolution on Burma at the Human Rights Council in March, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Yanghee Lee. We very much support Professor Lee’s investigations into the human rights situation in Burma, including in Rakhine, and the reports she has issued on these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the government of Burma acts against those perpetrating violence against the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Swire
The situation of the Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State remains of grave concern. It is clear that desperate living conditions are driving many people to make the dangerous journey to other countries in the region, fuelling the humanitarian crisis we have seen this year in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to tackle this situation by working towards a long-term solution that brings peace and reconciliation and ensures the civil and human rights of all communities within Rakhine State, including full citizenship for the Rohingya. We are playing our part to resolve the situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors there, investing over £18m in humanitarian support, including an additional £6.2m this year.
While we have not this year seen intercommunal violence, as witnessed in 2012, the situation remains fragile. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying problems and de-escalating tensions. We have made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through an independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. The UK was instrumental in securing the strong UN Resolution on Burma at the Human Rights Council in March, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Yanghee Lee. We very much support Professor Lee’s investigations into the human rights situation in Burma, including in Rakhine, and the reports she has issued on these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the government of Burma provides citizenship for the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Swire
The situation of the Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State remains of grave concern. It is clear that desperate living conditions are driving many people to make the dangerous journey to other countries in the region, fuelling the humanitarian crisis we have seen this year in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. We continue to urge the Burmese authorities to tackle this situation by working towards a long-term solution that brings peace and reconciliation and ensures the civil and human rights of all communities within Rakhine State, including full citizenship for the Rohingya. We are playing our part to resolve the situation in Rakhine. Since 2012, the UK has been one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors there, investing over £18m in humanitarian support, including an additional £6.2m this year.
While we have not this year seen intercommunal violence, as witnessed in 2012, the situation remains fragile. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations by encouraging a resolution of the underlying problems and de-escalating tensions. We have made clear to the government of Burma that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through an independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. The UK was instrumental in securing the strong UN Resolution on Burma at the Human Rights Council in March, which extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Yanghee Lee. We very much support Professor Lee’s investigations into the human rights situation in Burma, including in Rakhine, and the reports she has issued on these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the government of Burma provides education for Rohingya children.
Answered by Lord Swire
The United Kingdom continues to press the government of Burma to take steps to ensure that all communities in Rakhine, including the Rohingya, are able to access basic services like education and healthcare.
In 2014, British funding to Rakhine provided education services to over 4,000 primary school-age children in camps for displaced people through temporary learning spaces, recruited and trained volunteer teachers in Sittwe and Pauktaw townships and renovated three schools in surrounding communities.