Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 political situation in Ukraine.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Ukrainian Government faces considerable challenges both in upholding and protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of continuing Russian destabilisation, and in taking forward a comprehensive programme of political and economic reform. The Prime Minister underlined in Parliament on 25th January the UK's "commitment to the independent sovereign state of Ukraine", and our continuing strong political and practical support.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 his US counterpart on the protection and promotion of human rights.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign Secretary met with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Bonn on 16 February. During the meeting they reaffirmed our shared goals and agreed to work together on a range of global issues
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Egypt on recent UN reports of human rights abuses in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of recent statements by UN special rapporteurs expressing concern at restrictions placed on human rights defenders and civil society in Egypt. In December, the spokesperson for the then UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, expressed concern over the arrest of prominent Egyptian human rights defender Azza Soliman.
We are concerned about the decreasing space for civil society to operate in Egypt. Ministers and senior officials regularly raise our concerns with the Egyptian authorities in both London and Cairo. During my meeting with the Egyptian Ambassador on 8 December, I raised our concerns about the arrest of human rights defender Azza Soliman. In the same meeting I reiterated concerns, outlined in my statement from 1 December, about a proposed new law on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
We have also raised our concerns about human rights at the UN. During the most recent session of the UN's Human Rights Council in September we raised concerns about restrictions on civil society in both our national statement and through the EU statement.
We will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt closely, and to urge the Egyptian government to ensure full implementation of the provisions for the free operation of civil society, contained in the constitution, including through a revised NGO law that conforms to international standards and protects freedom of expression.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department's spending falls under the definition of official development assistance in the current financial year.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The FCO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation for FY 2016/17 is £466m.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to discuss with his international counterparts plans to expedite air drops in Syria.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Getting humanitarian aid to Syrians trapped in besieged areas is one of our top priorities. Over 570,000 people remain in areas besieged by the Syrian regime. We have regular discussions with our international partners, including on methods for delivering humanitarian assistance to besieged populations in Syria. There are huge obstacles to carrying out airdrops, not least the risk to aircraft from regime air defences or terrorist groups. However, we rule nothing out and maintain every effort to help those in besieged areas. Most recently on 19 December we helped secure UN Security Council Resolution 2328 which demanded full access for the UN across Syria.