Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 47 of the 2022 Human Rights and Democracy Report published in July 2023, for what reason his Department removed Bahrain from the list of human rights priority countries.
Answered by David Rutley
The decision to remove Bahrain from the Human Rights Priority Country list reflects consistent and systemic progress in a range of human rights areas over a number of years, some of which have been directly supported by the UK. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain and to encouraging the government to meet its human rights commitments.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to include older people in developing countries in his Department’s White Paper on International Development.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK will produce a White Paper in late 2023 which sets out a vision for global development that delivers on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, poverty reduction, economic growth and tackling climate change.
The precise content of the White Paper will be determined by consultation across the UK government, civil society, those in the sector (and outside it) in the UK and our international partners. The open call for evidence will close on 16 September. In parallel, UK government officials are undertaking targeted outreach to stakeholders and partners in different areas of development policy, and the FCDO global network are consulting around the world with partner organisations and countries. External engagement has involved consultations looking at inclusion as part of the White Paper development.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question HL7520 on Cyprus: Politics and Government, whether he has had discussions with the leaders of communities in Cyprus on establishing a sustainable, bi-zonal and bi-communal federal political settlement in the period since the recent elections in Greece and Turkey.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus Settlement within the UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. We engage with all parties on this. I [Minister Docherty] discussed Settlement with President Christodoulides, Foreign Minister (FM) Kombos and Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar on 10 May. The Foreign Secretary also met FM Kombos on 16 June and discussed Settlement with him. The UK Government believes that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can potentially be found. In the meantime, the UK continues to support confidence-building initiatives to build links between the communities to prepare for any future Settlement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question HL7520 on Cyprus: Politics and Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the recent elections in Greece and Turkey on the prospects for a peaceful and equitable resolution of tensions on Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus Settlement within the UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. We engage with all parties on this. I [Minister Docherty] discussed Settlement with President Christodoulides, Foreign Minister (FM) Kombos and Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar on 10 May. The Foreign Secretary also met FM Kombos on 16 June and discussed Settlement with him. The UK Government believes that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can potentially be found. In the meantime, the UK continues to support confidence-building initiatives to build links between the communities to prepare for any future Settlement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question HL7520 on Cyprus: Politics and Government, whether his Department is taking steps to broker confidence-building measures on trade and travel between Greek and Turkish Cypriots following recent elections in Greece and Turkey.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK Government remains committed to supporting UN efforts to reach a Cyprus Settlement within the UN parameters based on the model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. We engage with all parties on this. I [Minister Docherty] discussed Settlement with President Christodoulides, Foreign Minister (FM) Kombos and Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar on 10 May. The Foreign Secretary also met FM Kombos on 16 June and discussed Settlement with him. The UK Government believes that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can potentially be found. In the meantime, the UK continues to support confidence-building initiatives to build links between the communities to prepare for any future Settlement.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of human rights concerns in Bahrain on diplomatic relations between the UK and Bahrain.
Answered by David Rutley
Bahrain is an important partner to the UK and we have a close and long-standing relationship. We benefit from a genuine and open dialogue in which we work together on a range of issues of mutual benefit, including defence, security, trade and investment, and human rights. The FCDO remains committed to supporting Bahrain's human rights reforms, including through projects delivered via the Gulf Strategy Fund. The FCDO's most recent assessment of the human rights situation in Bahrain is in the annual 2021 FCDO Human Rights and Democracy Report, published in December 2022.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his department is taking within the UK Embassy in Tehran to (a) assist and (b) protect (i) female, (ii) female Christian and (iii) other protestors in Iran.
Answered by David Rutley
Since September 2022, ordinary Iranians have risked their lives to protest against the Iranian regime's appalling violence and repression. These protests were initiated by women and girls, but rapidly grew to reflect all facets of Iranian society experiencing oppression at the hands of the authorities. Christians and other religious minorities have long faced systematic discrimination, harassment and unfair detention in Iran.
The UK supports women, minority groups and others standing up for their fundamental rights in Iran by ensuring the Iranian regime is held to account. We do this in part through our sanctions designations: HMG has announced six rounds of Iran human rights sanctions since October 2022. We also work with our partners in multilateral fora, for example by removing Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of women. We raise human rights directly with the Iranian authorities at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran to ensure the regime is in no doubt about the political price it is paying for its actions.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 102994 on Bahrain: Political Prisoners, what progress has been made on the human rights of (a) Hassan Mushaima, (b) Abduljalil al-Singace, (c) Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, (d) Abdulwahab Husain, (e) Sheikh Mohammed Habib al-Muqdad, (f) Mohammed Ramadhan and (g) Husain Moosa following the Foreign Secretary's meetings on 19 and 20 November 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
The FCDO continues to follow matters that relate to human rights within Bahrain closely, including some individual cases. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, recently raised a range of human rights concerns during his visit to Bahrain on Sunday 12 February.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the National Institute of Human Rights on medical treatment for Mr Hasan Mushaima.
Answered by David Rutley
We continue to follow and discuss the case of Hasan Mushaima and others with the Bahraini Government, as well as with the independent oversight bodies. We encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held discussions with his counterparts in Bahrain on medical treatment for Mr Hasan Mushaima.
Answered by David Rutley
We continue to follow and discuss the case of Hasan Mushaima and others with the Bahraini Government, as well as with the independent oversight bodies. We encourage those with concerns to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini oversight body.