Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tobias Ellwood and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
Tuesday 18th October 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Tobias Ellwood Portrait Mr Ellwood
- Hansard - -

I have had the opportunity to visit the DRC, a country that my hon. Friend knows extremely well. President Kabila is refusing to step back; he wants to continue after his two terms. We have made the case forcefully that he must honour the constitution and allow the democratic process to take place. It is a large country, with 80 million people, and if it goes back into a dark chapter, there will be consequences for the surrounding countries. We are in a very delicate place in the development of democracy in that country.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

T9. Excluding Cabinet meetings, how many times has the Foreign Secretary met the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and the Secretary of State for International Trade to draw up a plan to secure our continued access to the single market, which will protect the economy in Northern Ireland?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tobias Ellwood and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
Tuesday 12th July 2016

(8 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

12. What steps the Government are taking to support the French initiative to start peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

Tobias Ellwood Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Tobias Ellwood)
- Hansard - -

As I mentioned earlier, I attended the French ministerial conference on the middle east peace process in Paris on 3 June. We are in close contact with the French Government and will consider how the UK might contribute as their plans develop.

Tobias Ellwood Portrait Mr Ellwood
- Hansard - -

To make it clear, the summit was moved at short notice to accommodate the US Secretary of State. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary was in Africa at the time, which was why I was able to attend. I hope the hon. Gentleman does not feel short-changed by the fact that I was there instead of the Foreign Secretary. It was an important meeting, as it registered the need for the international community to play its part and we look forward to moving ahead with the process. Discussions will take place in the next few months to bring the parties together.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Ritchie
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

In the light of recent moves by the Egyptian Foreign Minister, does the Minister believe that the chances for successful peace talks are improving? What efforts will the Government make to ensure that both Israel and Palestine are sufficiently incentivised to come to the table to talks?

Tobias Ellwood Portrait Mr Ellwood
- Hansard - -

The hon. Lady is right to say that both parties need to be sufficiently incentivised. The worry that I have had when visiting both the Palestinian areas and Israel is that the leaders on both sides are not necessarily speaking for the people, who generally want something different. My concern is that unless we see the affirmative steps taking place to reverse the trends that we have been seeing, we will drift towards an entrenched position of a one-state reality, with perpetual occupation and conflict.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tobias Ellwood and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
Tuesday 24th May 2016

(8 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

What is the Foreign Secretary’s assessment of the growing violations of press freedom in Tunisia?

Tobias Ellwood Portrait Mr Ellwood
- Hansard - -

As I said earlier, Tunisia is going through a difficult period at the moment. It has been subjected to a number of terrorist attacks and attempted attacks. We have almost doubled the size of our embassy there, and we are doing our best to ensure that we provide support during this difficult period. I would be happy to discuss in more detail some of the challenges relating to freedom of the press with the hon. Lady outside the Chamber.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tobias Ellwood and Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
Tuesday 24th November 2015

(8 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Tobias Ellwood Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Tobias Ellwood)
- Hansard - -

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I articulated in a previous answer, we need to get all parties back to the table. Unfortunately, it seems that the planets are misaligned at the moment. We need to reconfigure and ensure that all parties are able to come back and prevent the scale of violence from increasing.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Portrait Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

T10. What steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure that genuine law-abiding refugees leaving Syria are not locked out of the asylum process as a result of border measures being introduced across the EU after the brutal attacks in Paris?