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 the Government plans to take to tackle deforestation in (a) Malaysia and (b) other countries that participate in deforestation, while protecting the economies of those countries.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The Government is determined to do all it can to halt and reverse forest loss, and this was a priority for COP26. The Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, setting out a commitment to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, has now been endorsed by 142 countries, including Malaysia. This will help to drive forward national action to protect forests. The UK has committed up to £1.5 billion over five years to support such action to protect and restore forests in developing countries.
The response to deforestation needs to balance economic interests and environmental protection. This is the approach taken in the Forest and Agriculture Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which was launched by the UK Presidency at COP26. The dialogue establishes a new partnership between the largest producers and consumers of agricultural commodities, such as palm oil, soya and cocoa, and aims to build collaboration to protect forests while promoting sustainable trade. Malaysia is one of the 28 participating countries.
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 she is taking with international partners to ensure that religious liberties and human rights are upheld in Slovakia.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting freedom of religion and human rights is an important part of our work in Slovakia. We continue to promote women's and minority rights, and have regular dialogue with inter-religious groups, local human rights organisations and activists, and international partners. We welcomed Slovakia's appointment of an Ambassador for Human Rights and the convening of a conference on human rights by the Slovak Foreign Ministry in Bratislava on 26 October which was attended by the UK Human Rights Ambassador.
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, for what reason the UK voted against the UN Resolution A/RES/75/237 calling for action for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK Government is committed to tackling all forms of racism, including antisemitism. We could not agree with the multiple references to the Durban Conference in the UN resolution, given our historic concerns over antisemitism related to that Conference. We also could not accept language welcoming the recent commemorative event in New York, which the UK and many other states did not attend, because of those concerns.
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 support the Government is providing to third world countries to tackle climate change.
Answered by Vicky Ford
As the Prime Minister has said, Climate is the top priority for the UK. I am looking forward to COP next week which will be the key moment to promote international cooperation on tackling climate change.
Since 2011 UK International Climate Finance has helped over 88 million people cope with the effects of climate change, installed 2,400 megawatts of clean energy and reduced or avoided 180 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.
We remain committed to our pledge to spend £11.6 billion on international climate finance between 2021 and 2026 and to continuing to support developing countries to adapt to the impacts of climate change, adopt clean growth pathways and reduce carbon emissions.
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 assessment he has been made of the effectiveness of Police Scotland's training programme in Sri Lanka in reducing instances of torture and human rights violations.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK's police training programme has focused on developing community policing, supporting women in the Sri Lankan police service, and improving the response to sexual and gender-based violence. The UK's programme work in Sri Lanka is subject to regular and robust Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments that analyse the potential human rights, international humanitarian law, political and reputational risks of any proposed assistance to ensure that it supports our values and is consistent with our domestic and international human rights obligations. The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme in Sri Lanka is also subject to an annual review, which can be found by visiting https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-3-CSSF-09-000003/documents
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 discussions officials in his Department have had with their Sri Lankan counterparts on the UK General Scheme of Preferences.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK replicated the EU's General Scheme of Preferences (GSP) (a trade preferences scheme) from January 2021. Sri Lanka, as a member of the EU's GSP, was automatically enrolled into the UK's Enhanced Framework which requires countries to ratify and effectively implement the same 27 international conventions on human and labour rights, sustainability and good governance. Lord Ahmad spoke with the Sri Lankan Minister responsible for Money, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms, Minister Ajith Cabraal, in June and raised the importance of good governance and the rule of law to ensure a positive business environment for increased trade.
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, how many times his Department has officially discussed with its counterpart in Sri Lanka the repeal of Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act and reports of potential ongoing torture in that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK Government remains concerned at the ongoing use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and for many years has called on the Government of Sri Lanka to replace the PTA with human rights compliant counter terrorism legislation. The UK Government, alongside our partners in the Core Group on Sri Lanka, has led international efforts to promote accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, including at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). On 23 March the UNHRC adopted a new UK-led resolution, 46/1, which calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to review the PTA. The resolution also expresses concern at the use of torture and inhuman treatment. We have highlighted our concerns about the PTA if this is the case in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 22 June. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised human rights on several occasions with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, G. L. Peiris, most recently during talks on 10 May and 9 September. The UK's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka regularly raises the importance of PTA legislation being aligned with international human rights obligations with the Government of Sri Lanka. We continue to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka on these important issues.
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 he will undertake and publish an assessment of the human rights impact of the £6.3 million the Government has spent on supporting security reform in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK government's aim for security sector reform in Sri Lanka is to encourage the development of a modern, accountable and human rights compliant military, and support the development of a police service that is gender sensitive and respects human rights. Promoting adherence to international humanitarian law and human rights compliance is integral to our engagement.
All UK assistance, including training and defence engagement, is subject to robust Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessments that analyse the potential human rights, international humanitarian law, political and reputational risks of any proposed assistance to ensure that it supports our values and is consistent with our domestic and international human rights obligations. Annual review summaries of our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programmes can be found online at: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-3-CSSF-09-000003/documents
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 he plans to apply sanctions against (a) General Shavendra Silva and (b) other officials in Sri Lanka accused of committing human rights abuses in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Sanctions are one response among a number of diplomatic tools we can deploy around the world as part of a broader political strategy in order to change or send a political signal regarding particular behaviours. The Global Human Rights Sanctions regime gives the UK a powerful tool to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations or abuses. We will continue to consider targets globally, guided by the objectives of the human rights sanctions regime and the evidence. However, it is not appropriate to speculate on who may be designated in the future, as to do so could reduce their impact.