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448295

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
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	Maldives: Human Rights
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 human rights situation in the Maldives.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	24567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2016 answer text <p>We are concerned by a number of recent steps taken by the Maldivian government which undermine human rights in the country. These include; signs that the death penalty is to be reintroduced, restrictions on the right to protest and the intimidation of civil society, human rights organisations and members of the media. Other concerns include the arbitrary detention of political figures and the decreasing independence of institutions and the judiciary. I raised all of these issues with the Maldives government during my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January. In particular I reiterated the UK’s principled opposition to the death penalty.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 04/02/2016 15:57:38 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

448296

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
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	Maldives: Legal Systems
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 independence of the legal system in the Maldives.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	24568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2016 answer text <p>We are concerned about the erosion of judicial independence in the Maldives. A 2013 UN report by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers raised serious questions about the impartiality of judges, the fact that many interventions by courts were arbitrary and that due process was not being followed. We do not believe that the situation has improved since. I raised the issue of judicial independence when I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, during my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/02/2016 16:22:52 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

448297

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
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	Mohamed Nasheed
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 discussions he has had with the Maldives government on the unconditional release of former President Nasheed.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	24527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2016 answer text During my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, and reiterated our call for the release of all political prisoners. The UK welcomed the Maldivian government’s decision on 18 January to allow former President Nasheed to travel to the UK for medical treatment. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) said to the House during PMQs on 27 January, we now want to see further steps taken by the Maldives government including the release of political prisoners. answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/02/2016 16:24:50 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

353925

registered interest
date	12/06/2015
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	Rohingya: Refugees
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 discussions he has had with international partners and his counterparts in South East Asia on (a) resolving the situation of Rohingya migrants and (b) ensuring that search and rescue operations take place in the Andaman Sea.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	2317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2015 answer text <p>Following the discovery on 1 May of a mass grave in Thailand containing the bodies of Rohingya, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis at sea in South East Asia, the UK lobbied governments in the region to address the urgent humantarian needs of those stranded at sea. In particular, we urged countries in the region to uphold their obligation of rescue at sea for vessels in distress, and to take a coordinated approach to people trafficking.</p><p>On 18 May, I called the Burmese Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to press for an immediate humanitarian response and to urge Burma to take part in regional coordination efforts. On 20 May, I met the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary to stress the need for Bangladesh to work within the region to address people trafficking and irregular migration originating from Bangladesh. Our officials have also discussed the issue with EU partners. Permanent Representatives in New York discussed the crisis in the UN Security Council on 28 May. While the immediate crisis is now receding, we are also pushing for a long term solution to the underlying problems, including the status of the Rohingya and an improvement to the dire socio-economic conditions faced by the Rohingya in Rakhine which is a key driver of their migration.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 22/06/2015 11:34:41 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins

353926

registered interest
date	12/06/2015
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	Rohingya: Refugees
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 estimate his Department has made of the number Rohingya migrants from Burma adrift in the Andaman Sea.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Stephen Gethins
uin	2318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2015 answer text <p>The exact figure is unknown. From 8,000 migrants originally estimated to be at sea in late May, the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicate that around 1,200 to 1,300 remain unaccounted for. It is likely that some of these will have returned, while others may have disembarked without UNHCR or other authorities’ knowledge. We continue to monitor the situation closely and urge countries in the region not to turn away boats in distress.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 22/06/2015 11:38:32 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4434 label Biography information for Stephen Gethins