Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure a peaceful transfer of power in Sri Lanka following the announcement of President Rajapaksa's resignation.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK looks forward to working with Ranil Wickremesinghe following his election as President of Sri Lanka by the Sri Lankan parliament as part of a peaceful transition of power. We continue to call for a peaceful, democratic and inclusive approach to resolving the current political and economic challenges. In his recent call with Prime Minister Gunawardena on 16 August the Minister responsible for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, called on the Sri Lankan Government to build an inclusive consensus for the reforms necessary to bring Sri Lanka's economy back on a sustainable path. Lord Ahmad also discussed efforts to build a multi-party government with President Wickremesinghe on 23 July. We welcome the Sri Lanka Government's engagement with members of the opposition and we call for the ambitions and hopes of all citizens and communities to be listened to as Sri Lanka builds its future. We continue to engage with members of Sri Lankan civil society to encourage inclusive, peaceful and democratic solutions to Sri Lanka's ongoing challenges.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is offering aid to families in Sri Lanka affected by the economic situation in that country.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK is closely monitoring the political, economic and security situation in Sri Lanka including food security and livelihoods. The UK is providing economic support through multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and United Nations (UN). The UK has the joint fifth largest shares in the IMF and is a major contributor to the UN and WB. The UK has a significant voice in international debt fora and we are working with other Paris Club members on solutions to Sri Lanka's unsustainable debt levels.
The WB has reprogrammed US $400 million in financial assistance to provide economic and health sector support. We are working to support the UN and its agencies in their coordinated response to the Humanitarian Needs and Priorities (HNP) Plan. This called for US $47.2 million to provide life-saving assistance to 1.7 million people who are most at risk and need immediate support. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has announced US $5 million for an urgent response to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The UK is a longstanding partner to the CERF and is the largest overall donor, contributing more than $1.7 billion to the fund since its inception fifteen years ago. We are exploring additional options to respond to Sri Lanka's humanitarian needs.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Bangladesh on the floods from the river Brahmaputra in June 2022.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Lord Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, discussed the impacts of the floods with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister on 27 June. The flood response was also raised in a recent meeting with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister and COP26 President-Designate. We regularly engage at an official level on climate adaptation and resilience. Our £120m Bangladesh Climate and Environment Programme, announced at COP26, has a focus on resilience in climate vulnerable areas. The programme will support the scaling up of locally-led adaptation and help households to cope with climate impacts.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support people in (a) Bangladesh and (b) India following the recent flooding of the Brahmaputra river.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I am deeply saddened by the impacts of the recent flooding in India and Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the UK provided £195,000 to support the response during the first wave of flooding in May. We contributed a further £442,500 after the second wave of flooding in June. This funding continues to support the provision of cash assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, search and rescue operations, shelter management and provisional education materials. Since 2004, the Government of India has stated publicly it neither seeks nor accepts official international assistance from foreign governments for disaster relief.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with her Israeli counterpart on that Government's obligations under international law to stop forced (a) evictions and (b) demolitions in the Occupied Territories.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. I met with Palestinian families affected by the ongoing demolition and eviction orders at Masafer Yatta during my recent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and raised our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll on 22 June.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will condemn (a) forced evictions of Palestinians and (b) demolitions of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to Palestinians and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. I met with Palestinian families affected by the ongoing demolition and eviction orders at Masafer Yatta during my recent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and raised our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll on 22 June.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the review commissioned by the British High Commission in Colombo into the impact of UK support to the Sri Lankan police will include the training delivered to its special task force by British security firm, KMS Limited, in the 1980s.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The British High Commission in Colombo commissioned a review to look at the impact of UK Government support to the Sri Lankan police from 2016 until 2021, identify lessons learned and make recommendations with regards to future programmes. The current iteration of the UK police training programme began in 2018 and focused on strengthening the police's capacity to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, promoting gender equality, and community policing. This project contract and Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme cycle concluded on 31 March 2022. The British High Commission is considering its approach to any future CSSF programme and its review will be taken into account alongside a number of factors.
The UK Government was not party to the agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and Keenie Meenie Services (KMS) in the 1980s. The Government of Sri Lanka approached KMS without the involvement of the UK, and the UK Government had no ability to intervene in what was a commercial contract between the two parties. This is therefore out of scope of the review.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including a clause in the UK Sanctions List on preventing sanctioned arms manufacturers from showcasing their munitions in the UK.
Answered by Vicky Ford
No UK company or person is allowed to deal with the economic resources held or controlled by a sanctioned arms company, or make funds or economic resources available for its benefit. Furthermore, the import to the UK of arms and related material consigned or originating from Russia is prohibited.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions officials in her Department have had with their counterparts in Pakistan on the so-called blasphemy laws and reported vigilante acts committed on British soil.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We raise this issue privately at the highest levels. We press for speedy and fair trials for those accused and urge the Pakistan authorities to ensure the safety of those released. On 23 and 24 June during a visit to Pakistan, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia met Prime Minister Imran Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Foreign Minister Qureshi and Human Rights Minister Mazari. During these meetings, he highlighted the need to address persecution, promote respect for all religions and increase tolerance for religious minorities. In March the High Commissioner also met senior representatives of the Christian faith and discussed blasphemy, as well as other issues around freedom of religion or belief. We will continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or belief.