Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Canadian counterpart on the Canadian Prime Minister's announcement on 17 February 2023 that Canada will deploy warships to patrol the coast of Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has not held discussions with his Canadian counterpart regarding the Canadian Prime Minister's announcement that Canada will deploy warships to patrol the coast of Haiti.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to raise discussions on the Jamaican offer of military and policing assistance for Haiti at the UN.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We note and welcome the reporting of comments made by Jamaican PM Holness on 31 January, that he would be willing to contribute to the Haitian Government's request to the UN Secretary General for a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace. Developments in Haiti are under constant review and UK officials remain involved in discussions - including at the UN - over how the international community can best help Haiti to resolve its complex challenges.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the UK has visa free travel arrangements with for British citizens.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
FCDO, who have responsibility for this information, have said that the information this question is requesting can be found in public domain https://visaguide.world/visa-free-countries/uk-passport/
We have included the list for ease:
Albania
American Samoa
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bolivia
Caribbean Netherlands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Cabo Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malaysia
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Réunion
Romania
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Gambia
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turks and Caicos Islands
Türkiye
United States Virgin Islands
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia
Eswatin
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Haitian counterpart on the alleged involvement of the Fantom 509 group of former police officers in violence in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Foreign Secretary has not discussed alleged involvement of the 'Fantom 509' group of former police officers in violence in Haiti with his Haitian counterpart.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to monitor the deteriorating security situation in Haiti and we encourage international partners to work together to assist in Haitian-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of gang violence. Through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince, we remain in regular contact and coordination with the Haitian government and those agencies supporting the security sector. FCDO officials are actively engaged in the UN Security Council on this issue and were briefed by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Haiti on 24 January ahead of a Security Council discussion.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Jamaican police and soldiers being placed in Haiti to tackle gang violence in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We note and welcome the reporting last week of comments by Jamaican PM Holness that he would be willing to contribute to the Haitian Government's request to the UN Secretary General for a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace. Such an offer would need to be made and discussed at the UN before any decisions could be taken.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help alleviate the food insecurity situation in Haiti in the context of the UN World Food Programme's request for increased international support in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
According to the UN World Food Programme's recent reports food insecurity is affecting 4.7 million people in Haiti. The UK are supporting Haiti through our contributions to the United Nations and other international agencies who have a strong presence on the ground, including the World Bank. The IMF recently approved US$105 million emergency financial assistance under their Rapid Credit Facility Food Shock Window. Through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince, we remain in regular contact and coordination with these agencies.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the transfer to the United States of four.suspects in the killing of the Haitian president Jovenel Moïse.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has not discussed with the US Government the transfer to Florida of four individuals from Haiti which forms part of ongoing US legal proceedings against those suspected of criminal activities undertaken in the USA, linked to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. We maintain a broad dialogue with the US Government on developments in Haiti at all levels and welcome efforts to bring those suspected of involvement in the assassination of President Moïse to justice, both in Haiti and internationally. This abhorrent act undermined the Haitian people's right to determine their own future democratically.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help address the humanitarian situation in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the difficult humanitarian situation in Haiti, which is worsened by the chronic security issues caused by armed criminal gangs. We are supporting Haiti through our contributions to the United Nations and other international agencies who have a strong presence on the ground, including the World Bank. Through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince we remain in regular contact and coordination with these agencies. The UK continues to use our platform both in country and at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to help international efforts in realising a Haitian-led solution to Haiti's multifaceted challenges.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Haiti, including reports of hunger and acute food insecurity in the Cité Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is closely monitoring the worsening security and humanitarian situation in Haiti. We continue to support Haiti through our contributions to agencies such as the United Nations and the World Bank Group who have a strong presence on the ground, and we are engaged in UN Security Council discussions to consider Haiti's request for support. The UK remains committed to supporting a Haitian-led solution focused on the root causes of these issues in order to address the complex challenges in Haiti.