Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government's announcement on 23 September 2019 to commit £11.6 billion to international climate finance over the next five years, whether the Government still plans to commit that amount to international climate finance; and if she will set out how much of that funding has been allocated to date.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce legislation to hold companies liable when they fail to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harms in overseas supply chains.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles. In response to the Guidelines, the UK was the first State to produce a National Action Plan and we continue to develop our approach in line with Modern Slavery Act 2015. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act places a requirement on businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more, to publish an annual modern slavery statement setting out the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. To further bolster our commitment to tackle modern slavery, in January 2021, the UK government announced that financial penalties will be introduced for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. We have also enhanced Companies Act reporting (2013, 2016) and the UK is signatory to the 1976 OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multi-National Enterprises, which adopted the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The UK has also introduced due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. This is one part of a wider package of measures to improve the sustainability of our supply chains and will contribute to global efforts to protect forests and other ecosystems.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to take steps at the United Nations Human Rights Council to promote human rights in Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Bahrain is a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office human rights priority country. We regularly raise human rights issues and individual cases with senior members of the Government of Bahrain, and continue to raise specific cases with senior interlocutors, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies.
We are happy to work with partners, including the Human Rights Council, to promote human rights in Bahrain and elsewhere.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for UK Government obligations to the people of Kurdistan of the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We have not made such an assessment. We support the territorial integrity of all countries in the region covered by the two treaties, and encourage the governments concerned to safeguard the rights of all their citizens, regardless of ethnicity. We continue to support a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq within a peaceful, prosperous Iraq.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she (a) has had or (b) is scheduled to have with the Government of Chile on the protection of the rights of women and minorities.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals, including the rights of women and minorities in Chile, and across Latin America. Our embassy in Santiago regularly raises the protection of the rights of women and minorities with the Chilean government. We also work in partnership with Chilean authorities, civil society, and businesses in supporting efforts to strengthen gender equality through UK-Chile commercial trade links, and addressing gender based violence.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending diplomatic protection to Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin Ratcliffe.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
We have received Mr Ashoori's application for diplomatic protection. The Foreign Secretary is considering the matter carefully. In Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, the Foreign Secretary was clear that diplomatic protection would not lead to an overnight resolution. We remain committed to securing Mr Ashoori's, Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's and Mr Tahbaz's immediate and permanent release. The Foreign Secretary raised the UK's strong opposition to Iran's practice of detaining foreign and dual nationals with her Iranian counterpart on 8 November and will continue to do so. Our Ambassador in Tehran regularly raises Mr Ashoori's, Mr Tahbaz's and Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's cases with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to secure the release of UK citizens arbitrarily detained in Iran.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The Foreign Secretary continues to raise Iran's practice of detaining British dual nationals with her Iranian counterpart, most recently in a call with Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian on 8 November and Minister Cleverly raised this with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Bagheri Kani, on 11 November. Our Ambassador in Tehran continues to raise our detainees regularly with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We remain committed to doing all we can to ensure that British nationals being unfairly detained by Iran are released and allowed to return home to be reunited with their families.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has to call for the restoration of civilian government in Sudan.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We strongly condemn the actions of the Sudanese military on 25 October, including to detain Prime Minister Hamdok and members of the civilian government and declare a state of emergency. Over the past two years, the UK has taken a leading role to support Sudan on their delicate path from oppressive autocratic rule to freedom and democracy; the acts of the military represents a betrayal of the Sudanese people and that journey. With our Sudan Quad partners (KSA, UAE and US) we issued a statement on 3 November calling for the release of all those unlawfully detained and restoration of the civilian-led transitional government. We expressed our condemnation at a meeting of the UN Security Council meeting on 26 October, which was followed by a statement from members of the Council. We also secured a Special Session at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November to discuss the situation.
I personally commended the African Union (AU)'s leadership in their decision to suspend Sudan from all activities at a joint AU-UN Security Council meeting on 28 October and reiterated my concerns over the actions of the Sudanese military in a Westminster Hall debate on 3 November. With our international partners we continue to maintain public international pressure on the military to return to the democratic transition in order to deliver the freedom, peace and justice called for by the Sudanese people.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking in response to the coup in Sudan.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We strongly condemn the actions of the Sudanese military on 25 October, including to detain Prime Minister Hamdok and members of the civilian government and declare a state of emergency. Over the past two years, the UK has taken a leading role to support Sudan on their delicate path from oppressive autocratic rule to freedom and democracy; the acts of the military represents a betrayal of the Sudanese people and that journey. With our Sudan Quad partners (KSA, UAE and US) we issued a statement on 3 November calling for the release of all those unlawfully detained and restoration of the civilian-led transitional government. We expressed our condemnation at a meeting of the UN Security Council meeting on 26 October, which was followed by a statement from members of the Council. We also secured a Special Session at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November to discuss the situation.
I personally commended the African Union (AU)'s leadership in their decision to suspend Sudan from all activities at a joint AU-UN Security Council meeting on 28 October and reiterated my concerns over the actions of the Sudanese military in a Westminster Hall debate on 3 November. With our international partners we continue to maintain public international pressure on the military to return to the democratic transition in order to deliver the freedom, peace and justice called for by the Sudanese people.