Asked by: Lord McCabe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January to Question 124954 on Colombia and Lesotho: Taxation, what discussions officials in her Department had with HMRC on the (a) Lesotho, (b) Columbia and (c) Kyrgyzstan tax treaties.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Officials at the Department for International Development did not have any specific discussions with HMRC on tax treaty negotiations between the UK and Lesotho, Colombia or Kyrgyzstan.
HMRC is the lead department for the negotiation of the UK’s tax treaties, reporting to HM Treasury Ministers. HMRC seeks views from a range of interested parties, including DFID, and then takes a judgement about which countries to seek to engage with. DFID has supported this approach which led to recent successful negotiations with Colombia, Lesotho and Kyrgyzstan.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Government of Kyrgyzstan on the case of Klara Kabilova, the chairwoman of Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission.
Answered by Alan Duncan
We are aware of reports concerning the citizenship and eligibility of Klara Kabilova to sit as an MP in Kyrgyzstan. We have not made representations about this specific case but our Embassy in Bishkek has regular meetings with the Kyrgyz government at all levels and routinely discusses issues of mutual interest, including progress on democratisation, fundamental values and human rights.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the details of the £600,000 worth of projects funded by the Magna Carta Fund in 2016–17 which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated have directly led to positive freedom of religion or belief outcomes in 20 countries; and what are those outcomes.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Several projects were funded by the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy in 2016-17, including:
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government in which countries the Magna Carta Fund has been used to support projects to advance freedom of religion and belief.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has used the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy since its inception in financial year 2016/17 to support work to advance freedom of religion or belief in the following countries: Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects in which countries were funded from his Department's Magna Carta Fund to support freedom of religion and belief in 2016-17.
Answered by Mark Field
Her Majesty's Government places great importance on defending and promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy is one of the tools we use to achieve this goal. In 2016-17 we funded the following projects that supported freedom of religion or belief:
Due to sensitivities, we are unable to disclose details of all our projects to support freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what positive outcomes for freedom of religion or belief were achieved from Magna Carta Fund funding in 2016-17.
Answered by Mark Field
There have been a number of positive outcomes for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) from projects supported through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy in financial year 2016-17. These include:
A project delivered by the Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Hardwired Inc has promoted tolerance in secondary school curricula in 50 schools in Iraq, Morocco and Lebanon. The Kurdish Regional Government has also asked for it to be shared with all children in their region.
The NGO Christian Solidarity Worldwide is running a project to support human rights defenders in a number countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This project is raising awareness at the national, regional and international level of the unique challenges human rights defenders campaigning for FoRB face in South and Central Asia. The project is advocating for better protection for them by state authorities.
A project run by the Salzburg Global Seminar is increasing the capacity of institutions with educational missions in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to combat extremism, prevent genocide and promote tolerance. There is particular emphasis on Rwanda, South Africa and Cambodia.
The Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy was also used to support projects to promote FoRB and tolerance in Burma, Tunisia, Egypt, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. These projects have strengthened civil society actors in those countries.
A project carried out by Cumberland Lodge has promoted greater understanding of FoRB issues and challenges amongst overseas students in the UK. This is sensitising them to these matters before their returning to their native countries where it is hoped they will act as informal advocates for human rights, including FoRB.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which least-developed and post-conflict countries have requested assistance from the UK for information-gathering and monitoring of their Sustainable Development Goals; what support has been provided to those countries; and through which programmes.
Answered by Lord Bates
In line with the UK’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), DFID provides support for information-gathering and monitoring of the SDGs at the global and country levels.
While information on individual requests for SDG monitoring support is not held centrally, programmes and initiatives through which we support least-developed and post-conflict countries include:
Countries we support through these programmes and initiatives in monitoring their SDGs include:
Burundi, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Lao, Myanmar, Nepal, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Tajikistan and Vietnam.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries receive Official Development Assistance through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The CSSF provides Official Development Assistance funding to the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Burma, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Overseas Territories (including Montserrat, St Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha), Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.
More information can be found in the Fund’s Annual Report.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which countries his Department spent funds allocated from the (a) Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and (b) Prosperity Fund in 2016-17.
Answered by Boris Johnson
a) Below is a list of countries in which the FCO spent funds allocated from the core discretionary allocation Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in FY16/17 in line with NSC direction and oversight. Some exclusions have been made on the grounds of operational security;
Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia , Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Overseas Territories, Pakistan , Peru, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Yemen.
The CSSF also funded, as part of its spending review settlement, migration work in France , China, Eritrea, Ghana, Greece, India, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Counter Terrorism Programme work in Indonesia, Maldives, Philippines, and Turkey.
b) In 2016/17, the FCO spent Prosperity Fund money in Argentina, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa , South Korea, Tanzania, , Turkey, USA. The FCO also spent Prosperity Fund money allocated to the Commonwealth Marine Economies programme in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, Mauritius, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon islands, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Asked by: Baroness Stern (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the US about Eugene Gourevitch, regarding his co-operation with the US Department of Justice's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to track down stolen Kyrgyz assets.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK is willing and committed to helping international partners and will consider any request on a case by case basis. However as a matter of longstanding policy and practice the Home Office can neither confirm nor deny the existence, content or status of any individual request.