Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 (a) Indian and (b) Pakistani counterparts on (i) human rights in Kashmir and (ii) the use of the death penalty.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 31 March 2025 to Question 39395.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish an impact assessment for the changes to development assistance announced on 25 February 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 respond to the Egyptian Government's refusal to (a) release and (b) recognise the British nationality of Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help residents of the Union Island.
Answered by Catherine West
Hurricane Beryl passed through the Caribbean at the beginning of July, devastating several islands in the Grenadines, including Union. On 5th July, the Foreign Secretary responded by increasing available UK response funding up to £500,000. This money has allowed us to send emergency shelter kits (capable of supporting up to 4,000 people) and freshwater storage solutions (for over 1,600 families) to affected islands, which included Union Island. The UK also supported the deployment of Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) emergency response teams to assess needs and assist with relief, logistics and telecoms. St Vincent and the Grenadines also received US$1.86 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), to which the UK was a founder donor.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 number of civilians killed in the Ethiopian and Eritrean offensive in the Tigray region since September 1 2022.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Information on casualties from the conflict in northern Ethiopia is scarce. Since the resumption of fighting on 24 August it is likely that there have been thousands of casualties.
The UK welcomes the peace agreement and cessation of hostilities announced on 2 November between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and their commitment to scale-up the delivery of life-saving aid to Tigray. The UK calls upon the Eritrean Government to support the agreement by withdrawing its troops from Ethiopia.