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78950

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Zimbabwe: Pensions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the failure of Zimbabwe to pay pensions due to former Rhodesia or Zimbabwe public sector pensioners living outside Zimbabwe, whether they have any plans to make ex gratia payments to those affected; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Lord Goodlad
	uin	HL1267
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>The UK has no plans to make ex-gratia payments to former Rhodesia or Zimbabwe public sector pensioners living outside Zimbabwe. The legal obligation to pay these pensions rests solely with the Government of Zimbabwe. We will continue to press the Government of Zimbabwe to fulfil their obligation.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 11:07:12 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	670 label Biography information for Lord Goodlad

79185

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Burma
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of on-going allegations of rape against military officials in Burma, what conditions, if any, were agreed with the government of Burma on ending the use of rape as a weapon of war prior to any training provided by the British Armed Forces.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
	uin	HL1346
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2014 answer text <p>To date, the UK has only provided one educational course to the Burmese military: ‘Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context’ - a non-combat, academic course delivered to 30 military officers and government officials in January 2014. The course covered the importance of good governance in defence and professionalism in a nation’s Armed Forces, the observation of human rights obligations and preventing sexual violence. We did not make provision of this course conditional; such education and our exchanges with the Burmese military are themselves aimed at changing mindsets.</p><p>We regularly address the issue of sexual violence by the Burmese army with the Burmese government and with the military. We continue to make clear that where serious crimes have been committed, those who have perpetrated them should be held accountable for their actions. We lobby on preventing sexual violence in conflict areas, on encouraging the Burmese military to step back from politics, and on action to tackle human rights issues such as the use of child soldiers. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised the issue of rape and sexual violence with the Burmese army's Commander-in-Chief and military northern commander during his visit to Burma in January. Mr Swire also urged the Burmese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, who attended the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit in the UK in June 2014, to ensure a quick and credible action plan to implement the Declaration on Ending Sexual Violence.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 04/08/2014 11:03:55 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

79183

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Preventing Sexual Violence (PSVI) summit earlier this year, what strategies they have to support women's groups which are working with victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
	uin	HL1344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p>The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict held in June 2014 set in motion a series of practical steps and commitments which all focus on ensuring that survivors of sexual violence in conflict can access justice and receive the long-term support that they require. This includes providing support for women’s groups who work with survivors.</p><p>In support of this the British Government announced £6m of new UK funding for survivors. Of this, £5m came from the Department for International Development (DfID) in the form of £4.25m to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, administered by UN Women, and £750,000 to the International Organisation from Migration. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced £1m for the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims, as well as £400,000 for the UN’s survivor support programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the next few months we intend to work with local and international partners to implement the International Protocol on the documentation and investigation of sexual violence in conflict, launched at the Global Summit, in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 30/07/2014 11:39:03 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

79182

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Burma
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Preventing Sexual Violence (PSVI) summit earlier this year, what representation, if any, have they made to the government of Burma with regards to sexual violence and rape in that country to ensure perpetrators are held accountable and brought to justice.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
	uin	HL1343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2014 answer text <p>We continue to raise our strong concerns about reports of rape and sexual violence in Burma with senior members of the Burmese government and military. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw during the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on 13 June 2014. He publicly stated that Burma’s attendance at the Summit was a signal of their support to the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and readiness to take action against perpetrators, including members of the military. We welcomed the Burmese government’s attendance at the Summit and have made clear that concrete action is needed, including a credible action plan that involves the military. Our Ambassador in Burma has also raised this with U Thant Kyaw following the Summit.</p><p>It is our view that the investigation of human rights abuses in Burma is the responsibility of the Burmese government. We have made clear to the Burmese government that all allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial processes which meet international standards.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 04/08/2014 11:05:54 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

79184

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Burma
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Preventing Sexual Violence (PSVI) summit earlier this year, what action they are taking to support the establishment of an international investigation to end sexual violence and rape in Burma.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
	uin	HL1345
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2014 answer text <p>We continue to raise our strong concerns about reports of rape and sexual violence in Burma with senior members of the Burmese government and military. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw during the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on 13 June 2014. He publicly stated that Burma’s attendance at the Summit was a signal of their support to the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and readiness to take action against perpetrators, including members of the military. We welcomed the Burmese government’s attendance at the Summit and have made clear that concrete action is needed, including a credible action plan that involves the military. Our Ambassador has also raised this with U Thant Kyaw following the Summit.</p><p>It is our view that the investigation of human rights abuses in Burma is the responsibility of the Burmese government. We have made clear to the Burmese government that all allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial processes which meet international standards.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 04/08/2014 11:04:59 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

76612

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Syria
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of President Assad’s re-election by the Syrian people, whether they intend to amend their stance on the Presidency of Syria as described in the answer by Baroness Warsi on 1 July (WA 253); and, if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
	uin	HL956
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p>The UK remains committed to finding a political settlement to the Syria crisis. President Assad is the greatest obstacle to such a settlement. He refused to engage substantively in the UN Security Council-backed Geneva II peace talks which aimed to establish a transitional government agreed by both sides, and lay the foundations for free and fair elections. Instead, his regime’s brutality continues to fuel the conflict, stoke sectarian tensions, and create conditions conducive to the growth of terrorism. President Assad is not a credible partner for solving this crisis.</p><p>The regime’s recent Presidential “elections” do not change this. They were a parody of democracy, taking place against the backdrop of horrendous violence, and disenfranchising the many millions of Syrians who have been forced to flee their homes. The Arab League, the UN, the US, Turkey and the EU all rejected these so-called elections.</p><p>We continue to call on the Assad regime to make a clear commitment to ending the violence and engaging in substantive talks with the opposition under the Geneva framework. The UK will continue to support a strong and more inclusive opposition and work to increase pressure on the regime in order to create conditions for a political settlement that can end the conflict and address the terrorist threat.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 22/07/2014 14:39:08 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
	tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

