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423329

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2015
	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: Politics and Government
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his most recent assessment is of the political situation in Zimbabwe.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	12945
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2015 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Since the 2013 elections, our assessment of the political situation in Zimbabwe remains broadly the same, with 2015 signalling some positive developments. Within the Zimbabwe African National Union administration there are signs of reformist policies beginning to emerge, especially on the economy. The human rights situation has remained relatively stable and reported violations continue to fall. However, the situation continues to be fragile and we remain concerned about human rights abuses, especially during election periods. Ahead of the 2018 elections, it is critical that electoral reforms are implemented, and that the international community supports the people of Zimbabwe in exercising their democratic right to build a free, peaceful and prosperous future.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 28/10/2015 12:22:55 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 26058 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

448663

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2016
	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	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what actions he has taken as a result of receiving the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	24771
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2016 answer text <p>We are looking at the conclusions of the UN Panel of Experts’ report carefully. We recognise the importance of the work of the UN Panel of Experts. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 15/02/2016 17:00:07 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 42875 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

448662

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2016
	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	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the 119 Saudi-led coalition sorties documented in the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts in Yemen represent potential violations of international humanitarian law.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	24770
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>We take all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously. The MOD monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. This includes looking at the allegations raised in the UN Panel of Experts’ report. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 12/02/2016 14:49:23 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 42873 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

448664

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2016
	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	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia following receipt of the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	24772
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text As I said in Parliament on 28 January, we regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition. I raised the issue of IHL compliance on my recent trip to Rome with my Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir. The Saudi government have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to thoroughly investigate all allegations of non-compliance including those reports in the UN. answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 12/02/2016 15:06:48 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 42884 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

447757

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2016
	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	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support an independent inquiry into alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the UN Human Rights Council.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	24114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2016 answer text <p>The UK supported a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2015, which called on the UN to provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen, assist the Yemeni National Independent Commission of Inquiry and report back to the next session of the Human Rights Council. It is for the Government of Yemen to decide how its domestic human rights monitoring mechanism should work and the UK welcomes Yemen’s commitment to cooperate with the UN on protection of human rights.</p><p>The UK has also encouraged members of the Saudi-led coalition to investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law, and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 01/02/2016 12:18:41 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 42232 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

447760

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2016
	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	Yemen: Military Intervention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral Answer of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, on how many occasions the Government has used personnel who are present as a quick check when a report has been received of a potential breach of international humanitarian law in Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	24111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2016 answer text <p>We have a very small number of staff working in Saudi headquarters in a liaison capacity only to provide insight into Saudi operations. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be the selection, decision making or directing. They remain under UK command and control.</p><p>The role of the liaison officers is to maintain an information flow with the Saudi authorities. When concerns are raised by non-governmental organisations, or in the media, liaison officers pass all available information back to the UK. This will help inform our assessment of compliance with international humanitarian law which is taken in Whitehall.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 01/02/2016 14:16:00 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 42235 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

427146

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2015
	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	Yemen: Armed Conflict
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14485, whether he has made an assessment of whether aerial bombing of Hayden Hospital in Yemen could represent a breach in international humanitarian law.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	15523
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/01/2016 answer text We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition - including in relation to an alleged airstrike against a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada, which we take very seriously. I regularly review the situation with my own advisers and have discussed it on numerous occasions with my Saudi counterpart. Our judgement is that there is no evidence that IHL has been breached, but we shall continue to review the situation regularly. We have emphasised the importance of full compliance with IHL to the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition. They have assured us of their commitment to comply with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We continue to urge all sides to the conflict to comply with IHL and to investigate incidents of alleged violations fully. answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 04/01/2016 16:11:37 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 30104 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

425695

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2015
	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	Yemen: Armed Conflict
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his oral Answer of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 444WH, what steps he has taken to assess whether British-manufactured arms have been used in a responsible manner in Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	14515
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2015 answer text <p>The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by all sides to the conflict and keep these under regular review. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Government and have received repeated assurances of IHL compliance. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and urge all sides to investigate such incidents fully.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 10/11/2015 15:24:19 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 28337 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

425696

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2015
	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	Yemen: Armed Conflict
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his oral Answer of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 445WH, what steps he has since taken to try and persuade the parties to the conflict to adopt an immediate ceasefire in Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	14516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2015 answer text <p>The UK is actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire and return to the political transition in Yemen, and I welcome the recent announcement by the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Yemen on upcoming talks. All Yemeni parties should engage without preconditions and in good faith in these talks to allow Yemen to move towards a sustainable peace. I therefore welcome President Hadi’s announcement confirming the readiness of the Government of Yemen to participate in the consultations. I discussed the need to accelerate the political process in Yemen, as well as humanitarian issues, with President Hadi in September; with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia during a visit to Riyadh in October; and with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also in October.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 10/11/2015 15:27:49 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 28338 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

425705

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2015
	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	Yemen: Armed Conflict
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether cluster munitions have been used in Yemen.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	14485
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2015 answer text <p>We are aware of recent reports that the Saudi-led coalition, as well as the Houthis, may have used cluster munitions in Yemen. We note that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not yet a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but have encouraged it to accede to the Convention. We have raised these allegations with the Saudi Arabian Government, stressing that all parties to the conflict should act in accordance with international Humanitarian Law.</p> answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond question first answered 09/11/2015 13:27:34 answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede previous answer version 28341 answering member constituency Runnymede and Weybridge answering member printed Mr Philip Hammond answering member 105 label Biography information for Lord Hammond of Runnymede
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn