Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
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 the human rights record of the Government of Sri Lanka.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is committed to the full implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, under which Sri Lanka committed to implement a range of measures to provide for human rights, truth-seeking, reconciliation, and devolution of political powers following the end of its civil war. I encouraged Foreign Minister Marapana to continue to make progress on these commitments when I met him in Colombo, in October 2017. Our High Commission in Sri Lanka regularly travel to the North and East (as did I to Jaffna during that visit) and meet with local groups, and where we have specific human rights concerns we raise these with the Sri Lankan government.
This year the UK will continue to encourage progress on human rights issues, including modern slavery, gender inequality, and reform of discriminatory laws.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to review the right to return of the Chagossian people.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Like successive Governments before it, the Government expresses its sincere regret about the manner in which Chagossians were removed from BIOT in the 1960s and 1970s. For the reasons set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 16 November 2016, the Government does not intend to reverse its decision against resettlement. In light of that decision, the Government has not reconsidered the prohibition on right of entry established under the 2004 BIOT (Constitution) Order. The Government is continuing its work with Chagossian communities in Mauritius, Seychelles and the UK with regard to how to implement the approximately £40 million support package which was announced at the same time.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian effects of the proposed demolition of the village of Susiya in the South Hebron hills.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are gravely concerned by the humanitarian impact of proposals to demolish the village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills. The demolition could leave up to 100 people, half of them children, without shelter. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; call into question Israel’s commitment to a viable two-state solution; and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly raised our concerns with Israeli Ministers and senior officials, and urged them to cease this counter-productive policy, and provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2017 to Question 908045, whether the incoming US administration has agreed to work with the Government to tackle climate change.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We expect to take this and other issues forward in our future discussions with them.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the incoming US administration on climate change.
Answered by Boris Johnson
I arrived back from the US on January 10th 2017, where I held a series of meetings with key figures from the incoming Administration. It was clear from my discussions that the new Administration is looking forward to working closely with us to tackle the shared challenges we face. Our ambassador and Embassy in Washington are already engaging the transition team across a range of these issues. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) has also spoken to President-elect Trump twice since his election, and is looking forward to visiting soon after the inauguration. The Government works regularly with the US on a range of climate and energy issues and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that same-sex marriages are recognised in all Commonwealth countries; and what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence he has had on this issue.
Answered by David Lidington
Our High Commissions continue to lobby at the highest levels on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights, particularly in countries where same-sex relations are criminalised. The UK wants the Commonwealth to do more to ensure that same-sex marriages are recognised across all member states. This has been a contentious issue for Commonwealth members, but we believe progress is fundamental to the Commonwealth’s ability to improve the lives of its people and develop peaceful societies.
Commonwealth members share a collective responsibility to live up to the values of the Commonwealth Charter and we will continue to be clear in pressing them to embrace these values. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) wrote to the Commonwealth Secretary General in March and raised the importance of implementing the aims and aspirations of the Charter.
Last month, The Minister of State, my noble Friend, the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE, met the US Special Envoy for the Rights of LGBT persons to discuss how the UK could work with likeminded partners, including in the Commonwealth, to strengthen the work of civil society organisations and all those fighting to end discrimination.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times (a) the UK, (b) France and (c) Germany voted against proposed EU legislation in the Council of Ministers that was approved by a qualified majority in each year from 2010 to 2014.
Answered by David Lidington
The Govenment does not keep a centralised record of this information, but the information requested regarding voting records of aa Member States on EU legislation is publicly available on the website of the Council of Ministers. These records go back to 1999.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many pieces of proposed EU legislation were approved by a qualified majority in the EU Council of Ministers despite either the UK, France or Germany voting against that legislation in each year from 2010 to 2014.
Answered by David Lidington
The information requested regarding voting records of Member States on EU legislation is publicly available on the website of the Council of Ministers. These records go back to 1999.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times the UK, Germany and France voted against proposed EU legislation in the EU Council of Ministers that was approved by a qualified majority in each year from 2010 to 2014.
Answered by David Lidington
Under the voting system in place 2010-2014, the UK, France and Germany constituted a blocking minority for decisions taken on the basis of a qualified majority in Council. Consequently, any decision which they voted against could not have been taken forward. Since 1 November 2014, when new Lisbon Treaty provisions came into force, the UK’s relative voting weight as a larger Member State has increased because of the new double majority rules, which require 65% of the EU’s population and 55% of the Member States for a qualified majority.