Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of President Mnangagwa’s first six months in office in Zimbabwe on relations with UK.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The British Government welcomes President Mnangagwa's commitment to political and economic reform. As we have made clear, including in the Foreign Secretary's meeting with Foreign Minister Moyo on 20 April, the Zimbabwe Government must deliver the free, fair and peaceful elections that the people of Zimbabwe deserve. Genuine reforms will enable the UK and the wider international community better to support Zimbabwe's recovery.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
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 Israeli counterpart on the security situation in Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
While the Foreign Secretary has not recently discussed this specific issue with his Israeli counterpart, our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate-General in Jerusalem frequently urge both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to take steps to improve conditions in Gaza. Every Israeli and Palestinian has the right to live in peace and security. We strongly condemn the recent attempted assassination of Prime Minister Hamdallah on 13 March, for which there is no justification. The UK continues to support the return of the legitimate Palestinian Authority to Gaza. We urge non-violence, dialogue and progress towards a sustainable Hamas-Fatah reconciliation and an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza.Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
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 counterpart in the Israeli Government on the security of Israeli cities within range of rocket attacks from Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Government regularly discusses the security situation with Israeli officials at all levels. Our commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Israel has the right to ensure its own security, and its citizens have the right to live without fear of attack. Rocket attacks indiscriminately threaten the daily lives of Israelis and make achieving peace more difficult. The UK continues to support a negotiated agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians which will protect Israeli citizens and ensure their safety. We call on all parties to refrain from violence and commit to a negotiated solution to end the conflict.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the protection of human rights in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
The Foreign Secretary issued a statement about the death of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo in July 2017, and called on China to lift restrictions on his widow Liu Xia. I raised human rights, including the case of Liu Xia, in my meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao the following month.
At the most recent UK-China Strategic Dialogue in December 2016, the Foreign Secretary raised a range of human rights issues with his counterpart State Counsellor Yang Jiechi. The most recent UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, covering human rights issues in detail, took place in Beijing on 27 and 28 June 2017.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
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 extent of persecution of Christian communities in the Middle East.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the difficulties facing many Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East and deplore all discrimination and constraints on freedom of religion.
We are committed to supporting the fundamental human right to freedom of religion or belief. We support this right for Christian communities in the Middle East by regularly urging governments at senior levels to uphold the rights of all minorities; building international consensus on freedom of religion or belief; and supporting practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the reasons were for the time taken by his Department to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for West Lancashire on Virunaga National Park.
Answered by David Lidington
I understand that the unacceptably long delay in providing a response to the correspondence in question was caused by administrative difficulties in transferring the response between Government Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) responded to 95 per cent of all ministerial correspondence within its twenty-day deadline in 2013 and I am sorry that, in this instance, the response was not received as promptly as it should have been. The letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire was recieved by the FCO on 8 September and a response was sent to her on 30 September.