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.
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 discussions he has had with his United Arab Emirates counterpart on the respect for freedom of expression in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
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. 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 reports he has received on the imprisonment of Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Duddridge
We have been clear in our public and private dialogue with the government of Rwanda that the social and economic progress it has delivered must be mirrored by gains in civil and political rights for its people. This means cultivating a society where a strong opposition and vibrant civil society can flourish. Opposition parties, and their leaders, must be able to operate freely holding the government to account and pushing for change.
We have been monitoring the case of Opposition Coalition Leader Victoire Ingabire closely through our High Commission in Kigali since her arrest in 2010. We will continue to stress our grave concern regarding all cases of arbitrary detention and arrest, including that of Mrs Ingabire, to the government of Rwanda.
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 military support has been provided to the government of Ethiopia in the last five years; what such support he plans to provide in the next five years; and whether the UK currently provides training for Ethiopian security or military personnel.
Answered by James Duddridge
Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest peacekeeping troop contributors, heavily engaged in the fight against Al Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia which is vital to build stability in the region and to UK interests. The UK maintains a Defence relationship with the Ethiopian Ministry of National Defence, focused on education and training in non-combat areas. Over the past five years that has been centred on assisting in the setting up of the Ethiopian Peace Support Training Centre, and providing courses that give members of the Ethiopian military an improved range of non-combat skills as they serve on regional peace support operations. We have run a successful programme of English language training, delivered by the British Council, and a Masters course in Security Sector Management, for students from across the Eastern Africa region. We have provided a small number of places to Ethiopian military students on courses in the UK.
The importance of good governance, accountability and respect for human rights is central to this programme of engagement. Over the next five years, we will continue to focus on helping Ethiopia to develop its capability to conduct peace support operations in the region, and continue to encourage improved governance and accountability within the security sector.
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 prevent human rights abuses against the Oromo people in Ethiopia; and what recent representations he has made to his Ethiopian counterpart on that issue.
Answered by James Duddridge
We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.
I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.
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 assessment he has made of the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate the handling of recent protests in Oromia, Ethiopia.
Answered by James Duddridge
We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.
I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.