Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on reports made to the UN by Morocco as required of an administering power of Western Sahara.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Morocco is not listed by the UN as the administering Power of Western Sahara and has not therefore transmitted information on the territory in accordance with Article 73e of the charter of the UN.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
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 his Spanish counterpart on (a) the position of that country in relation to the administration of Western Sahara and (b) whether Spain has submitted information to the UN about conditions in that territory, as is required of an administering power.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We have not made representations to the Spanish government relating to Western Sahara. Spain is not listed by the UN as the administering Power of Western Sahara and has not therefore transmitted information on the territory in accordance with Article 73 e of the charter of the UN.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department recognises Morocco as the administering power in the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Like the UN, the UK does not recognise a de jure administering power in Western Sahara. Morocco exercises de facto control over part of the territory.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on attacks by the Israeli Ground Force and Navy on farmers and fishermen in Gaza in October 2014; and if he will raise this matter with his Israeli counterpart.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The IDF has demarcated a 6-mile radius at the western nautical border. The demarcation of the northern border is not as clear to fishermen and this border area is the site of many incidents. During Operation Protective Edge, we raised our concern with the IDF several times over incidents in which fishermen were reportedly shot. The IDF maintained that the Israeli Navy fired only warning shots into the air when the fishermen ventured over the nautical border. We have received unconfirmed reports from the British Consulate General in Jerusalem on attacks in October. We have not raised the October incidents with the Israeli authorities, but continue to monitor developments closely.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on IDF incursions into the West Bank and East Jerusalem and violence by settlers; and what plans he has to raise the issue with his Israeli counterpart.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives regular reports from our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate-General in Jerusalem on political developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on 10 November where he said he was deeply concerned about rising tensions in East Jerusalem. On 10 November, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv raised UK concerns over rising tensions with the Israeli Ministry of Defence Director-General Political-Military and urged the need for calm.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Israeli counterpart the death of Bahaa Samir Badir in Beit Liqiya on 16 October 2014.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government has repeatedly expressed concerns to Israel about the appropriate use of force, including the use of live ammunition, by the Israel Defence Force and Police, as well as the need for Israel to implement the recommendations of the Turkel Commission on improving how the Israeli authorities investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law. We will continue to do so as long as this remains an issue of concern.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of ethnic discrimination by the Bahraini government against Bahraini Shia; and what steps he is taking to condemn and to prevent such discrimination in Bahrain.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry made a number of observations regarding long-standing complaints of sect-based discrimination in Bahrain. We have raised these concerns with the Government of Bahrain and we continue to encourage the Bahraini authorities to implement in full the recommendations set out in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representation he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr; and what steps he is taking to condemn such acts and prevent their re-occurrence.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We understand that Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has been sentenced to death. It is still possible for him to appeal the decision, and we will not be making representations while the legal process is ongoing.
The death penalty undermines human dignity and its abolition is a human rights priority for the UK. Ministers, our Ambassador in Riyadh and the Embassy team raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, both bilaterally and through the European Union. We recognise that total abolition of the death penalty is unlikely in Saudi Arabia in the near future. Our focus is therefore on the introduction of EU minimum standards for the death penalty as a first step, and on supporting access to justice and rule of law.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has instructed HM Ambassador in Rabat to investigate the matter of the mistreatment of the UK citizen, Joanna Allen.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Ms Allan visited the British Embassy in Rabat on 25 April and spoke to consular staff there. The Embassy explained that they could not intervene with the Moroccan authorities regarding her alleged surveillance by the Moroccan police. If Ms Allan wishes to send a letter of complaint through our Embassy in Rabat they will pass it on to the relevant authorities.
Asked by: Mark Williams (Liberal Democrat - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) raise with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the HM Ambassador in Rabat to investigate the death of Hasena Luali on 28 September 2014.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We were saddened to hear of the death of Hassan El Wali in a military hospital in Dakhla. According to the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, this was a result of undiagnosed diabetes complicated by Mr El Wali’s recent hunger strike. The British Ambassador discussed the matter with the president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) on 10 October. Mr El-Yazami told us that he had called for an immediate investigation. A CNDH medical examiner had been sent to Dakhla, who had confirmed the official version of events.
It is clearly important that Morocco ensures prisoners have access to appropriate medical care, a point we will be stressing in our future dialogue with the Moroccan government on human rights. The Ambassador also discussed human rights more generally with the Moroccan Foreign Minister on 11 October.