Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of the Republic of Sudan on the arrest and detention of Rev. Yat Michael and Rev. Peter Yen Reith of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church.
Answered by James Duddridge
I refer my Hon Friend to the response the Minister of State, my Rt Hon and noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Anelay gave on 22 June 2015 (PQHL315), that our Embassy in Khartoum has previously raised these concerning cases with the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since then, we have maintained close contact with the legal teams working on behalf of the two pastors, and an official from our Embassy in Khartoum attended the latest court hearing on 15 June. We will continue to co-ordinate with other Embassies in Khartoum to ensure the international community is represented at the ongoing legal proceedings.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on threats to the leader of the Bangladesh National Party and other opposition leaders in Bangladesh.
Answered by Lord Swire
We are deeply concerned by the ongoing violence, political unrest and wider confrontational activity in Bangladesh, which are entrenching a lack of trust between the main political parties. I raised my concern over reports that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Leader Khaleda Zia had been confined to her office when I met the Bangladesh Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on 20 January 2015.
Our High Commissioner to Bangladesh, along with other EU Ambassadors, met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Mr Mahmood Ali on 14 January to express their collective concern at the ongoing violence and the shrinking of democratic space. The same day, our High Commissioner condemned a dreadful bus attack and the shooting of former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and senior BNP member, Mr Reaz Rahman. He called on the Bangladesh government to investigate these crimes and urged all sides to show restraint and respect for the rule of law - a message he repeated on 5 February in a further statement after a tragic bus fire in Comilla. Our High Commissioner met the BNP leader at her office on 11 February. He condemned the current violence as disruptive, distressing and deplorable in his statement following that meeting, and urged all parties to consider confidence building measures that would diffuse the current tensions.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
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 counterparts overseas on the dumping of plastics in the world's oceans.
Answered by David Lidington
The Secretary of State for Transport, my Rt Hon friend the member for Derbyshire Dales has responsibility for shipping and the UK's obligations under the International Marine Organisation’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), under which the discharge of plastics from ships is prohibited. The UK is also a party to the London Protocol, which would not permit ‘dumping’ of plastics in the ocean.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how much his Department has spent on specific steps to tackle the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to date.
Answered by James Duddridge
The FCO estimates spend of approximately £106,000 since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This figure forms a part of the £230 million committed by the UK Government to tackle Ebola, which includes support for 700 Ebola treatment beds in Sierra Leone, tripling current capacity. A significant area of FCO expenditure has been providing additional resilience to our Missions in the affected countries. This has helped ensure the UK is at the forefront of the international effort to tackle Ebola. A further element of spend was the UK hosted London Conference on Defeating Ebola on 2 October. The conference brought together more than 20 governments, a dozen charities and NGOs, the UN, World Bank, health experts and the private sector to pledge funds, equipment and health workers. The conference secured new pledges for Sierra Leone of over £100m and hundreds of staff for the Ebola response.