Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 June (HL724), what assessment they have made of further reports of chemical weapons being used against the Kurds in Northern Iraq.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK takes all allegations of chemical weapons use seriously. The use of chemical weapons is prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and is a clear threat to international peace and security. We will continue to uphold and protect the Convention's ban on the use of chemical weapons. The Government is aware of reports that chemical weapons were used in northern Iraq. We have no direct evidence to support these claims. We continue to monitor reports of use of riot control agents in Northern Iraq.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for cooperation on education between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's education sector and recently hosted the Prime Minister and Minister of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government and discussed opportunities for collaboration in education. In discussions with the Secretary of State for the Department for Education we agreed to work closely to further expand our collaboration. Our Consulate in Erbil continues to identify opportunities for and work with UK institutions that offer both academic and vocational training programmes, including City and Guilds who now have established an office in Iraq.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department taking to help encourage the resolution of disputes between the federal government in Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK supports a strong relationship between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Federal Government of Iraq and continues to encourage cooperation to resolve outstanding issues. We want to see a strong and successful Kurdistan region within a thriving and multicultural Iraq.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps her Department has taken to help deter missile attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK publicly condemned the senseless attack by Iran on Erbil on March 12, and separately condemns the April and May attacks on oil refineries in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The UK continues to closely coordinate with Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to de-escalate tensions in the region. This includes through the visit of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Masrour Barzani to London in April, when I [Minister Milling] met with him, as did the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on potential responsibility for missile attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in March, April and May 2022; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK publicly condemned the senseless attack by Iran on Erbil on March 12, and separately condemns the April and May attacks on oil refineries in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The UK continues to closely coordinate with Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to de-escalate tensions in the region. This includes through the visit of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government Masrour Barzani to London in April, when I [Minister Milling] met with him, as did the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the relationship between the Federal Government in Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We continue to work with both Baghdad and Erbil, and encourage both sides to work towards resolving their differences in line with the Iraqi constitution. We want to see a strong and successful Kurdistan region within a thriving and multicultural Iraq.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the strength of the bilateral relationship between the UK and the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have a close and strategic relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government is a close ally in the fight against Daesh and we continue to cooperate closely on security and wider issues. UK Ministerial engagement is strong. The President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, visited the UK in September 2021. In April 2022, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, visited the UK. Both met the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, amongst others.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department made of the implications for its policies of recent reports of rocket attacks in Erbil.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK condemns the senseless attack by Iran on Erbil on 13 March, a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty. We continue to support the security and stability of Iraq including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The UK considers this and other attacks to constitute a threat to peace and security in Iraq and the wider region.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government of Iraq; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK is encouraging cooperation between the Kurdistan Regional of Iraq (KRI) and Federal Government of Iraq to resolve outstanding issues, including around the budget. We continue to press the Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Governments for more progress on security and services in the liberated areas of Iraq and to solve disputed internal boundaries. We are supporting Iraq to address humanitarian, economic, security and Covid-19 challenges and we continue to follow the situation there closely. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary met the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, President Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London on 15-17 September and discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a response to Early Day Motion 457 on Arrests and detentions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the detention and conviction of a number of journalists and activists in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and we are following the situation closely.
I have raised my concerns over restrictions on media freedom in the KRI with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani. Our Ambassador in Baghdad and our Consul General in Erbil discuss these issues with their interlocutors in the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with the KRI's President Nechirvan Barzani during his visit to London over 15-17 September.