Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle Israel’s demolition of structures in the West Bank and resulting displacement of Palestinians during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is seriously concerned by the continued demolitions of Palestinian structures by Israeli authorities, particularly at this time. In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The practice causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, is harmful to the peace process and weakens the capacity of Palestinians to withstand the impact of COVID-19. Under IHL, an occupying power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public health and hygiene in the occupied territory to the fullest extent of the means available to it and with the cooperation of the local authorities. We call on both parties to avoid any provocative action which might undermine the cooperation that is so critical.
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly raised our concerns about demolitions with Israeli Ministers and senior officials, and urged them to cease the counter-productive policy of demolitions, and provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C. The British Government also supports Palestinians facing demolition or eviction in Area C of the West Bank through our legal aid programme. This helps residents challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 implications for his policies in the context of the covid-19 pandemic of reports of Israel’s demolition of water, sanitation and hygiene structures used by Palestinians in the West Bank.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is seriously concerned by the continued demolitions of Palestinian structures by Israeli authorities, particularly at this time. In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The practice causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, is harmful to the peace process and weakens the capacity of Palestinians to withstand the impact of COVID-19. Under IHL, an occupying power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public health and hygiene in the occupied territory to the fullest extent of the means available to it and with the cooperation of the local authorities. We call on both parties to avoid any provocative action which might undermine the cooperation that is so critical.
Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly raised our concerns about demolitions with Israeli Ministers and senior officials, and urged them to cease the counter-productive policy of demolitions, and provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C. The British Government also supports Palestinians facing demolition or eviction in Area C of the West Bank through our legal aid programme. This helps residents challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 implications for his Department's policies of the reported continued prevalence of night time family home arrests of Palestinian children by Israeli soldiers.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law. We remain concerned about Israel's extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on those Palestinian children who have been held in Israeli military detention since the end of June 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK remains concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children detained in Israeli military detention. We are committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including on this issue. We also continue to fund projects providing legal aid to minors and capacity building to local lawyers.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations has he made to the government of El Salvador on the occupation of that country's parliament building by armed forces and national civil police troops on 10 February 2020.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Our Ambassador to El Salvador issued public calls for dialogue on 9 and 11 February. On 12 February, he urged the Government and legislators to work together to reduce tensions and resolve the situation through dialogue, and welcomed the government's commitment to abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court. The Head of Latin America Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office discussed the incident on 11 February with the Salvadoran Ambassador, and on 24 February with a visiting Government of El Salvador delegation. We welcome actions taken since by all parties since 9 February to reduce tensions. The UK and El Salvador have a close dialogue on a number of bilateral and global issues of mutual interest, and our Embassy in San Salvador remains in close contact with the Salvadoran authorities.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) Mohammed Ramadhan, (b) Hussain Moosa and (c) other prisoners sentenced to death in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to monitor the cases of Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa as their case is taken to the Court of Cassation for final review. We have raised both cases at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain, and will continue to do so where we have concerns. As the former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa publicly stated, we are deeply concerned that the death penalty has been issued to Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa. The Government of Bahrain is fully aware that the UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty, in all circumstances.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 Turkish counterpart on reports of that country bringing forward legislative proposals that would grant an amnesty to rapists that married their victim.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The reporting of the proposed bill is deeply concerning. We strongly support the rights of women in Turkey and encourage the Turkish authorities to safeguard their welfare and respect their human rights and have raised our concerns over child marriage with the Turkish authorities. Our Embassy in Ankara provides project support to a number of Turkish civil society organisations working in the area of fundamental freedoms. Currently in the financial year 2019/20 we are funding a range of projects including women's and minority rights. We will continue to monitor the situation in Turkey and to encourage the government to protect fundamental rights.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his Brazilian counterpart on protecting the Amazon rainforest from further deforestation.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Ministers and our Embassy in Brasilia routinely engage with the Brazilian Government on many environmental issues, including deforestation. The United Kingdom is committed to encouraging and contributing to international action to address the widespread problem of deforestation.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to detention centres in Libya.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The British Government does not fund Libyan detention centres. The centres are the responsibility of Libyan authorities. We remain concerned over the conditions reported in these centres, and continue to lobby the Libyan authorities to pursue alternatives to detention and to implement a better functioning migration system that respects human rights.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 the Home Secretary on the number of refugees the Government plans to resettle from detention centres in Libya.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The ongoing plight of refugees in Libya is a matter of deep concern for the British Government. A range of interventions, including the focus and scale of the Government's existing resettlement programmes, are regularly discussed between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office. We continue to pressure the Libyan authorities to pursue alternatives to detention and prioritise human rights. I met the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister last week and pressed the issue.