Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 investigations undertaken by the Burmese (a) government and (b) military into violence and human rights abuses against the Rohingya since 2012.
Answered by Mark Field
The Burmese Government has led or commissioned four investigations into violence in Rakhine involving the Rohingya since 2012. The Burmese military has conducted three investigations since 2012 into its troops' conduct during operations in Rakhine involving the Rohingya, none of which have met international standards. The Foreign Secretary underlined to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in their 20 September meeting the critical importance of holding to account those responsible for atrocities, and called on Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing to cooperate on accountability. The UK is calling on the Burmese authorities to ensure the Commission of Inquiry is a credible, transparent and impartial investigation, drawing on all evidence already gathered, and leading to a process that holds to account the perpetrators of atrocities.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of steps the Government of Myanmar must take to ensure conditions are safe for Rohingya to return.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK, working with EU partners and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, secured a UN Human Rights Council Resolution on 27 September that sets out the detailed steps the Government of Burma should take to support the return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons. The resolution stresses that the returns process needs to be in consultation with the populations concerned and in accordance with international law and standards. It calls for the Government of Burma to provide returnees with freedom of movement, unimpeded access to livelihoods and social services; abandon policies and practices that marginalize the Rohingya economically; prevent the destruction of property and loss of rights to property; and address the root causes of their vulnerability and forced displacement.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 the (a) Libyan Government and (b) relevant UN agencies on recent reports of human trafficking in Libya.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is determined to eliminate the scourge of forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. The UK regularly raises with the Libyan Government the need for wider respect for human rights and accountability across the country. During his visit to Libya in August the Foreign Secretary raised with Prime Minister Serraj the importance of offering humanitarian support to migrants and the need to respect human rights. I also raised our concerns about the human rights situation in Libya, including the issue of slavery, with the Libyan Deputy Prime Minister at the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome on 1 December and welcomed the investigation into this issue. The UK works closely with the relevant UN agencies and has also further underlined our concerns about these reports in our recent discussions with the Libyan Government in Tripoli, and will continue to monitor the situation closely. The UK has condemned the reports in recent United Nations Security Council meetings and – as penholder in the Security Council on Libya – welcomes the 7 December Presidential Statement on the issue of slavery in Libya.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on reported human rights violations in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK Government shares the deep concern of the international community regarding the deteriorating political and economic situation. Since April, there have been more than 80 deaths during protests.
This is a critical time for Venezuela, and UK concerns over the situation have led Venezuela to be designated a FCO Human Rights Priority Country.
I met the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Samuel Moncada, in his previous role as Minister for Europe on 26 October. I raised UK concerns at the deteriorating situation and encouraged the Venezuelan Government to accept offers of international aid to address chronic shortages of basic food and medical supplies.
In March, I hosted a delegation of Deputies from the Venezuelan National Assembly and stressed the importance of an independent and empowered legislature. I issued a statement on 31 March echoing these views, following the Venezuelan Supreme Court's attempt to wrest power from the National Assembly.
In May, then Minister for Human Rights, Baroness Anelay visited Caracas and delivered clear messages to senior government and opposition figures, expressing our concern at the political situation and the need to respect the freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protests.
Following the 5 July attack on the National Assembly and its Deputies by pro-Government supporters, I issued a statement condemning the attack and calling for the Venezuelan Government to uphold the constitution and show respect for its democratic institutions.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the bombing of an Oxfam warehouse in Saada on 18 April 2015; and if he will commission a Government inquiry into that bombing.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of allegations of the bombing of an Oxfam warehouse on 18 April 2015. It is important that thorough and conclusive investigations are conducted into this incident. We encourage NGOs to share information of incidents of concern with HMG to be considered in the analysis conducted by MOD.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assistance the Government has provided to the Nigerian government in the search for the Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped in April 2014.
Answered by James Duddridge
In response to the abduction of the Chibok girls the UK, together with the US and France, provided a range of military and intelligence support to help the Nigerian government in their search for the missing girls, and to address the long-term challenges of terrorism.
Since 2014 the UK has significantly increased our military, intelligence and development support to Nigeria. This includes training and advice for Nigerian units deploying against Boko Haram. Last year almost 1000 Nigerian military personnel benefited from UK training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in the north east. We have also provided £5million to support the Multinational Joint Task Force set up by Nigeria and its neighbours to tackle the insurgents. Through our development assistance, the UK supports the Government of Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative which has helped over 90,000 displaced children to return to school and we have increased our humanitarian support to help deliver food, water and emergency healthcare to those affected by the conflict.
We remain fully committed to supporting Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram and to help find all those who are missing, including the Chibok girls.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will estimate the proportion of rebel ground forces in Syria which could be considered moderate.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) stated in Parliament in December 2015 that we assessed at that time that there were around 70,000 non-extremist fighters in Syria, standing up to both the tyranny of the Asad regime and the poisonous and murderous ideology of Daesh. Since the time of that assessment, there have been significant shifts on the ground, particularly as a result of Russia’s military escalation, the majority of which has directly targeted the moderate opposition.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 Bahraini government on the provision of medical treatment to Mr Hassam Mushiema.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of the case of Hassam Mushiema and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. In parallel, we encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received from meetings between Ministers in the (a) Scottish Government, (b) Welsh Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive and representatives of overseas governments in the last 12 months.
Answered by David Lidington
Ministers from the Devolved Administrations have made numerous overseas visits supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) over the last twelve months.
Sometimes Devolved Administration Ministers write to record their impressions from the visit and to thank the FCO; sometimes officials who have attended the meetings circulate reports to relevant addressees including the FCO.