Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 20 February (HL5414), in which countries the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative projects listed included the gathering of evidence to support future prosecutions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is funding projects to build capacity for evidence gathering using the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia, Syria and Ukraine. Our projects are not designed to gather evidence themselves.
In addition to the projects listed in HL5414, the PSVI Team of Experts has been deployed 20 times to 10 countries, including Iraq, Syria, Colombia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, in the past 12 months to provide capacity building on the gathering of evidence in line with the International Protocol. Further deployments to Bangladesh will take place later this month.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of the Republic of Iraq on the opening to international passenger flights of the two airports in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are urging the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve their differences at every opportunity. Officials at our Posts in Iraq are pressing this message, as are UK ministers. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Prime Minister Abadi on 6 February and emphasised the need for an agreement on the management of border security, thereby enabling international flights into the Kurdistan Region to re-start. The Prime Minister also raised this issue during her visit to Iraq in November 2017, as i did in my conversation with Prime Minister Abadi on 17th February.
Asked by: Baroness Helic (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which British embassies currently have active projects under the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; and whether they will detail what those projects entail.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) posts are delivering the following activity (broken down by country) under the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) in this financial year, using (a) policy programme funds from the FCO core budget:
| Post | Activity Detail |
|---|---|
Afghanistan | Tackling and reducing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), tackling stigma against survivors, advancing women’s rights |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Increasing access to justice, care, empowerment and reparations for survivors |
Burma | Increasing awareness of women’s rights and how to investigate and document sexual violence in accordance with the International Protocol, increasing access to health and psychosocial support and security services for survivors of sexual and domestic violence |
Central African Republic | Training judiciary/legal professionals to enhance their knowledge and understanding of PSVI, giving practical support to the Office of the Attorney General to develop specialised investigation capacity for sexual violence crimes |
Colombia | Tackling stigma, empowering victims, national work with journalists/media to transform attitudes towards gender-based violence and reduce stigma for victims of sexual violence |
Democratic Republic of Congo | Supporting public outreach events and media communications to counter sexual violence, building local capacity for criminal accountability and victim support |
Iraq | Training to increase understanding of the impact of SGBV in conflict on society as a whole, supporting capacity and action plans of human rights working groups established by the Embassy focused on PSVI, economy and education aimed at assisting empowerment of women |
Kosovo | Psychological and social support for survivors, justice and reparation programs; training for stakeholders; awareness campaign to change attitudes and behaviours; supporting the process of documentation and investigation of sexual violence during conflict |
Rwanda/Burundi | Greater domestic and international awareness of sexual violence in Burundi, increasing access to justice for survivors of sexual violence |
Syria | Raising awareness of sexual violence, facilitating psychosocial support and medical services for survivors, facilitating measures to document, report and store data related to sexual violence |
and (b) the cross-Government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) (the following projects supporting the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, implemented as part of wider work on Gender, Peace and Security)
| Post | Activity Detail |
|---|---|
Azerbaijan | Strengthen women’s security |
Libya | Capacity building to civil society organisations working on women's issues |
Nigeria | Reintegration of Survivors of sexual violence |
Somalia | Supporting victims of sexual violence |
South Sudan | Preventing violence and building safer communities |
Syria | Community-based approach to tackling sexual and gender based violence |
Ukraine | Integrated response to end gender-based violence |
Wider Eastern Europe/Central Asia Region | Strengthening national gender-based violence prevention |
Wider Middle East and North Africa Region | Human rights and conflict prevention in particular PSVI, core support to the UN Action for Preventing Sexual Violence and to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict’s Team of Experts |
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries receive Official Development Assistance through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The CSSF provides Official Development Assistance funding to the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Burma, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Niger, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Overseas Territories (including Montserrat, St Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha), Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.
More information can be found in the Fund’s Annual Report.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are gathering any evidence of war crimes committed by the government of Turkey in the north of Syria and Iraq, as well as within Turkey, since 1988.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Government supports work by appropriate bodies to gather evidence of any violations and abuses of international human rights and international humanitarian law by any actor. This includes the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism. It is British Government policy that any judgement on whether war crimes have occurred is a matter for judicial decision, rather than governments or non-judicial bodies.
Asked by: Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries were subject to trade sanctions in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK implements a wide variety of UN, EU and OSCE sanctions regimes, of which many contain arms embargoes and other trade restrictions.
In 2015, the countries subject to such trade restrictions were: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, China, Central African Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, the Cote d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine (Crimea), Yemen, Zimbabwe. Trade restrictions were also in place against certain terrorist organisations.
In 2016, UN sanctions regimes relating to the Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia were lifted including all trade restrictions. In 2017, the EU introduced a sanctions regime including trade restrictions against Venezuela. The other sanctions regimes outlined above remained in place.
Further information is on the Department for International Trade pages on gov.uk.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which countries currently have sanctions imposed upon them as part of UN or EU obligations; and if he will publish what form those sanctions take.
Answered by Alan Duncan
As part of our membership of the UN and EU, the UK imposes sanctions regimes relating to activity in Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
The form of these sanctions regimes varies greatly. Further detail can be found via Her Majesty's Treasury and the Department for International Trade pages on the GOV.UK platform, in addition to publicly available information on the UN and EU websites.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which countries his Department spent funds allocated from the (a) Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and (b) Prosperity Fund in 2016-17.
Answered by Boris Johnson
a) Below is a list of countries in which the FCO spent funds allocated from the core discretionary allocation Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in FY16/17 in line with NSC direction and oversight. Some exclusions have been made on the grounds of operational security;
Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia , Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Mali, Morocco, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Overseas Territories, Pakistan , Peru, Serbia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Yemen.
The CSSF also funded, as part of its spending review settlement, migration work in France , China, Eritrea, Ghana, Greece, India, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Counter Terrorism Programme work in Indonesia, Maldives, Philippines, and Turkey.
b) In 2016/17, the FCO spent Prosperity Fund money in Argentina, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa , South Korea, Tanzania, , Turkey, USA. The FCO also spent Prosperity Fund money allocated to the Commonwealth Marine Economies programme in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, Mauritius, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon islands, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Hindhead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 12 January (HL4245), what is the breakdown of the countries of origin of the 365 children who were removed from premises where they were being exploited as modern slaves in the year 2015.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government views the slavery, including trafficking, of children as a very serious offence, and one which it is committed to tackling. The NRM is the UK’s identification and support mechanism for potential victims of modern slavery. The table below shows:
a) the number children under the age of 16 that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015:
b) the number children under 12 years of age that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015;
c) the number children under 10 years of age that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Year | Total Potential Victims under 16 at Time of Referral (NB. This does not include those aged 16.) | Total Potential Victims under 12 years (NB. This does not include those aged 12 years) | Total Potential Victims under 10 years (NB. This does not include those aged 10 years) |
2010 | 70 | 14 | 9 |
2011 | 95 | 35 | 27 |
2012 | 126 | 52 | 41 |
2013 | 172 | 47 | 34 |
2014 | 293 | 88 | 68 |
2015 | 365 | 61 | 39 |
The table below provides the breakdown of the countries of origin of the 365 children who were identified as potentially trafficked via an NRM referral in the year 2015.
Nationality/ Country of Origin | Total |
Afghanistan | 24 |
Albania | 51 |
Angola | 5 |
Bangladesh | 7 |
Bulgaria | 5 |
Cameroon | 1 |
China | 2 |
Czech Republic | 7 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6 |
Egypt | 4 |
Eritrea | 9 |
Ethiopia | 2 |
Ghana | 3 |
Guinea | 1 |
Guinea / Portugal | 1 |
India | 1 |
Iran | 4 |
Iraq | 4 |
Israel | 1 |
Ivory Coast | 1 |
Latvia | 1 |
Lithuania | 2 |
Nigeria | 17 |
Pakistan | 2 |
Poland | 2 |
Portugal | 1 |
Romania | 13 |
Serbia/Kosovo | 1 |
Slovakia | 8 |
Somalia | 1 |
Spain | 2 |
Sri Lanka | 3 |
Sudan | 4 |
Syria | 3 |
Timor - Leste | 3 |
Tunisia | 1 |
Turkey | 1 |
Uganda | 1 |
United Kingdom | 55 |
United Kingdom/Vietnam | 1 |
United States of America | 5 |
Unknown | 3 |
Vietnam | 93 |
Zambia | 2 |
Zimbabwe | 1 |
Total | 365 |
Asked by: Lord Smith of Hindhead (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children under (1) 12 years of age, and (2) 10 years of age, were identified as potentially trafficked through the National Referral Mechanism in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government views the slavery, including trafficking, of children as a very serious offence, and one which it is committed to tackling. The NRM is the UK’s identification and support mechanism for potential victims of modern slavery. The table below shows:
a) the number children under the age of 16 that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015:
b) the number children under 12 years of age that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015;
c) the number children under 10 years of age that were referred to the NRM as potentially trafficked in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Year | Total Potential Victims under 16 at Time of Referral (NB. This does not include those aged 16.) | Total Potential Victims under 12 years (NB. This does not include those aged 12 years) | Total Potential Victims under 10 years (NB. This does not include those aged 10 years) |
2010 | 70 | 14 | 9 |
2011 | 95 | 35 | 27 |
2012 | 126 | 52 | 41 |
2013 | 172 | 47 | 34 |
2014 | 293 | 88 | 68 |
2015 | 365 | 61 | 39 |
The table below provides the breakdown of the countries of origin of the 365 children who were identified as potentially trafficked via an NRM referral in the year 2015.
Nationality/ Country of Origin | Total |
Afghanistan | 24 |
Albania | 51 |
Angola | 5 |
Bangladesh | 7 |
Bulgaria | 5 |
Cameroon | 1 |
China | 2 |
Czech Republic | 7 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 6 |
Egypt | 4 |
Eritrea | 9 |
Ethiopia | 2 |
Ghana | 3 |
Guinea | 1 |
Guinea / Portugal | 1 |
India | 1 |
Iran | 4 |
Iraq | 4 |
Israel | 1 |
Ivory Coast | 1 |
Latvia | 1 |
Lithuania | 2 |
Nigeria | 17 |
Pakistan | 2 |
Poland | 2 |
Portugal | 1 |
Romania | 13 |
Serbia/Kosovo | 1 |
Slovakia | 8 |
Somalia | 1 |
Spain | 2 |
Sri Lanka | 3 |
Sudan | 4 |
Syria | 3 |
Timor - Leste | 3 |
Tunisia | 1 |
Turkey | 1 |
Uganda | 1 |
United Kingdom | 55 |
United Kingdom/Vietnam | 1 |
United States of America | 5 |
Unknown | 3 |
Vietnam | 93 |
Zambia | 2 |
Zimbabwe | 1 |
Total | 365 |