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100007

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2014
	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	Egypt
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about recent arrests of students, and the placing of private security companies, on university campuses there.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL2222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), asked that the Egyptian government address the large number of people being held in detention during his meeting with President Al-Sisi at the UN General Assembly in New York on 23 September. John Casson, our Ambassador in Cairo, discussed the recent university protests with Ahmed el-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, on 14 October. The UK believes that freedom of expression, including the right to protest peacefully, is important in any democracy.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 28/10/2014 16:36:00 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

79643

	registered interest
	date	28/07/2014
	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, how many of the Commission’s recommendations that pertain specifically to Her Majesty’s Government have been implemented thus far; and whether there are any recommendations that they do not intend to implement.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The Commission of Inquiry made nineteen recommendations to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (para 1220, (a) – (s)); six for China and other States in the context of trafficking and forced repatriation of refugees (para 1221 (a) – (f)); one relating to inter-Korean relations (para 1222); two directed at states, civil society organisations, foundations and business enterprises (1223 and 1224) and ten to the international community and the United Nations (1225 (a) – (j)).</p><p>The recommendations relating to trafficking and forced repatriation do not apply directly to the UK. However, we have been clear with the Chinese government and others that we believe that people who have escaped from the DPRK are entitled to protection and should be allowed safe passage to resettlement in third countries.</p><p>Para 1223 relates to people-to-people dialogue and contact in areas such as culture, science, sports, good governance and economic development. As one of the few countries with a presence on the ground in Pyongyang, the UK can play a particular role in implementing this recommendation. We already seek to expose North Koreans to the outside world through the British Council English language training programme and other engagement activities.</p><p>Para 1224 recommends that states and others should support the work of civil society organisations to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK, including efforts to document violations and to broadcast accessible information into each country. The UK has previously funded projects with South Korean non-governmental organisations related to documenting violations in the DPRK. We have also worked with international and domestic organisations within the DPRK to improve the treatment of disabled people. Our focus on direct engagement complements that of others, like the US, who support broadcasts into the DPRK.</p><p>With regard to the recommendations for the international community and the United Nations, my noble friend, the former Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Baroness Warsi), set out in detail in her reply on 23 July (Official Report, column GC461) the UK’s position on the recommendations for the UN Security Council (para 1225(a)) and our commitment to ensuring that the international community takes action in response to the Commission’s report (para 1225(f)). The recommendations in para 1225 (b) and (c) have been taken forward through the UN Human Rights Council and those in (d), (e) and (g) are primarily for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretariat. We are currently exploring the prospects for taking forward para 1225(h), which recommends forming a human rights contact group. Para 1225(i) relates to provision of humanitarian assistance. The UK does not have a bilateral aid programme in the DPRK, but agrees fully with points made in this recommendation about how such assistance should be provided. Para 1225(j) recommends the convening of a high-level political conference to consider a final peaceful settlement to the Korean War. A comprehensive resolution of the situation on the Korean peninsula will require the DPRK to address the international community's legitimate security concerns.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 10:02:12 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

79771

	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	Sovereignty
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of a nation.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL1660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The normal criteria for recognition of a nation or state are set out in the Written Answer by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 16 November 1989, House of Commons Hansard Official Report, Column 494, noted below for ease of reference:</p><p>“The normal criteria that we apply for recognition as a state are that it should have, and seem likely to continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population, a Government who are able of themselves to exercise effective control of that territory, and independence in their external relations. Other factors, including some United Nations resolutions, may also be relevant.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:58:24 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

79773

	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	War Crimes
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of a war crime.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL1662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The definition of a war crime is set out in the International Criminal Court Act 2001, section 50 and Schedule 8 (which sets out the terms of Article 8.2 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:58:51 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

79800

	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	Diego Garcia
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 28 July (WA 249), whether they will now answer the question as tabled.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ashcroft
	uin	HL1689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The United States is our most important bilateral ally and we have regular discussions on a range of sensitive issues. It is our longstanding position not to comment on discussions of that nature. With regard to Mr Belhaj allegedly stopping over in Diego Garcia, I refer the noble Lord to the response given by my noble friend, the former Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Baroness Warsi), on 17 June 2014, Official Report, Column WA36, that, aside from the two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory) in 2002, there have been no other instances in which US intelligence flights landed in the UK, our Overseas Territories, or the Crown Dependencies, with a detainee on board since 11 September 2001.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:55:55 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	2568 label Biography information for Lord Ashcroft

79801

	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	Albania
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what agreements have been signed, to which the United Kingdom and Albania are both parties, for the period 1 March 2013 to the present; and whether they will place copies of any such agreements in the Library of the House and on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office database.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	uin	HL1690
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) treaty database records all bilateral and multilateral treaties involving the United Kingdom signed since 1834. The FCO does not maintain a comprehensive central record or hold copies of the texts of memoranda of understanding concluded between Government Departments and other states or organizations.</p><p>Legally-binding agreements to which both the UK and Albania have become parties since 1 March 2013 are as follows:</p><p>Bilateral:</p><p>1. The Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital was signed on 26 March 2014 and was published as UK Treaty Series No. 3, 2014.</p><p>Multilateral:</p><p>2. The Arms Trade Treaty was signed by Albania on 3 June 2013 and by the United Kingdom on 3 June 2013. This was published as UK Miscellaneous Series No. 3, 2013.</p><p>3. Protocol No.15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms [CETS No.213] was signed by Albania on 11 February 2014 and by the United Kingdom on 24 June 2014. The text to this treaty is published on the Council of Europe website.</p><p>All treaties, including those amending previous treaties, that are subject to ratification, accession, approval or completion of procedures are laid before both Houses of Parliament as a Command Paper for twenty-one sitting days in accordance with Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Those treaties which enter into force on signature do not have to be laid before Parliament for twenty-one sitting days but are laid before both Houses of Parliament as a Command Paper in the UK Treaty Series once they have entered into force.</p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:57:26 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

79803

	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	Palestinians
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that Hamas militants are attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications equipment.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>We are aware of recent reports that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is supplying missile technology to Hamas militants. The DPRK supplies a wide range of conventional arms to customers worldwide, including Syria and Iran. Its sale of arms and related material to countries already in the grip of conflict exploits and increases regional instability. We urge all countries to exercise vigilance in the implementation of DPRK UN Security Council Resolutions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 10:01:39 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

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

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