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 support people affected by flooding in Jamaica.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK works with regional organisations and Governments of the Commonwealth Caribbean, including Jamaica to strengthen disaster preparedness, help with recovery and build resilience. This includes access to rapid funding for disaster surge response through the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency; the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, an insurance mechanism which makes pay-outs to Caribbean Governments impacted by a disaster; and the UK financed Global Risk Financing Facility which provided £14.85 million to help Jamaica strengthen financial resilience to tropical cyclones, excess rainfall, and earthquake disasters and will enable early action after disasters.
While there has been no request to the UK Government for humanitarian support in Jamaica related to flooding, these funds are available for the Government of Jamaica to draw on if that is required.
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 representations he has made to his Polish counterpart on the restrictions on the reproductive rights of Polish citizens.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are closely monitoring developments in Poland following a ruling on 22 October by its Constitutional Tribunal, that laws permitting abortion in certain cases are unconstitutional, and the large-scale protests across Poland that this has prompted. It is for each country to establish its own laws on abortion. However, the UK firmly believes that supporting the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, through evidence-based public health interventions, saves lives and supports prosperity. Evidence shows that restricting access to safe abortion does not make abortions less common: it only makes them less safe. The FCDO is a leading voice on gender issues, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, in multilateral fora such as the Council of Europe and the United Nations. The British Embassy in Warsaw is active on this agenda and in September ran a workshop for British and Polish NGOs active on women's rights.
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 plans his Department has in place to respond to the results of US presidential elections in the event that they are contested.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will not speculate on the outcome of the US election, which is a matter for the US people.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many payments the Government has made under the emergency repatriation loans scheme since that scheme was established.
Answered by Nigel Adams
British nationals and UK residents who are overseas and wish to return to the UK, but cannot afford travel costs and have no other options for getting funds to return home, may apply for an emergency loan from the government as a last resort. Only basic costs can be included in a loan, usually the cheapest one-way ticket to the UK. The FCO usually issues around 250 emergency repatriation loans per year. As of 22 April we estimate that over 750 loans have been issued this year. Some loans are still being processed. Since 7 April 2020, the FCO has been working with Corporate Travel Management (CTM), which is authorised to administer such loans on behalf of the FCO, to extend the FCO's capacity to consider loan requests from British nationals.
The welfare of British nationals remains our top priority, and we remain committed to ensuring that British travellers around the globe are able to return home.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support an international criminal justice mechanism for the human rights crimes committed against Tamils.
Answered by Mark Field
A Sri Lankan process initiated by the Government of Sri Lanka and supported by all communities offers the best route to achieve accountability for violations and crimes committed, and reconciliation, in Sri Lanka.
The United Kingdom co-sponsored the 2014 UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution 30/1, which established an investigation into allegations of serious violations and abuses of human rights during Sri Lanka's recent conflict. We welcomed Sri Lanka's co-sponsorship of a new UNHRC Resolution in March 2019, led by the UK, which rolled over Sri Lanka's commitments under Resolution 30/1 on post-civil war reconciliation and accountability. UNHRC Resolution 30/1 welcomed the intention of the Government of Sri Lanka to establish a judicial mechanism to investigate allegations of violations and abuses. It stressed the importance of independent and impartial institutions to ensure the credibility of the mechanism, and highlighted the importance of the participation of international judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators. The UK will continue to support and encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to fully implement the UNHRC resolution
Furthermore, the UK's Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme in Sri Lanka provides funding to the UN Peacebuilding Priority Plan, which supports efforts to establish credible and effective transitional justice mechanisms as part of Sri Lanka's reconciliation process.