Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many US citizens have diplomatic immunity in the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
US citizens who are members of the Embassy of the United States of America are notified to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, in line with Article 10 of the VCDR 1961.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the Bahrain Government on the reimposition of death sentences against Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa on 8 January 2020 in Bahrain.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As I tweeted on 8 January, we are deeply concerned about the death sentence given to Mohamed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa. The UK has raised the matter with senior members of the Bahraini Government. The UK's position on the use of the death penalty is longstanding and clear; we oppose its use in all circumstances and countries. The Government of Bahrain is fully aware of our position.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of bilateral relations with the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The UK retains strong relations with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). British Ministers and officials regularly engage with KRI representatives. On 1 September our Ambassador to Iraq met the KRI Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, to discuss latest developments and I spoke to the KRI President, Nechirvan Barzani, on 12 June. The UK also provides significant support to the KRI, including through training assistance to the Peshmerga, humanitarian aid, advice on economic reform, and continued efforts to deepen UK-KRI trade.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department played in the appointment of Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Alkhalifa to become an Ambassador of Bahrain to the UK.
Answered by Mark Field
As per our standard practice, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office thoroughly reviews each State’s appointee as Head of Mission.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to reports of electoral fraud during the recent General Election in Bangladesh, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying sanctions against Bangladesh until a full and independent investigation is carried out.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps are being taken to ensure that Bangladesh general election irregularities are fully and independently investigated.
Answered by Mark Field
The Bangladesh general election on 30 December 2018 was subject to numerous allegations of irregularities and voter intimidation. I released a statement on 1 January deploring the violence that took place and expressing UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election. I called for electoral authorities to provide a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections and repeated this message to the Bangladesh High Commissioner when we met on 10 January in London.
I have also written to my counterpart the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, to express UK concerns regarding the conduct of the election and on the democratic trajectory in Bangladesh. The Foreign Secretary wrote to Foreign Minister Momen to deliver similar messages. The UK will continue to engage the Government of Bangladesh at all levels to address our concerns regarding democracy in Bangladesh.
We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh and we will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. Change will not happen overnight but UK Aid is enabling Bangladeshi women and young people to engage in politics, making communities more resilient to conflict and monitoring levels of political violence. I do not assess that sanctions against Bangladesh would deliver an improvement in the democratic trajectory of that country.