Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government took to ensure that the recent election in Sri Lanka was free and fair; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK joined an EU Heads of Mission statement on 2 January calling for the elections to be peaceful, credible and transparent. We encouraged the government of Sri Lanka to invite international observers, including from the EU and the Commonwealth, and provided support to local election monitoring groups. Officials from the British High Commission in Colombo also travelled around the country in the run-up to elections, observing the preparations and voting process, and co-ordinating closely with like-minded diplomatic missions and local groups.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 new Sri Lankan counterpart on protecting the Tamil and Muslim minority communities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
On 9 January the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), congratulated Maithripala Sirisena on his victory in the Presidential elections, and also encouraged President Sirisena to support the ongoing UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights investigation into human rights abuses. The issues of the past must be addressed so Sri Lanka can move forward to a brighter, peaceful future where all Sri Lankans can play a role.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said that Sri Lanka has a renewed opportunity now to grow as a stable, prosperous and inclusive country, reflecting the wishes of all its people.
I personally spoke to the new Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 12 January and made clear that we look forward to working with the new government and reinvigorating the long standing partnership between the UK and Sri Lanka. We will continue to engage with the new Sri Lankan government on the concern of minority communities.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 progress by Burma towards establishing democracy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
We recognise the significant steps towards democratic reform that the government of Burma has taken over the past two years. This includes releasing hundreds of political prisoners and discharging hundreds of child soldiers. It has also included lifting of restrictions on the media, which has opened the space for the growth of a vibrant civil society.
At the same time, we recognise much more needs to be done, and that in some areas progress has declined. We remain deeply concerned about the recent intimidation, detention and sentencing of reporters and political activists, the appalling situation of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, and about ongoing conflict in ethnic areas and associated human rights abuses, including sexual violence. All of our concerns are thoroughly documented in our Annual Report on Human Rights, and the quarterly updates to them. I personally raise our concerns regularly with the government of Burma.
Burma’s elections, scheduled for October or November this year, will be a critically important test of the government’s commitment to see the reforms through to their conclusion. It is vital for Burma’s future development that these are inclusive and credible. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) made this point to President Thein Sein at the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Brisbane in November.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve UK-Burmese diplomatic relations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK’s relations with Burma have improved since 2011 when President Thein Sein embarked on a programme of reform. Since then we have been a critical friend, using our bilateral relationship to encourage reforms and speaking out where Burma has fallen short of accepted international standards of democracy and human rights. As a result of our engagement, the UK has been able to increase our access and influence with the government of Burma.
Since the reform process began, the government of Burma has made progress in a number of areas, not least by releasing hundreds of political prisoners and child soldiers, and opening up space for the media and civil society to operate. The UK’s support has included a package of development assistance, worth £82 million in financial year 2015-16. We will continue to use our diplomatic relations to encourage reform in 2015, when elections due to be held towards the end of the year will be a critically important milestone in Burma’s transition to a more open and democratic society. At the same time, we recognise there is still a lot further to go, including on human rights, and we will continue to make our concerns known to the government of Burma, both publicly and privately.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 the Commonwealth Secretary-General about the admittance of new member states with no historic or constitutional link to the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
I discussed Commonwealth membership with the Secretary-General on 16 December. He is currently considering a number of expressions of interest in membership of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed recommendations on criteria for membership in 2007. Under that agreement, countries aspiring to join the Commonwealth should generally have a constitutional link to an existing member to be considered eligible. However a country without such a connection may exceptionally be admitted.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 counterpart from South Sudan on that country's membership of the Commonwealth; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Duddridge
The Foreign Minister of South Sudan last raised their Commonwealth application with my hon friend the member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds MP), the former Minister for Africa, in June 2014. South Sudan’s application to join the Commonwealth is being assessed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the reintegration of Somaliland into Somalia; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
It is for Somalia and Somaliland themselves to determine their future relationship and for neighbouring countries in the region to take the lead in recognising any new arrangements. Following the London Conference in February 2012, which “recognised the need for the international community to support any dialogue that Somaliland and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) or its replacement may agree to establish in order to clarify their future relations”, the TFG and Somaliland met for the first time at Chevening in the UK, in June 2012. They agreed to cooperate on matters of mutual interest. Somalia and Somaliland have held several further rounds of talks in Turkey, at Ministerial level.Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase trade between the UK and APEC economies; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Government is actively supporting British companies to do business in APEC countries. Our posts in the region help UK-based companies to identify and pursue new opportunities and work to promote the conditions in which business can succeed. To raise awareness in the UK of business opportunities, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has supported relevant business networks, including the UK-ASEAN Business Council and the China Britain Business Council. The Government actively supports the negotiation of an EU Free Trade Agreement with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. The EU-Korea FTA, signed in July 2011, has seen UK exports of goods to Korea more than double from £2.1bn to £4.6bn, and agreement has been reached on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada and a Free Trade Agreement with Singapore. We expect these to deliver a significant boost to the UK’s trade with these economies and UKTI is working to ensure that UK business is well placed to secure the commercial benefits.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has 40 UK Based staff over 65 years old in its employment. These comprise of 18 permanent staff, 20 Fee Paid staff and 2 Fixed Term Contract staff.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes seriously its obligations to collect diversity data as required by the Equality Act 2010. Information about the diversity and makeup of our staff is listed in the FCO's Diversity and Equality Report. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-and-equality-report-2014
All staff have been asked to provide personal disability data to be held anonymously. We continue to encourage increased declaration by staff as current declaration rates are below the level necessary to give meaningful statistical information.