Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with the UNRWA on the reported launching of rockets from within its facilities.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK takes allegations of neutrality violations extremely seriously, including any incidents related to UN installations. The FCDO also monitors this closely through our annual assessment of UNRWA. When violations have been identified, UNRWA has taken action, including raising the issue with relevant parties.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General. Their independent investigations include assessment of the policies and systems UNRWA has in place to ensure neutrality.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of weapons being found in schools in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware of reports of Hamas using schools and other infrastructure for their operations. We are strongly condemn Hamas' ongoing use of civilian areas. By embedding themselves in the civilian population and civilian infrastructure, Hamas is putting Palestinian civilians at grave risk. We have been clear that for a lasting peace, removing Hamas' capacity to continue launching attacks against Israel and ensuring Hamas is no longer in charge of Gaza are both vital steps.
However, we also remain deeply concerned about the impact of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations on the civilian population in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart about reports Hamas is using ambulances to travel within Gaza.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We maintain regular contact with the Government of Israel on a full range of issues relating to conflict in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary met his counterpart Foreign Minister Cohen on 23 November in Israel where they discussed aspects relating to the conflict. The safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence directed towards humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers and we have been consistently clear that everything must be done to protect lives. The wounded and critically ill in Gaza should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
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 reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is involved in the trafficking of Captagon across the Middle East.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The production and smuggling of captagon is a multi-billion dollar trade, essentially emanating from Assad-regime control within Syria. This trade is destabilising the region and provides illicit revenue to multiple malign actors, notably the Assad regime and its co-conspirators, including Hizballah and other Iranian-backed militias. The UK has drawn international attention to this (through an intervention at the UN Security Council on 25 January) and increased our cooperation with regional states to combat this. We have made clear our concerns about the malign activity of Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, both organisations we have sanctioned in their entirety.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Hezbollah's reported acquisition of precision-guided missiles from Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments that we do not comment on intelligence matters. Iran's political, financial and military support to a number of militant groups, including Hizballah in Lebanon is unacceptable. We work closely with our partners to deter destabilising Iranian activity in the region, including through a range of sanctions designations.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assistance the Government has provided to Sri Lanka following the (a) fire on and (b) sinking of the X-Press Pearl.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK Government remains concerned about the environmental impact caused by the fire on the X-Press Pearl ship. We have engaged regularly with the Sri Lankan authorities and international experts on the ground to determine how the UK can best support the response.
The UK Government is providing marine pollution expertise to Sri Lanka to help respond to the potentially devastating impact on the marine life and coastal habitats of Sri Lanka. The UK will also provide expertise and analytical capacity to support plastic pollution monitoring, as well as environmental and socioeconomic impact assessments. The UK's Centre for the Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science will partner with Sri Lankan Government Departments, academics and responsible authorities to support effective emergency response and implementation of a post spill integrated monitoring plan.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
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 whether (a) tear gas, (b) rubber bullets and (c) riot gear exported from the UK to Hong Kong has been used by the Hong Kong Police Force against peaceful protesters in Hong Kong.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Licensing decisions are based on the most up-to-date information and analysis available at the time and our export licensing system allows us to respond quickly to changing facts on the ground.
As the former Foreign Secretary stated during his remarks in the House of Commons on 25 June 2019, no further export licences will be granted for crowd control equipment to Hong Kong unless we are satisfied that concerns raised about human rights and fundamental freedoms have been thoroughly addressed. There are no extant licences for crowd control equipment.