Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help safeguard the human rights and security of indigenous peoples overseas.
Answered by Mark Field
The Government remains strongly committed to promoting the respect for the human rights of all people, including indigenous people. We continue to work overseas and through the UN to improve the situation of indigenous people around the world. The UK has supported the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the EU's Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on indigenous peoples.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken towards a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The British Government believes a negotiated two-state solution is in the firm interests of both Israel and the Palestinians. We regularly press both parties to resume direct negotiations towards two-state solution. Most recently at the Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East on 22 January the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN reiterated our belief that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between Israelis and Palestinians, supported by the international community.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to help secure a resolution to the conflict in Syria.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa gave to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington on 22 January, Official Report.Transcript here.
The Government support and keep in close contact with the UN-led political process to end the Syrian conflict. We have used our relationships and convening power to encourage progress, including by hosting the then UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and the Syria small group of like-minded countries. We are also engaging with the new UN envoy, who has our full support.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
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 European counterparts on continued diplomatic cooperation with the EU after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Last week the Foreign Secretary attended the Foreign Affairs Council with all his EU counterparts. He also held separate bilateral meetings with some of them. It was clear that the EU and its Member States value highly the UK's contribution to European foreign and security policy and want this to continue. At the EU Informal Minister's meeting this week he will continue to discuss future co-operation with EU counterparts. The ambitious future relationship set out in the Political Declaration will enable this to continue, allowing the UK and our European allies to cooperate closely to tackle the common threats we face and promote the values and interests we share.
Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)
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 progress on international cooperation on tackling climate change.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK continues to push for greater international cooperation on climate change.
Last month at the Katowice COP 24 conference we reached an agreement on the rulebook for Paris Agreement implementation, a crucial step towards international accountability. However, all our assessments conclude that the current level of global ambition is still not enough to meet the Paris goals of just over three years ago. We need unprecedented and rapid action to reduce emissions and build resilience.
Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations, Lord Ahmad, spoke just last week at the UN Security Council on the need to do more, and the UK is leading on Climate Resilience at the UN Secretary General's Climate Summit in September.
The UK takes the lead internationally on coal phase-out, renewable energy and zero emission vehicles, amongst others, but we are clear that in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals, all countries need to do more.