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523184

registered interest
date	06/06/2016
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: Children
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 UN Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict and its Annex, published in April 2016, in which the Saudi-led Coalition is listed as committing grave violations against children in Yemen.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	39554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2016 answer text <p>We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June, which includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 10/06/2016 11:38:54 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

523185

registered interest
date	06/06/2016
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: Children
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 the UN Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April 2016, if his Department will support the immediate establishment of an international, impartial investigation into reported international humanitarian law violations by all parties in the conflict.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	39555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2016 answer text <p>The UK Government has been clear that we want to see thorough and conclusive investigations where allegations have been made against parties to the conflict in Yemen regarding international humanitarian law. The Saudi Arabian government has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail on how they investigate such incidents earlier this year and that any lessons learned would be acted upon. We note the announcement on 6 June of the UN Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, that the United Nations and the Saudi-led Coalition will jointly review the cases and numbers in the Children and Armed Conflict Report.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 10/06/2016 11:41:47 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

523186

registered interest
date	06/06/2016
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	Arms Trade: Export Controls
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 the UN Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April 2016, if the Government will suspend arms export licences and reject new applications for arms exports while there is a risk that they could be used in contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	39557
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2016 answer text <p>All UK export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all available relevant information at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued if doing so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria, including the UK's international obligations and its commitments to enforce UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes, and where it is assessed there is a clear risk that the items might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. As part of its assessment under Criterion 2, the Government is required to take account of the risk the items might be used to commit gender-based violence or serious violence against women or children.</p><p>We do not agree that it is right to prohibit all sales of arms to all the countries named in the UN's annual reports on Children and Armed Conflict, especially as the violations may be carried out by non-state actors. We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously, and operate a robust arms export control regime with every country.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 09/06/2016 14:28:00 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

523187

registered interest
date	06/06/2016
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: Children
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 the UN Secretary-General's report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that Saudi Arabia and other Coalition states cooperate with the UN to develop and implement an Action Plan to end and prevent such violations.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	39556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2016 answer text <p>We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and the Saudi-led Coalition on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 10/06/2016 11:43:46 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

523188

registered interest
date	06/06/2016
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	Arms Trade: Export Controls
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 suspend arms export licences and reject new applications for arms exports to any parties that risk using them in contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	39552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2016 answer text <p>All UK export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all available relevant information at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued if doing so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria, including the UK's international obligations and its commitments to enforce UN, OSCE and EU arms embargoes, and where it is assessed there is a clear risk that the items might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. As part of its assessment under Criterion 2, the Government is required to take account of the risk the items might be used to commit gender-based violence or serious violence against women or children.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 09/06/2016 14:26:44 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

521197

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Syria: 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 steps the Government is taking to ensure religious minorities are protected in Syria.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	38253
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2016 answer text <p>Syria’s conflict has developed from peaceful protests against the government in 2011 to a violent insurgency that has complex international angles. Asad’s brutal actions have fuelled sectarian violence and the growth of Daesh. His regime is ultimately responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. We support the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, to seek agreement on a process of political transition in Syria. We are clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The UN led negotiations remain the best opportunity to end the conflict and achieve political transition away from Asad, leading to an inclusive government which can represent all Syrians.</p><p>The UK, as a core member of the International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination is fundamental. This means seeking to ensure that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. We are supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood grouped question UIN 38252 38257 question first answered 02/06/2016 12:44:23 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

521199

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Syria: Christianity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on the number of Christians in Aleppo.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	38256
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2016 answer text <p>There is a lack of reliable information on the number of Christians in Aleppo. At a press conference at the UN in Geneva in March 2016 the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo (also President of Caritas Syria), estimated that the population of Christians in Aleppo had fallen from 160,000 pre-conflict to only 40,000 in 2016. My noble friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns recently met with Armenian Church leaders, including one from Aleppo, who stated his congregation had fallen by 50%.</p><p>Overall, prior to the conflict, Christians numbered about 2.2 million — 10% of Syria's population. 40% of the Christian population have now left Syria. Many of the Christians left because of the widespread perception they supported the regime. Those remaining vehemently reject the claim.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 02/06/2016 12:46:49 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

521201

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Syria: 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 steps the Government is taking to protect freedom of religion or belief in Syria.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	38257
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2016 answer text <p>Syria’s conflict has developed from peaceful protests against the government in 2011 to a violent insurgency that has complex international angles. Asad’s brutal actions have fuelled sectarian violence and the growth of Daesh. His regime is ultimately responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. We support the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, to seek agreement on a process of political transition in Syria. We are clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The UN led negotiations remain the best opportunity to end the conflict and achieve political transition away from Asad, leading to an inclusive government which can represent all Syrians.</p><p>The UK, as a core member of the International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination is fundamental. This means seeking to ensure that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. We are supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood grouped question UIN 38252 38253 question first answered 02/06/2016 12:44:23 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

521203

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Syria: 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 steps the Government is taking to promote pluralism and religious freedom in Syria.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	38254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, which we supported, urges all parties to the UN-facilitated political process to adhere to the principle identified by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to protect the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination. Through our membership of the ISSG we will focus all our efforts on ensuring that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. In our contact with members of the Syrian opposition who have signed up to the Geneva Communiqué, we have maintained a strong line on our commitment to pluralism, and the need to ensure that Freedom of Religion or Belief is enshrined as a constitutional right. A proportion of the High Negotiations Council, including members of the negotiating team, are drawn from religious minority groups in Syria’s richly diverse population. We are also supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups and education on tolerance, integration and pluralism.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 01/06/2016 15:21:09 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

521204

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Syria: Peace Negotiations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will raise the link between religious freedom and the degree of broader political liberalisation and stability during peace talks on Syria.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	38255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2016 answer text <p>United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, which the UK supported, urges all parties to the UN-facilitated political process to adhere to the principle identified by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to protect the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination. Through our membership of the ISSG we will continue to seek to ensure that Syrian minorities will be included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. In our contact with members of the Syrian opposition, who have signed up to the Geneva Communiqué, we have maintained a strong line on our commitment to pluralism and the need to ensure that Freedom of Religion or Belief is enshrined as a constitutional right. A proportion of the High Negotiations Council, including members of the negotiating team, are drawn from religious minority groups in Syria’s richly diverse population.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 02/06/2016 12:45:30 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon