Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of bombings carried out on 1 February in (1) Iraq, and (2) Northern Syria, which targeted refugee and Internally Displaced People camps, resulting in (a) multiple casualties, and (b) destruction.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of attacks carried out by Turkey in both Northern Iraq and Syria and continue to follow the situation closely. FCDO Ministers and senior officials regularly reiterate the need for dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. We welcome recent discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We welcome the fact that the ceasefire in north west Syria agreed by Turkey and Russia in March 2020 is broadly holding. We are concerned by increased violence in recent months, including frequent airstrikes and daily artillery shelling. It is essential that all parties to the conflict respect the ceasefire and allow humanitarian access. We urge all parties to increase their efforts to adhere to it.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact on humanitarian access to north-east Syria of the closure of the border crossing with the Kurdistan region of Iraq on 15 December 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are engaging with our aid partners in north east Syria, who are responding to disruptions to their operations, where they assess 1.8 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. The closure carries a greater impact given the spread of the Omicron Covid variant and there are a number of critical humanitarian supplies in the pipeline affected by the closure, including medical supplies for health facilities, materials for rehabilitating drinking water and irrigation infrastructure, and wheat seeds. The UK continues to advocate for increased cross-border access across all of northern Syria and supports the resumption of passage for humanitarian personnel and life-saving humanitarian supplies.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ask participants at the 26th conference of State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to investigate reports of Turkish Forces using (1) tabun, and (2) other poisonous gases, in the Behdinan region of Iraq.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom opposes the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. We take any credible evidence of the use of chemical weapons very seriously. We have been monitoring the recent allegations of chemical weapons use in northern Iraq but the allegations remain unsubstantiated. Any evidence should be shared with States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and provided through appropriate channels to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat. Recent violent protests in connection with these allegations targeting the OPCW headquarters in The Hague were deeply concerning.
We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with KRI President, Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London of 15-17 September.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
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 implications for UK Government obligations to the people of Kurdistan of the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have not made such an assessment. We support the territorial integrity of all countries in the region covered by the two treaties, and encourage the governments concerned to safeguard the rights of all their citizens, regardless of ethnicity. We continue to support a thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq within a peaceful, prosperous Iraq.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Turkey is using chemical weapons in northern Iraq.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We take seriously all allegations of the use of chemical weapons - it is important that the full facts are established. We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with KRI President, Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London of 15-17 September.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
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 (a) the implications for her policies of the recent parliamentary elections in Iraq and (b) relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We applaud the efforts of Prime Minister Kadhimi and the Iraqi electoral commission to run smooth elections with unprecedented support from the UN. The technical processes show a clear improvement on previous elections, and the lack of any major security incidents is testament to the hard work of the security forces. We look forward to working with the new Government of Iraq to deepen the UK-Iraq relationship and build a peaceful, prosperous Iraq that delivers for all its citizens.
We will continue to work closely with the UN and international partners to encourage a new Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve their issues, including on a sustainable budget and disputed internal boundaries. Last year's agreement on Sinjar, which the UN supported, is a positive step in this regard. 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 Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
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.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 recent reports that the Turkish army attacked a village with chemical weapons in the Duhok region of Northern Iraq on 4 September 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have not made an assessment of this report. We take seriously all allegations of the use of chemical weapons - it is important that the full facts are established. We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's President, Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London of 15-17 September.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent reports that the Turkish army attacked a refugee camp in the Zaxo region of Northern Iraq on 30 August 2021 housing Yazidi refugees displaced during the ISIS genocide.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of reports of an explosion in a refugee camp in Zaxo in Northern Iraq on 30 August. Allegations of attacks against refugee camps are deeply concerning. We continue to reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians. We welcome discussions between Iraqi and Turkish Defence Ministers regarding Ankara's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist group, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Foreign Secretary discussed the stability of Iraq and the KRI with the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, President Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London on the 15-17 September.