Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his Colombian counterpart on support for peace talks with the Estado Mayor Central armed group.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In February, the UK jointly led the third UN Security Council (UNSC) visit to Colombia in support of the 2016 peace process. The Council met with President Petro and the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace to discuss the Colombian Government's vision to broaden peace through dialogue with armed groups. The Council discussed the dialogue with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) which it has indicated a willingness to consider mandating the UN to support. Through our role as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC), the UK will continue to work closely with international partners in support of the peace process in Colombia.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the alleged murders of (a) José Roa, (b) Luis Eduardo Sterling and (c) Yilber Silva in Colombia on 14 January 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting the Colombian Government in its commitment to secure a broad and lasting peace remains an important priority of this Government. I [Minister Rutley] raised the human rights situation during my visit to Colombia this month (4-5 February) where I urged the Colombian Government to take further steps to protect vulnerable groups and individuals affected by conflict. In May 2023, the former Foreign Secretary committed £3.6 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in 2023/24 to support the implementation of the Peace Agreement and to improve stability and security, including on human rights. Through the CSSF programme, we continue to support programmes that help to protect former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) combatants and other vulnerable groups affected by violence.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
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 displacement of the Wiwa indigenous peoples in Colombia.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Supporting the Colombian Government in its commitment to secure a broad and lasting peace will remain an important priority of this Government. At the UN Security Council on 11 January, Our Ambassador urged the Colombian Government to take further steps to protect vulnerable groups including indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities most affected by conflict. Through the UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) which has provided £79 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Colombia and prioritise funding interventions to help protect indigenous communities, including through the OHCHR (UN Human Rights Office).
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Colombian Government on the UN Biodiversity Conference 2024, to be held in that country in October-November 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2011, Colombia has been one of the largest recipients of UK International Climate Finance and we regularly engage with the Colombian Government on environmental issues. In January, officials from our Embassy in Bogotá spoke with the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to offer our support to ensure a successful UN Biodiversity Conference in 2024. We will continue to have discussions with the Colombian Government as they develop their plans for the conference.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the British Embassy in Bogotá intends to conduct an official visit to the offices of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective following reports of attacks, threats and defamation of its members.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 28 November 2023, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London met representatives of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective to discuss their security situation. Officials at our Embassy in Bogotá will schedule a further meeting in Colombia at the next available opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Colombia about reports of (1) attacks against, and (2) surveillance of, members of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK ministers and senior officials regularly raise human rights issues, as well as specific cases of concern, with the Colombian Government. Officials from the British Embassy in Bogotá will schedule a meeting with the National Protection Unit (UNP) to discuss attacks against, and surveillance of, members of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective at the next available opportunity. We look to the Colombian authorities to investigate fully and to take appropriate action against those responsible.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent progress his Department has made on meeting the commitments made at the Oslo Conference for Protecting Children in Armed Conflict in June 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
At the Oslo Conference, the UK committed to hosting a youth-briefer at the UN Security Council (UNSC) Children in Armed Conflict (CAAC) Open Debate in 2023 and delivering annual ministerial level roundtables with children affected by armed conflict.
During the UK presidency of the UNSC in July 2023, the UK invited a 17-year-old child from Colombia to brief the UNSC, the first in-person child representative to do so.
In 2024, we remain committed to holding a roundtable to amplify the voices of young people, building on the roundtable held by Minister Ford in 2022.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to meet each of the four priorities on preventing sexual violence in conflict.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
One year on from the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) strategy, we have delivered impact across each of its four objectives. We have driven global momentum, launching the International Alliance on PSVI. We have launched 'ACT for Survivors', a national-level capacity building programme promoting investigation and prosecution of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) crimes. PSVI contributions led to vital legislative changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a judicial macro case prosecuting CRSV crimes in Colombia. Setting a gold standard internationally, we pioneer survivor-centred approaches to decision making through our PSVI Survivor Champions and Survivor Advisory Group.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she had discussions with her counterpart in the District of Colombia before laying the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023 on the removal of that US territory from the list of approved countries and territories to qualify applicants for the overseas route to apply for gender recognition certificates.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer back to my previous answer to UIN 5635 on 14th December.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she had discussions with her counterpart in the Canadian province of British Colombia before laying the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023 on the removal of that territory from the list of approved countries and territories to qualify applicants for the overseas route to apply for gender recognition certificates.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We conducted thorough research in collaboration with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to verify our understanding of each overseas system in question, to then measure against the UK’s standard route to obtain gender recognition.
The Minister for Women and Equalities has been in conversations with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office throughout this entire process and is monitoring the international reaction to this legislation. Diplomatic posts have been consulted on and notified of the changes, and we have provided them with comprehensive question and answer documents that address any potential misconceptions of what this Order does. We have benefited greatly from this collaboration and I am confident that our international counterparts are well informed about this piece of legislation and its outcomes.