Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 Egyptian counterpart on the welfare of Nubian people residing in Egypt.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to monitor issues and cases involving Nubians and other minorities within Egypt. Egypt is a human rights priority country for the UK and the UK wants to see more political progress and better protection of human rights for all Egyptians. We call on the Egyptian Government to ensure full implementation of the rights set out in Egypt's constitution.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2016 to Question 36968, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that the perpetrators of the Gatumba genocide are prosecuted.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The UK continues to play a role in efforts to resolve the political crisis in Burundi and supports the refugee reintegration in Burundi, working closely with EU and likeminded international partners.
The only way to stop attacks like that on Gatumba in 2004 is to break the cycle of instability in the Great Lakes region. We regularly raise human rights and security issues with the Government of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo Government, including at the UN Security Council on 21 November and the UN General Assembly in September.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made recent representations to the Government of Israel on the adequacy of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in the West Bank.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK regularly raises concerns over access to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, including stressing the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Department for International Development discussed this issue with the Israeli authorities on 12 September. The Department for International Development discussed the issue of water at the Ad Hoc Liaison Comittee in New York on 17-18 September.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
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 Israel and Palestinian officials on water permits in the (a) Jordan Valley area and (b) wider Palestinian West Bank.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK regularly raises concerns over access to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities, including stressing the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank. We have not raised this issue with the Palestinian Authority.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote Israeli-Palestinian cooperation relating to the water sector.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We welcome the progress made towards the 'Red to Dead' water supply agreement between Israel and the Palestinians announced in July 2017. The fair and effective distribution of shared water resources across the Middle East is of great concern to us. These resources are limited and therefore require effective co-operation from all parties to manage them in such a manner that ensures there will be enough for all. Although this issue transcends the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is essential that Israel and the Palestinians discuss this issue and ensure that there is a just solution on shared water resources.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support improved access to portable, affordable and clean water for the domestic and livestock needs of the Bedouin communities in the Palestinian West Bank.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK regularly raises the issue of water in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) with the Israeli authorities to ensure fair distribution of water across the OPTs. The UK is a shareholder in a number of major international financial institutions, such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank, which support infrastructure projects across the OPTs.
The Government also supports Bedouin communities facing demolition or eviction in Area C of the West Bank through our funding to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) legal aid programme. This helps residents challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system. 97 per cent of cases provided with legal representation through NRC have resulted in suspension of demolitions and evictions, allowing Palestinians to remain in their homes.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of the human rights situation in Eritrea.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Government continues to have concerns about human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law, indefinite national service, freedom of expression and religion, and level of cooperation with international human rights bodies such as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea. Eritrea remains listed as a Human Rights Priority Country in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights Report 2015.
The Government is clear in our engagement with Eritrea about the tangible improvements in its human rights record we want to see. We urge Eritrea to implement the recommendations from its 2014 Universal Periodic Review and welcome Eritrea's recent agreement to work with the UN Development Programme to take forward these recommendations.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals who have visited Eritrea in the last five years.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold records of the numbers of British nationals who visit Eritrea.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people in the United Arab Emirates who are threatened, harassed or face arrest for exercising their right of freedom of expression.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We encourage Emirati authorities to follow due process in criminal proceedings and ensure the human rights of all Emirati citizens are respected. We believe freedom of expression is a universal human right and that people must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, challenge their governments and make informed decisions in accordance with international human rights law. Where we have concerns we make these clear to Emirati authorities, as part of our broader strategic engagement.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to support the release of Dr Mohamed al-Roken and other human right activists imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The British Government followed the trial of Mr Al Roken closely. While we welcomed the fact that local media and relatives of the 94 were allowed to attend the trial, we raised concerns about some aspects of the way the trial was conducted, such as lack of access to international observers, an accusation that defendants could not access their lawyers and the length of the sentencing.
The then Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend The Lord Hague of Richmond, and the former Minister for the Middle East, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) raised the importance of due process in criminal proceedings, upholding international standards of justice and ensuring the human rights of all Emirati citizens are fully respected, including the rights of freedom of expression and association.