Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many members of staff in his Department have equality, diversity or inclusion in their job title.
Answered by Nigel Adams
This information is not held centrally. The FCDO is committed to putting diversity and inclusion at its heart.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the Department spent on unconscious bias training in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
There are three ways the FCDO supports staff in this learning: by direct access to the Civil Service Learning (CSL) website, by accessing CSL via the FCDO's internal learning system, Global Learning Opportunities (GLO), or by learning provided by specialists and learning champions overseas. There is no cost to departments for the online CSL unconscious bias training. We do not hold any data centrally for unconscious bias courses delivered overseas or for earlier periods.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have undertaken unconscious bias training in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The FCO takes unconscious bias training seriously. All staff must complete mandatory online unconscious bias training once every three years. There are three ways the FCO supports staff in this learning: by direct access to the Civil Service Learning (CSL) website, by accessing CSL via the FCO's internal learning system, Global Learning Opportunities (GLO), or by attending courses delivered overseas by learning specialists and learning champions.
The FCO is only able to access records for staff who have accessed the CSL unconscious bias training offer via the second of these routes, i.e. via GLO. Over the last five years, a total of 2,896 FCO staff accessed CSL unconscious bias training in this way. The FCO can provide an annual breakdown for 2019 and 2020, but not for 2016-18. In 2019, 566 FCO members of staff completed the CSL online unconscious bias training, and so far in 2020, 555 FCO members of staff have undertaken the training.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve relations between different faith groups in India and Pakistan.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
We are in regular contact with the governments of India and of Pakistan and encourage both countries to engage in dialogue and find lasting, diplomatic solutions to maintain regional stability. We welcome their recent agreement to allow pilgrims to cross the Kartarpur corridor without the need to obtain a visa.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2019 to Question 234199 on Treaties, if he will provide a full list naming each of the 52 multilateral treaties from which the UK has unilaterally withdrawn since 1 January 1988.
Answered by Alan Duncan
A full list of those 52 multilateral treaties from which the UK has unilaterally withdrawn since 1 January 1988 is attached.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the treaties from which the UK has unilaterally withdrawn since 1 January 1988.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The UK has unilaterally withdrawn from 52 treaties since 1 January 1988. All of these have been multilateral treaties.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to tackle human rights abuses and violence in Cameroon, and in particular South Cameroon.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK is monitoring the situation in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon closely. Our High Commission in Yaoundé continues to meet opposition groups, human rights defenders and the Cameroonian authorities to establish an accurate account, including over allegations of rape. Our High Commissioner in Yaoundé raised our concerns about the situation in the Anglophone regions with President Biya on 19 December. In this and several recent meetings with Prime Minister Philémon Yang and Cameroonian Ministers he called on the Cameroonian Government to adhere to Cameroon’s obligations under international law in respect of human rights. The British Government condemns sexual violence in conflict and is working with foreign governments, the United Nations, the African Union and international organisations to end it.