Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the February 2021 pre-trial ruling regarding the scope of the ICC’s territorial jurisdiction in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, what steps he is taking to prevent politically motivated cases at the International Criminal Court.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We closely follow the important work of the International Criminal Court and are looking at the implications of this decision.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the International Criminal Court’s assertion of legal authority to UN General Assembly resolutions, with reference to the February 2021 ICC pre-trial ruling on the situation of Palestine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We closely follow the important work of the International Criminal Court and are looking at the implications of this decision.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving the UK Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The British Embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK Government is conducting an investigation into reports that the UN Relief and Works Agency distributed educational material to Palestinian children allegedly inciting violence against Israel during the covid-19 pandemic to aid home learning; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK Government has zero tolerance towards incitement of violence and we have raised this issue with UNRWA.
UNRWA informed us that they had identified the material in question through their own regular monitoring and took swift action to correct the issue. The Agency also conducted a review to identify and address any education materials in breach of its policies. UNRWA has reported that these materials are no longer circulated and are not used in current lessons.
We continue to monitor the situation to ensure self-learning materials remain in line with UN values.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what mechanisms are in place to monitor self-learning educational materials distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency to Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The FCDO monitors UNRWA's self-learning material via different tools including programme monitoring and annual assessments to assess UNRWA's implementation of the curriculum framework. This ensures lessons taught with UNRWA self-learning materials are in line with UN values.