79806

	registered interest
	date	30/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Burma
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 July (HL Deb, cols 1324–8) to the debate on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what representations they have made to the Burmese authorities about proposed new legislation to restrict religious conversions and inter-religious marriages there; and whether they will call on the United Nations Secretary-General to visit Burma to address religious intolerance and to encourage the creation of an international and independent inquiry into violence in Rakhine State, Kachin State and other parts of the country.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>We have voiced our strong concerns over proposed legislation on inter-faith marriage and religious conversion to members of the Burmese government and parliamentarians. If enacted, these laws would harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards and treaties to which Burma is a signatory. Most recently, our Ambassador raised our concerns with Minister of the President’s Office, U Soe Thein, in June.</p><p>The UN Secretary-General (UNSG) currently chairs the Partnership Group on Burma, which last met in April. The UNSG and his Special Representative to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, both play vital roles in raising the international community’s human rights concerns with the Burmese government whilst providing encouragement for the wider reform process. We welcome the recent visit by the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma, Ms Yanghee Lee, who rightly highlighted that the government needs to do more to stop the spread of hate speech and incitement to violence based on religious grounds and recommended the adoption of specific legislation to address this.</p><p>We remain deeply concerned by continued violence in Burma, particularly in Rakhine State and Kachin State. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes. Allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through a clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. We have made this clear to the Burmese government and will continue to do so. We continue to believe an independent investigation, supported by appropriate technical assistance, would make a significant contribution to accountability and reconciliation.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:56:23 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

79805

	registered interest
	date	30/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Iraq
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 July (HL Deb, cols 1324–8) to the debate on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what assistance has been given to Christians who have been forced to leave their homes in Mosul; whether they have any plans to offer asylum to those affected; and what representations they have made to governments in the Gulf in respect of the funding of ISIS.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1694
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The UK condemns the human rights abuses reported in Iraq and has committed £5 million to the humanitarian effort to support people displaced by fighting there. All asylum claims made in the UK are carefully considered in accordance with the UK’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Office, which is responsible for all asylum claims, closely monitors developments in Iraq and other countries of return and will take decisions on a case-by-case basis in the light of the latest available country information. We regularly discuss terrorist financing with governments in the Gulf including through the mechanisms of the Financial Action Task Force.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 10:00:21 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

79804

	registered interest
	date	30/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Religious Freedom
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 July (HL Deb, cols 1324–8) to the debate on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, how many officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are specifically focused on freedom of religion, and for what percentage of their time; and what resources are specifically allocated for the promotion of Article 18 through United Kingdom diplomatic services.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>Within the Human Rights and Democracy Department (HRDD), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has one full time Desk Officer wholly dedicated to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), who works closely with the Team Leader in the Equalities and Non-Discrimination Team, who themselves spend approximately 50% of their time on FoRB. Additionally, the Head and the Deputy Head of HRDD spend approximately 5% and 20% respectively of their time on FoRB issues; one Human Rights Advisor spends 5% and one HRDD Communications Officer approximately 10%.</p><p>As FoRB is one of only six thematic human rights priorities for the FCO, a considerable number of other FCO officials in London and overseas are engaged directly on FoRB as part of their wider human rights work. Given that violations of FoRB can be closely associated with other threats to UK interests around the world, I cannot provide a precise figure for the total number of FCO officials working on FoRB, though the number is high and rising.</p><p>This year, seven FoRB projects around the world were approved and received total funding of £307,835.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 10:01:08 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

79731

	registered interest
	date	29/07/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	North Korea
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Warsi on 23 July (HL Deb, cols GC 460–4) on the Commission of Inquiry Report on human rights in North Korea, whether any projects to improve the substantive human rights of North Koreans, rather than cultural, economic or humanitarian initiatives, are to be implemented; and whether such projects are being considered for North Korean refugees outside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1623
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/08/2014 answer text <p>It is not possible for the UK to carry out projects in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) without the cooperation of the DPRK authorities. This has an impact on the type of projects we are able to support, although we have successfully taken forward projects in some areas of human rights, such as disability rights. In the Financial Year 2014/15 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO’s) Human Rights and Democracy Programme is funding a project delivered by the Thomson Foundation titled ‘Inside Out: Working in North Korea to connect its journalists to the Internet world’, which aims to give North Korean journalists a greater understanding of freedom of expression by teaching them Internet skills. Our other engagement projects are about finding concrete ways to inform North Korean citizens about the UK and its values, so that in the long term they recognise the benefits of working with the outside world from which they are normally isolated.</p><p>Our Embassy in Seoul supports the North Korean refugee community through its “English for the Future” programme, which is funded with a mixture of FCO programme funds and corporate sponsorship. We also reserve one of our Chevening scholarships for this community. These programmes help new settlers tackle some of the barriers which can prevent their successful integration into South Korean society and improve their future prospects. The FCO’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme has also previously funded projects with North Korean refugee groups in the Republic of Korea which are more directly related to human rights in the DPRK, such as documenting the effects of torture or producing a report on the rights of women. We remain open to funding similar projects in the future.</p> answering member printed Lord Popat question first answered 11/08/2014 11:23:29 answering member 4173 label Biography information for Lord Popat
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool