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, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the closure of the Ras Jedir border crossing.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Ras Jedir border crossing was closed in both Libya and Tunisia because of recent security disturbances. The UK is monitoring the situation to ensure that we are able to respond appropriately. To foster long-term stability and address the drivers of conflict in Libya, the UK is working alongside our regional and international partners in support of the UN process.
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, what report he has received of HM Ambassador to Libya’s meeting with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Ambassador to Libya met Khalifa Haftar on 18 March, the discussion focused on the need for engagement with the UN's political process. The UK is committed to supporting progress on the political process as an essential step to ensuring Libya's long-term stability, security and prosperity.
Asked by: Lord Sarfraz (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Russia is planning to open a naval base in Tobruk in Libya.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has made clear our apprehension towards Russia's destabilising activity in North Africa. We are concerned about open-source reports that Russia has plans to establish a naval base in eastern Libya, which will strengthen Russian influence in the central Mediterranean. The Ministry of Defence continues to maintain thorough assessments of the threats to stability and security across the North Africa region including Libya. The Government is also committed to working with the international community in support for peace and stability in the region.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Libyan counterparts on compensation for UK victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government reiterates its sympathy for UK victims of Qaddafi-sponsored terrorism and indeed all victims of the Troubles. It is important that the UK Government pursues fairness and consistency in the provision of support to victims of terrorism and access to publicly funded compensation schemes. The UK's position with regards to victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism is that it is the responsibility of the Libyan Government to provide compensation. The UK Government cannot lawfully use frozen Libyan assets to provide compensation to victims as doing so would break international law and our obligations as members of the UN. We will continue to press the Libyan authorities to address the Libyan State's historic responsibility for the Qaddafi regime's support for the IRA.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 potential impact of Libya's climate vulnerability on peace and stability in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The devastating floods in eastern Libya in September 2023 underscore how climate vulnerability exacerbates the untenable political status quo in Libya. The UK believes an inclusive, representative political solution that delivers long-term stability and security is the key to ensuring effective governance. Libya has domestic funds available for its recovery. The challenge for reconstruction is the absence of financial transparency through a body which reflects the views of all Libyans across geographic and political divides. The UK is fully committed to supporting Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the United Nations and (b) UN agencies on the resumption of elections in Libya.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is fully committed to supporting the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to drive forward a UN-facilitated, Libyan-led political process. The UK is using its position as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) penholder to work with the council and engages regularly with international partners in support of the SRSG's efforts. British Embassy Tripoli engages regularly with UNSMIL and Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the SRSG as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement that addresses the underlying issues preventing elections.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 potential impact of the political situation in Libya on regional stability.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The current political impasse leaves Libya vulnerable to external powers seeking to sow instability in the region for their own gain, including hostile state actors and terrorist groups. For example, stagnation on the political process has allowed the Russian Wagner Group to conduct destabilising activities, to further their aims at the expense of Libyans, whilst using Libya as a base to destabilise the region. The UK-drafted UNSCR-2570, agreed unanimously in April 2021, makes clear that all foreign forces and mercenaries must leave Libya without delay, including the Russian Wagner Group. The UK government remains clear that a political solution is needed to mitigate these destabilising activities and deliver for the Libyan people.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
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 counterparts (a) in Libya and (b) internationally on de-escalating tensions in Libya.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to engage with Libyan interlocutors to encourage them to work constructively with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily as he seeks to facilitate a political agreement. This aims to address the underlying issues preventing elections, as demonstrated by the UK-led UN Presidential Statement on 16 March. We support SRSG Bathily's efforts to outline a way forward to a unified Government, and continue to work with Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey, UAE and the US in support of the UN-led political process.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel have served in UN peacekeeping missions in each year since 2019.
Answered by James Heappey
Since 2019, the UK has contributed to the following UN Peacekeeping missions: MINUSMA (Mali), MONUSCO(DRC), UNFICYP(Cyprus), UNIFIL(Lebanon), UNMISS (South Sudan), UNSMIL(Libya), UNSOM(Somalia).
The total number of UK personnel who have served on these missions in each year since 2019 is outlined below.
2019: 2,284
2020: 1,115
2021: 1,844
2022: 1,978
2023: 1,211
The figures provided capture those directly employed on the UN Missions. Where the UK deployed at Unit level and above, the figures also include those who served as part of the National Support Element.
The figures do not include the UK troops training and mentoring partner forces in advance of their deployment on UN operations.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they have done during 2023 to slow the activities of traffickers in Libya who are exploiting asylum-seekers ultimately bound for the UK.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting the UN-facilitated, Libyan-led and owned political process to secure peace, stability and prosperity in Libya. This offers the surest route to tackling challenges such as human rights violations and illegal migration. HMG has been prioritising efforts in Libya on disrupting the human trafficking business model and pursuing trafficking targets. As a result, we have successfully disrupted several human trafficking operations and arrested smugglers responsible for exploiting irregular migrants and managing broader criminal networks in Libya.