Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the announcement of 19 January 2016 of the launch of the £10 million Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, how much of the additional funding in that area will come from the budget of (a) his Department and (b) the Department for International Development.
Answered by David Lidington
All funding for the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy will come from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s budget.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on the Darwin Initiative in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Duddridge
I refer the Honourable Lady to the answer provided by my Hon Friend the Member for Penrith and the Border (Rory Stewart), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs, in PQ 20429 on 5 January 2016.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 2508, what discussion his Department has had with UK companies about the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea and the use of national service conscripts by foreign-operated companies.
Answered by James Duddridge
We have not spoken to any UK companies about the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, published in June. In line with the UK’s Business and Human Rights Action Plan (based upon the UN Guiding Principles) all UK businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights.
In the UK’s statement during the UN Human Rights Council discussion of the Commission’s report we made clear that Eritrea must take concrete action to improve the human rights situation in the country, and in particular to fulfil its commitment to limiting national service to 18 months.
Asked by: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking in response to findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea on national service conscripts being used within foreign-operated companies.
Answered by David Lidington
National service is compulsory in Eritrea and many conscripts serve indefinitely. The national service system was one of the reasons the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) listed Eritrea as a “Country of Concern” in its annual Human Rights Report (2014). The report set out that civilian national service has often included work for government and state-owned companies on low salaries, exposing the Government of Eritrea to the allegation of using forced labour. We have been clear to the Government of Eritrea that it must amend or abolish its national service system. Eritrean government representatives have assured UK officials that the term of service will be strictly limited to 18 months for all new recruits starting from March 2015. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. FCO officials recently met with representatives of the Canadian mining company, Nevsun Mining, who operate the largest mine in Eritrea. Nevsun Mining set out the strict procedures that they had in place to prevent national service conscripts working at the mine.