Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 of Iran's nuclear programme for the Government's policy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Iran continues its systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). On 16 April Iran announced that it had started uranium enrichment up to 60% using advanced centrifuges, which is a serious and deeply worrying development in violation of its nuclear commitments. The production of highly enriched uranium is an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level.
The Foreign Secretary has been clear that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon. Our immediate priority is to find a diplomatic solution to bring Iran back into compliance with its JCPoA commitments and restore the benefits of the deal. We are currently engaged in talks with other JCPoA participants and the US Administration in Vienna to that end. The JCPoA still represents the best and currently the only framework for monitoring and constraining Iran's nuclear programme.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
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 implications for his policies of reports that following the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano on the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, only people who have been vaccinated against covid-19 are able to access evacuation to neighbouring islands; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are monitoring the situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines closely and our thoughts are with those affected by the eruptions.
On 8 April Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves ordered an immediate evacuation of people living in the most at-risk areas on St Vincent island. We can confirm that it is a requirement for persons who are being evacuated to another country in the region to be vaccinated. However, late on 12 April Prime Minister Gonsalves announced that his Government will no longer use cruise ships to evacuate people from the Red Zone as the numbers wanting to leave are low and people would prefer to stay on St Vincent and the Grenadines.
COVID-19 vaccinations are not required to gain access to emergency shelters or humanitarian support in-country, although Prime Minister Gonsalves is urging people to get vaccinated. There has been no impact on the provision of support from neighbouring islands (or more broadly - including by the UK), although appropriate COVID-19 measures are being used, including by those who have deployed to the island.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano, what steps he is planning to take to support the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are monitoring the situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines closely and our thoughts are with those affected by the eruptions.
On 12 April the UK pledged an initial £200,000 to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to help address the humanitarian impact of the eruptions. This will provide urgent technical expertise to help coordinate the relief effort, including the provision of lifesaving emergency supplies, the restoration of telecommunications and transport links and other immediate needs including around the provision of water and electricity and in the health and agriculture sectors. We have provided technical advice from the UK Government Office of Science (GO Science) and the British Geological Survey on how to deal with the significant ash fall (including on its impact on livestock).
We currently have a volcanologist on the ground supporting the relief effort. They are working to facilitate the urgent analysis of ash samples back in the UK. This analysis will enable scientists in St Vincent to better understand how the eruptions are changing and determine seismic patterns of activity over the coming months
The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) have allocated $1million in response to the eruptions in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The UK is a longstanding supporter of the CERF. In 2020, the UK was one of the largest donors to the Fund, providing £66 million ($88.6million) to support responses to humanitarian need across the globe.
Finally the UK is also a contributor to the International Federation of the Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) which has allocated funding of some £209,000 to the St Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross response. We will continue to work with CDEMA and other appropriate agencies to assess the need for further UK support.
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, spoke to the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and his High Commissioner to the UK on 14 April. They discussed initial and ongoing UK support for the recovery following the volcanic eruption.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the (a) the Chinese Government, (b) the international community and (c) UK businesses on the treatment of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK has played a leading international role in holding China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. Most recently, in October, alongside Germany we brought together a total of 39 countries to express grave concern at the situation in Xinjiang in a joint statement at the UN Third Committee. We have engaged more than 50 countries on this issue in recent months. The Foreign Secretary has raised our serious concerns directly with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi on a number of occasions this year. FCDO officials regularly engage business and other stakeholders including trade bodies to raise awareness of China's human rights violations, and underline our view that businesses must take steps to ensure their supply chains are free of forced labour. We continue to urge all UK businesses to conduct due diligence on their supply chains and are taking steps to strengthen supply chain transparency under the Modern Slavery Act.