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Written Question
Luis Carlos Pineda
Tuesday 26th March 2024

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 murder of Luis Carlos Pineda in Caquetá on 9 March 2024.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

During my visit to Colombia earlier this month, I [Minister Rutley] raised the human rights situation with Vice Foreign Minister Coy. At the UN Security Council on 11 January and during the visit of the UN Security Council in February, we stressed the importance of security guarantees for former combatants and reiterated our commitment to supporting efforts to tackle the root causes of violence in Colombia. We will continue to support the Colombian Government in its commitment to implement the 2016 Peace Agreement and ensure the protection and safety of signatories of the Agreement.


Written Question
Colombia: Ceasefires
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Colombia on the recent ceasefire with the ELN.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As penholder at the UN Security Council, the UK helped coordinate international support to expand the mandate of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia to verify the implementation of the ceasefire between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The ceasefire agreed between the Colombian Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) and its extension following recent talks in Havana is a welcome step. During my visit to Colombia earlier this month, I [Minister Rutley] was able to convey our hope that the ceasefire will contribute to improving security and alleviate the suffering of conflict-affected communities.


Written Question
Colombia: Peace Negotiations
Monday 25th March 2024

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 steps his Department is taking to help prevent delays in the implementation of the 2016 Columbia peace agreement.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I [Minister Rutley] met with Colombian ministers in Bogota earlier this month where I stressed the importance of making progress on the 2016 Peace Agreement. During the most recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on 11 January, the UK and various Council members reiterated their commitment to support implementation of the 2016 peace agreement as the central peace policy in Colombia. As the second largest UN Trust Fund donor, the UK continues to be a leading advocate in support of Colombia's peace process and supports the work of the UN Verification Mission.


Written Question
Ludivia Galindez
Monday 25th March 2024

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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the murder of women’s rights and peace activist Ludivia Galindez in Colombia on 23 February 2024.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Colombia is a Human Rights Priority Country for the UK and the British Government remains concerned at the worrying rate of murders of, and threats against, human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia. We will continue to support the Colombian Government in its commitment to implement the 2016 Peace Agreement and ensure the protection and safety of peace activists and women's rights campaigners. During my visit to Colombia earlier this month, I [Minister Rutley] raised the human rights situation with Vice Foreign Minister Coy. At the UN Security Council on 11 January, we set out our concern over attacks on human rights defenders, communities, women and social leaders, and reiterated our commitment to supporting efforts to tackle the root causes of violence in Colombia.


Written Question
Colombia: Peace Negotiations
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department plans to take at the UN Security Council as the penholder for Colombia’s 2016 peace agreement following the Security Council visit to that country.

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 progress and challenges for implementation of the 2016 Final Peace Agreement and the Government's efforts to broaden peace through dialogue with armed groups. The Council discussed the dialogue and temporary bilateral ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) which it has indicated a willingness to consider mandating the UN to monitor and verify. 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.


Written Question
Military Attachés
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 1027 on Military Attachés, if he will publish an updated list of countries without a resident UK Defence Attache.

Answered by James Heappey

The Global Defence Network (GDN) utilises Resident and Non-Resident Defence Attachés (DA), who engage in Defence diplomacy in over three-quarters of the world’s nations. The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK DA is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility.

Country (NRA)

Location of DA

Angola

Mozambique - Maputo

Anguilla (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Antigua & Barbuda

Jamaica - Kingston

Armenia

Georgia – Tbilisi

Azerbaijan

Georgia – Tbilisi

Bahamas

Jamaica - Kingston

Barbados

Jamaica - Kingston

Belarus

Ukraine – Kyiv

Belize

Jamaica - Kingston

Benin

Accra - Ghana

Bermuda (British overseas territory)

USA – Washington DC

Botswana

Harare - Zimbabwe

British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Burkina Faso

Ghana - Accra

Burundi

Uganda – Kampala

Cambodia

(In process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica – Kingston

Chad

Cameroon - Yaoundé

Cuba

Mexico – Mexico City

Djibouti

Ethiopia – Addis Ababa

Dominica

Jamaica - Kingston

Dominican Republic

Jamaica - Kingston

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala - Uganda

Eritrea

Sana’a - Yemen (temporarily relocated to Riyadh)

Ecuador

Bogota - Colombia

Grenada

Jamaica - Kingston

Guinea

Sierra Leone – Freetown

Guyana

Jamaica - Kingston

Guatemala

Mexico – Mexico City

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal - Dakar

Haiti

Jamaica - Kingston

Hungary

Croatia - Zagreb

Iceland

Norway - Oslo

Ivory Coast

Ghana – Accra

Khartoum

Egypt - Cairo

Kosovo

Macedonia - Skopje

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Laos

(in process of transferring to) Vietnam - Hanoi

Lesotho

South Africa - Pretoria

Liberia

Sierra Leone - Freetown

Luxembourg

Belgium - Brussels

Malawi

Zimbabwe – Harare

Mali

Senegal - Dakar

Malta

Rome - Italy

Mauritania

Morocco – Rabat

Monaco

France – Paris

Mongolia

Japan – Tokyo

Myanmar

Thailand - Bangkok

Montserrat (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Namibia

South Africa – Pretoria

Niger

Cameroon – Yaoundé

Papua New Guinea

Australia – Canberra

Paraguay

Argentina – Buenos Aires

Peru

Colombia - Bogota

Rwanda

Uganda – Kampala

Seychelles

Kenya - Nairobi

St Kitts & Nevis

Jamaica - Kingston

St Lucia

Jamaica - Kingston

St Vincent

Jamaica - Kingston

Slovakia

Czech Rep - Prague

Slovenia

Austria – Vienna

South Sudan

Addis Ababa – Ethiopia

Switzerland

Vienna - Austria

Syria

Lebanon - Beirut

Tajikistan

Kazakhstan – Astana

Tanzania

Kenya – Nairobi

The Gambia

Senegal - Dakar

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Indonesia - Jakarta

Togo

Ghana – Accra

Tonga

Fiji – Suva

Trinidad & Tobago

Jamaica - Kingston

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Turks & Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)

Jamaica - Kingston

Uruguay

Argentina - Buenos Aires

Vanuatu

Fiji – Suva

Venezuela

Bogota - Colombia

Zambia

Zimbabwe - Harare

Supported by MOD from in the UK

Cape Verdi Islands

Congo

Gabon

Panama

Puerto Rica


Written Question
Colombia: Peace Negotiations
Wednesday 13th March 2024

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.


Written Question
Colombia: Homicide
Wednesday 13th March 2024

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.


Written Question
Colombia: Indigenous Peoples
Tuesday 5th March 2024

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).


Written Question
Colombia: Convention on Biological Diversity
Monday 19th February 2024

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.