Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will hold discussions with his Nigerian counterpart on the effectiveness of the Safe Schools Initiative for supporting the education of (a) girls, (b) religious minorities and (c) other children in conflict-affected areas of northern Nigeria.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Special Envoy for Girls Education, Helen Grant MP, will meet the Nigerian Education Minister on May 20 to discuss Nigeria's upcoming programme of education reform. The UK and Nigeria are signatories of the Safe School Declaration which commits governments to protect education from violence. The UK supports the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative in Nigeria through its Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises (EiEPC) programme. This provides assistance to children affected by conflict in Borno and Yobe states, allowing them to learn foundational skills, increase their resilience and strengthen systems which support formal and non-formal education during emergencies.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands on the disappearance of Sarm Heslop.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
His Majesty's Consul General Miami has raised the disappearance of British woman, Sarm Heslop with the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Americas, Caribbean and Overseas Territories) was due to speak to the Governor earlier this month and is seeking a call with the Governor at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Peruvian counterpart on supporting families from the indigenous Kichwa community of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is aware of the challenges faced by indigenous people and their supporters in the Peruvian Amazon. We monitor the threats that they face, as well as the actions of the Peruvian Government to protect these communities. We regularly engage with indigenous national organisations to discuss human rights and climate initiatives. I [Minister Rutley] visited Peru in October and met with representatives of indigenous groups, including from the Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu community, to hear directly about the challenges, threats and opportunities they face. I also discussed the importance of protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities with my former counterpart, Mr Ignacio Higueras Hare, during the annual UK-Peru High Level Dialogue in October.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department will provide support to Haitian police to help tackle the increase in violence from criminal gangs.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Haiti that exacerbates pre-existing humanitarian and economic crises. On 9 April, the Foreign Secretary announced a £5 million UK contribution to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, the main role of which is to work in collaboration with the Haitian National Police to tackle gang-related violence.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make representations to his Iranian counter-part on stopping the execution of Toomaj Salehi.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the death sentence of prominent and fearless artist Toomaj Salehi. On May 8 the UK Human Rights Ambassador to the UN in Geneva signed a joint statement calling for Salehi's immediate release and repeating our principled opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances. We have sanctioned 94 Iranian individuals or entities for human rights violations since September 2022, including the Prosecutor General and Deputy Prosecutor General responsible for Iran's application of the death penalty. We continue to call for Mr Salehi's release, and the release of all those who are unjustly detained by the Iranian regime.
Asked by: Baroness Gohir (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government between 2018 and 2022 how many British citizens, if any, have reported being in a forced marriage to individuals in the UK who have students visas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Since April 2019, police forces in England and Wales have been required to provide quarterly data returns to the Home Office on so-called ‘honour’-based abuse offences, including forced marriage. The most recent data show 172 forced marriage related offences recorded in the year ending March 2023.
In addition, the joint Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) also publishes statistics on forced marriage cases reported to the unit. The most recent statistics show the FMU provided support in 280 cases of forced marriage in 2023.
The Home Office does not hold data on forced marriages relating to individuals with student visas.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has had recent discussions with (a) Ministers and (b) Officials in (i) 10 Downing Street and (ii) the Cabinet Office on the decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has made any submissions to (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of re-instating funding to UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of re-instating funding to UNRWA, in the context of the recent report from Catherine Colonna.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the events that took place on 7 October in Israel are appalling, which is why we took decisive action to pause future funding to the organisation.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will set out its position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of Catherine Colonna's final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing UN Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation into these allegations.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 22020 on Ghassan Abu Sittah, whether he has (a) received information on the reasons that Germany issued a Schengen Area wide travel ban on British-Palestinian national Dr. Abu Sittah and (b) held discussions with his (i) German and (ii) French counterpart on that matter.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not sought or received information from the French or German Authorities on this matter, nor held discussions with them about it.