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1045795

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	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	Colombia: Peace Negotiations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What assessment he has made of progress on the peace process in Colombia.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	908715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2019 answer text <p>I strongly condemn the ELN's terrorist attack in Bogota last week. Colombia has been steadfast in its rejection of violence for political ends. The 2016 historic peace deal has shown the way, the FARC is now a political party and last year's elections were the safest in decades. The UK continues to support the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace for all Colombians. Last month I announced an extra £5 million from the Conflict Stability and Security Fund to support Colombia's efforts to secure lasting peace for all its citizens.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 22/01/2019 16:36:48 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

994064

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2018
	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	Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Capita
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which contracts awarded by his Department are operated by Capita.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	183383
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2018 answer text <p>We centrally hold eleven contracts with Capita. These include the fire alarm upgrade works, the Diplomatic Academy learning space design and several Learning and Development courses.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 01/11/2018 16:32:59 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

820907

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2018
	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	Uzbekistan: Religious Freedom
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of religious freedom in Uzbekistan; and what steps the Government is taking to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	122325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2018 answer text <p>​In October 2017 Dr Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, spent two weeks in Uzbekistan. He was received by the government, travelled to the regions, met religious groups, civil society and visited Jaslyk prison. We agree with his initial report which recognised Uzbekistan's relatively tolerant approach to the major religions and acknowledged the measures taken over the past year. These were mainly towards the Muslim communities; the review of prisoners which has led to several releases; the removal of 16000 names from a government watch list for suspected religious extremism, along with the reintegration of those individuals and rehabilitation of prisoners. His report also set out recommendations for reducing the legal constraints around religious practice.</p><p>We regularly raise individual human rights cases with the Uzbek authorities and play an active and visible part in human rights activities in Uzbekistan. We have stressed the importance of constructive, private dialogue on human rights issues, including the freedom of religious expression. On 27 October our Ambassador highlighted the importance of freedom of religion or belief and Dr Shaheed's recommendations in a video on Facebook. We expectDr Shaheed's report to the UN Human Rights Council in March.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 19/01/2018 14:17:41 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

757505

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2017
	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	USA: State Visits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what benefits he anticipates will accrue to the British public from President Trump's forthcoming official visit to the UK.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	8647
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2017 answer text <p>​The United States is one of our closest allies and a Presidential visit is an opportunity to further advance that important relationship. It remains in the UK's public interest to work closely with the US on a range of foreign, security and trade policy issues.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 12/09/2017 15:10:37 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

756211

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2017
	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	USA: State Visits
	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 arrange for President Trump to meet representatives of the Muslim and ethnic minority communities during his forthcoming official visit to the UK.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	8144
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2017 answer text <p>​A State Visit invitation has been offered and accepted. The precise dates and programme have yet to be confirmed. Once the dates are agreed, Government officials will begin work on the programme.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 12/09/2017 15:14:22 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

712442

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2017
	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	Diplomatic Service: Career Development
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of serving HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners are not career diplomats.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	68433
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2017 answer text <p>As at 21 March 2017, 12 of the UK's 157 serving HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners were recruited to these roles from another UK Government Department or from outside the UK Civil Service. This represents 8 per cent of the total.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 28/03/2017 14:58:18 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

711452

	registered interest
	date	15/03/2017
	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	US President: Press Conferences
	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 his counterpart in the US on the access of British media organisations to official press conference held by the US President.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	68025
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2017 answer text <p>The White House's engagement with the media is a matter for the White House.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 23/03/2017 16:52:01 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

692643

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2017
	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	State Visits: Germany
	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 arrangements for an early state or official visit to the UK by the recently elected President of Germany.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	64905
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>Germany is one of our most important partners in the world; in trade, foreign policy and in Europe. We are working to strengthen the bilateral relationship further following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, including through high level visits, however there are no plans for President-elect Steinmeier to visit the UK in the immediate future.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 01/03/2017 17:11:47 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson

678030

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2017
	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	Colombia: Homicide
	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 his Colombian counterpart on the murder of (a) Aldemar Parra García on 7 January 2017, (b) Olmeido Pito Garcia in Cauca on 6 January 2017 and (c) Yanetin Alejandra Calvache in Balboa in Cauca on 30 December 2016; and what reports he has received on the circumstances of those murders.
	tabling member constituency	City of Chester
	tabling member printed	Christian Matheson
	uin	61416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2017 answer text <p>We are concerned by the increasing number of reported killings of civil society figures and activists in Colombia. Since the beginning of 2017, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received reports of at least ten murders where the victims appear to have been targeted for their role as human rights defenders, or because they are members of unions or political groups such as <em>Marcha Patriotica, </em>including Hernan Agames, Yanetin Calvache, Olmeido Pito Garcia, Aldemar Parra Garcia, Emilsen Manyoma, Joe Javier Rodallega and Juan de la Cruz Mosquera.</p><p>The Prime Minister raised the issue of the levels of violence against human rights defenders with President Santos during the State Visit in November. Respect for human rights was also included in their joint declaration. I and Ministerial colleagues will continue to raise our human rights concerns with our Colombian counterparts.</p><p>Working together to improve respect for human rights is a key part of our relationship with the Colombian Government and civil society. At a practical level, our Ambassador to Colombia is a member of the group &quot;Ambassadors with Defenders&quot; which promotes the work of human rights defenders and raises concerns about specific cases with the Colombian Government. The group will meet the Colombian Attorney-General to discuss the continued murders against human rights defenders, including those killed in recent weeks. On 19 January, British Embassy staff in Bogota met Colombian NGO <em>Somos Defensores</em> to discuss the recent murders. They also took part in a visit to South Bolivar, where local community leaders have voiced concerns about their security. As a result of this visit, the Office of the Presidential Advisor on Human rights committed to request the Colombian Ministry of Defence to provide additional security measures for community leaders.</p><p>The Colombian Government recognises the threats faced by human rights defenders and acknowledges the challenges it faces in implementing the peace agreement with the FARC. In December, the Office of the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights (OHCHR) made a statement which linked an increase in incidents to areas vacated by the FARC. President Santos also gave a speech on 22 November in which he said he would work with Governors of affected areas and the Attorney General to accelerate investigations into murders of human rights defenders to find those responsible.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 30/01/2017 16:31:12 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson