Asked by: Earl of Dundee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the international community to invite Bosnia and Herzegovina's adjacent states to join NATO interventions, particularly (1) Croatia, and (2) Slovenia.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK remains committed to ensuring peace and upholding international law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Slovenia is a member of EUFOR, has personnel at NATO HQ in Sarajevo, and contributes to NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo. Croatia also has military personnel in KFOR. In recent weeks, there have been a range of productive discussions on the Western Balkans in multilateral fora, including at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Riga, which the Foreign Secretary attended.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the searches conducted by the Taliban on 15 September within predominantly Tajik and Hazard districts of Afghanistan on the safety of members of those communities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I underscored the UK’s commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan people when I addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 24 August. This commitment extends to all ethnic and religious groups, including individuals from the Hazara community. On 10 September, the UK, joined a multicountry statement with the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to reaffirm our concern for all religious minorities in Afghanistan, including from the Hazara community, and called for adherence to human rights obligations. The UK Government co-signed this statement alongside the US, Australia, Albania, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia.
I note a recent Amnesty report highlighted alleged human rights abuses directed against the Hazara in Ghazni province in July. We will continue to press the Taliban to uphold human rights, including those of minority and vulnerable groups such as the Hazaras, and to protect the gains made over the last twenty years. We have said we will judge them on actions, not words. To help us to do this more effectively, we have established an internal human rights tracking mechanism to track Taliban behaviour to inform our engagement. Additionally, we regularly engage with the UN, which has a mandate to monitor and report on human rights in Afghanistan, as well as human rights organisations who are playing an important role in highlighting abuses and violations on the ground.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the threat that the Taliban pose to religious minorities in Afghanistan, with specific reference to the Hazaras.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I underscored the UK’s commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan people when I addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 24 August. This commitment extends to all ethnic and religious groups, including individuals from the Hazara community. On 10 September, the UK, joined a multicountry statement with the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to reaffirm our concern for all religious minorities in Afghanistan, including from the Hazara community, and called for adherence to human rights obligations. The UK Government co-signed this statement alongside the US, Australia, Albania, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, and Slovenia.
I note a recent Amnesty report highlighted alleged human rights abuses directed against the Hazara in Ghazni province in July. We will continue to press the Taliban to uphold human rights, including those of minority and vulnerable groups such as the Hazaras, and to protect the gains made over the last twenty years. We have said we will judge them on actions, not words. To help us to do this more effectively, we have established an internal human rights tracking mechanism to track Taliban behaviour to inform our engagement. Additionally, we regularly engage with the UN, which has a mandate to monitor and report on human rights in Afghanistan, as well as human rights organisations who are playing an important role in highlighting abuses and violations on the ground.
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 he has made of the potential merits of a UN-led inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran following representations by the Prime Minister of Slovenia and UN special rapporteurs seeking the establishment of that inquiry.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK has designated Iran as a Human Rights Priority Country, and we continue to take action with the international community to press Iran to improve its poor human rights record. This will include using all opportunities during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session. We urge Iran to allow the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran access to the country, so that he can conduct research and investigations into human rights concerns reported there, including the events of 1988.
The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. We have always been clear that Iran must uphold its international legal obligations, including conducting thorough and independent investigations into suspected human rights violations, both past and present. We call on President Raisi to set Iran on a different course. That includes committing to improving human rights in Iran.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which countries exported dogs commercially into the UK in the first eight months of 2021.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The information the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has provided is a true reflection of the information that we have access to. APHA cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data, as we can only rely on the information that has been input into IPAFFS and PIMS by traders.
APHA can only provide data for imports entering Great Britain.
Dogs commercially imported into GB - Country of Origin. | |||
Argentina | Egypt | Lithuania | Russian Federation |
Australia | Estonia | Macao | Saudi Arabia |
Austria | Ethiopia | Malaysia | Serbia |
Bahamas | Finland | Malta | Singapore |
Bahrain | France | Mexico | Slovakia |
Barbados | Germany | Namibia | Slovenia |
Belarus | Greece | Nepal | South Africa |
Belgium | Hong Kong | Netherlands | South Korea |
Bermuda | Hungary | New Zealand | Spain |
Brazil | Iceland | Nigeria | Sweden |
Bulgaria | India | Northern Ireland | Switzerland |
Canada | Indonesia | Norway | Taiwan |
Cayman Islands | Israel | Oman | Thailand |
China | Italy | Panama | Turkey |
Colombia | Jamaica | Peru | Ukraine |
Costa Rica | Japan | Philippines | United Arab Emirates |
Croatia | Jordan | Poland | United States of America |
Cyprus | Kenya | Portugal | Zimbabwe |
Czechia | Kuwait | Qatar |
|
Denmark | Latvia | Republic of Ireland |
|
Ecuador | Lebanon | Romania |
|
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that collective passports can be taken up by other countries that are signatories to the 1961 Council of Europe treaty.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK is a signatory to the 1961 Council of Europe treaty which provides for collective passports for young people. Continued acceptance of these passports from those who have ratified the treaty is current practice. The UK has not left the Council of Europe.
Decisions whether to issue collective passports under the treaty, or not, are a matter for the individual signatory countries. Several countries have declined to continue accepting UK-issued Collective Passports this year, including Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden.
It is for each nation to decide what documents they require for travel, just as the UK can determine our own requirements now we have left the EU.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which countries and territories UK Defence and Security Exports has invited to attend the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition in London on 14 to 17 September 2021.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The following countries have received official invitations to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) 2021 from the Department for International Trade UK Defence and Security Exports Team:
Angola
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belgium
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Italy
Japan
Kenya
Kuwait
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
Mexico
Morocco
Mozambique
NATO
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
USA
Vietnam
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed overseas, by country of deployment.
Answered by James Heappey
In addition to the 7,025 at sea in Ships and Submarines around the globe, figures for those deployed overseas on 22 Jul 2021, including in Defence Sections of Embassies, International Headquarters, permanent deployments, on UN Duties, on Operations, participating in international exercises, or in support of other Defence activity, are listed in the table below. This represents a snapshot as numbers are continuously changing. Some of these details have been withheld due to operational sensitivity, including our current presence in Afghanistan.
COUNTRY | Personnel |
ALBANIA | 1 |
ALGERIA | 2 |
ARGENTINA | 2 |
AUSTRALIA | 200 |
AUSTRIA | 2 |
BAHRAIN | 193 |
BANGLADESH | 1 |
BARBADOS | 3 |
BELGIUM | 280 |
BELIZE | 67 |
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 3 |
BRAZIL | 2 |
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM | 734 |
BULGARIA | 1 |
CAMEROON | 17 |
CANADA | 295 |
CHAD | 1 |
CHILE | 2 |
CHINA | 5 |
COLOMBIA | 3 |
CROATIA | 5 |
CURACAO | 2 |
CYPRUS | 3,272 |
CZECH REPUBLIC | 18 |
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO | 4 |
DENMARK | 4 |
DIEGO GARCIA | 43 |
DJIBOUTI | 4 |
EGYPT | 4 |
ESTONIA | 716 |
ETHIOPIA | 2 |
FALKLAND ISLANDS | 843 |
FIJI | 1 |
FINLAND | 1 |
FRANCE | 83 |
GEORGIA | 34 |
GERMANY | 585 |
GHANA | 3 |
GIBRALTAR | 516 |
GREECE | 53 |
INDIA | 8 |
INDONESIA | 2 |
IRAQ | 152 |
IRELAND | 1 |
ISRAEL | 4 |
ITALY | 196 |
JAMAICA | 2 |
JAPAN | 5 |
JORDAN | 215 |
KAZAKHSTAN | 2 |
KENYA | 617 |
KOSOVO | 36 |
KUWAIT | 84 |
LATVIA | 19 |
LEBANON | 4 |
LITHUANIA | 2 |
MALAYSIA | 7 |
MALI | 442 |
MEXICO | 2 |
MOLDOVA | 1 |
MOROCCO | 2 |
NEPAL | 69 |
NETHERLANDS | 116 |
NEW ZEALAND | 6 |
NIGERIA | 53 |
NORTH MACEDONIA | 3 |
NORWAY | 49 |
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES | 6 |
OMAN | 235 |
PAKISTAN | 13 |
POLAND | 164 |
PORTUGAL | 27 |
QATAR | 134 |
ROMANIA | 175 |
RUSSIAN FEDERATION | 1 |
SAINT HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA | 23 |
SAUDI ARABIA | 142 |
SENEGAL | 6 |
SERBIA | 1 |
SEYCHELLES | 1 |
SIERRA LEONE | 2 |
SINGAPORE | 9 |
SLOVAKIA | 1 |
SLOVENIA | 11 |
SOMALIA | 63 |
SOUTH AFRICA | 2 |
SOUTH KOREA | 7 |
SOUTH SUDAN | 5 |
SPAIN | 37 |
SRI LANKA | 1 |
SWEDEN | 3 |
THAILAND | 2 |
TUNISIA | 4 |
TURKEY | 46 |
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS | 15 |
UGANDA | 2 |
UKRAINE | 436 |
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | 141 |
UNITED STATES | 1,053 |
UZBEKISTAN | 1 |
VIETNAM | 2 |
ZAMBIA | 6 |
ZIMBABWE | 1 |
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which EU Member States they have (1) reached, and (2) signed, reciprocal agreements on driving licences.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport has successfully agreed arrangements with all EU/EEA Member States for the mutual recognition of photocard licences. As such, visitors with UK photocard licences will not need to carry an additional International Driving Permit (IDP) when driving in any EU/EEA Member State.
The UK has secured permanent or long-term reciprocal arrangements for the exchange of licences with: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia Switzerland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Lithuania, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia and Belgium. The UK is working to conclude the formal agreements where required.
Asked by: Lord Tunnicliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what countries the British Armed Forces provided training to on UK territory in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Personnel from the countries listed in the table below have attended defence education or training in the UK in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Year | Countries |
2019/20 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ALGERIA ANGOLA ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BELARUS BELGIUM BELIZE BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE CHINA COLOMBIA CROATIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GRENADA GUYANA HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LATVIA LEBANON LESOTHO LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MAURITIUS MEXICO MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PAPUA NEW GUINEA PARAGUAY PHILIPPINES POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RWANDA SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL SERBIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVENIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWEDEN SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TURKEY UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA UZBEKISTAN VIETNAM |
2020/21 | AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BELGIUM BELIZE BHUTAN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI CAMEROON CANADA CHILE COLOMBIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK EGYPT ESTONIA ETHIOPIA FIJI FINLAND FRANCE GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAQ IRELAND ISRAEL ITALY JAMAICA JAPAN JORDAN KENYA KOSOVO KUWAIT LEBANON LITHUANIA MALAWI MALAYSIA MALDIVES MALI MALTA MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTENEGRO MOROCCO NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGER NIGERIA NORTH MACEDONIA NORWAY OMAN PAKISTAN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES PARAGUAY POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA SAUDI ARABIA SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SRI LANKA SWITZERLAND THAILAND TONGA TUNISIA UGANDA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES URUGUAY USA |
Note: MOD records information on International Defence Training (IDT) by financial year, rather than by calendar year. Information is taken from a central IDT database. Some activity may not be captured on that database.