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61474

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Thailand
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of reports in The Guardian newspaper on 11 June, they intend to make representations to the government of Thailand about the exploitation and abuse of workers in that country's fishing industry and to United Kingdom companies which purchase the products of that industry.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2014 answer text <p>We are aware of labour rights issues and allegations of human rights abuses in the Thai fishing industry, though not until now of the specific allegations made by the Guardian. We regularly raise our concerns about labour rights in Thailand with the relevant Thai authorities, for example during the UK-Thailand Strategic Dialogue in May 2013. The Guardian's report contains very serious allegations. We look to the Thai authorities to investigate. <br><br>Given the acute and continual political uncertainty in Thailand our ability to raise these issues with the authorities at this point is limited. However, we take the allegations very seriously and will look for opportunities to raise our concerns. At a minimum, we will continue to press for an improvement in labour rights in Thailand through ongoing negotiations towards an EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement. <br><br>The UK remains a global leader in tackling human trafficking and slavery as shown by its recent introduction of a Modern Slavery Bill. We welcome any investigation which sheds light on these horrific allegations. <br><br>We also launched our action plan on business and human rights in 2013, becoming the first country to set out guidance to companies on integrating human rights into their operations. We engage regularly with British companies as part of our efforts to boost UK trade and inward investment, but at the same time we also clearly set our commitment to protecting human rights and its expectations of UK companies in this area.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 19/06/2014 13:49:05 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

61477

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Qatar
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay by the British Embassy in Doha in issuing new passports to children born to United Kingdom parents in Qatar; and whether they have held discussions with the local authorities over the law in Qatar under which fines may be imposed on foreign nationals who are not in possession of a passport by the age of two months.
tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
uin	HL255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The British Embassy in Doha no longer issues passports. We have raised with the Qatari authorities the issue of fines imposed on British nationals without a passport, and are working to find an agreed solution. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with Her Majesty's Passport Office to overcome any problems that result from a delay in the issuing of British passports. In line with the recent statement on 12 June by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead, South East (Theresa May), any British nationals facing a problem should consult the Embassy to discuss this – including the alternatives for urgent travel to the UK without a full passport.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:38:48 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

61485

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Western Sahara
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making in respect of Morocco's international human rights obligations in regard to the citizens of Western Sahara; and what steps they have taken in respect of neutralising the Moroccan wall and associated weaponry.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
uin	HL263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>We encourage concrete progress towards improving human rights in Western Sahara in discussions with the parties to the dispute over the territory, and at the UN Security Council. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), discussed human rights in Western Sahara during his visit to Morocco in March. We welcome Morocco's recent commitments to investigate complaints of human rights violations made to the National Council for Human Rights within three months, and to end military tribunal trials for civilians.</p><p> </p><p>Demining teams from the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Moroccan Army and Polisario continue to co-operate to clear unexploded ordnance on both sides of the Moroccan wall.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:46:52 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	3733 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

61496

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Israel
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-sponsored report, Children in Military Custody, on Israeli interrogation methods of Palestinian children; and what follow-up to the report they intend to undertake.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on 31 March 2014 to welcome the steps taken to date and to call for further measures, including the mandatory use of audio-visual recording of interrogations, investigation into continued reports of single hand ties being used, and an end to solitary confinement for children. These were key UK recommendations at Israel's Universal Periodic Review session at the UN Human Rights Council on 29 October 2013.</p><p> </p><p>A progress report published in October 2013 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates that Israel has taken some positive steps towards addressing the recommendations in the report. These include: the introduction of legal obligations to inform the child's parents of an arrest and grant them legal status to be represented in court, as well as to notify minors of their legal rights; and standard operating procedures on methods of restraint. The Israeli military are also piloting a new procedure across the West Bank, whereby children are issued a summons to attend a police station in the morning, rather than being arrested at night, in their homes. The UK believes that the report &quot;Children in Military Custody&quot; has helped contribute to these changes in practice.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:46:01 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

61500

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	Bahrain
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Bahrain concerning the number of children who have been arrested there since 2011.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>Our Embassy in Manama has raised the rates of imprisonment of young people with the Ministry of the Interior and senior members of the Government of Bahrain on several occasions. This included supporting the decision by the Ombudsman's Office of the Ministry of the Interior to investigate fully concerns about the imprisonment of children set out by human rights non-governmental organisations last year.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:44:44 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

61513

registered interest
date	11/06/2014
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	European General Court
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will be publishing a response to proposals from the European Court of Justice for new rules of procedure that would permit the General Court to take into account, in actions for annulment, confidential information that has not been shown to some of the parties to the proceedings.
tabling member printed	Lord Pannick
uin	HL291
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government issued an Explanatory Memorandum on the 25 <del class="ministerial">May</del> <ins class="ministerial">April</ins> in which it highlighted these proposals as a matter of particular interest. This is a complex and sensitive issue which Governments across the EU are very carefully considering. We are aware of parliamentary interest in this issue and will continue to update on developments. Under the Treaty on European Union national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 19/06/2014 11:56:31 question first ministerially corrected 23/07/2014 14:51:10 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi previous answer version 2243 answering member printed Baroness Warsi answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	3870 label Biography information for Lord Pannick

61234

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Brunei
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had regarding the compatibility of Brunei's human rights policies with the human rights values of the Commonwealth Charter, and with whom.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL194
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2014 answer text <p>We, along with the EU and other members of the international community, regularly discuss human rights with the Bruneian authorities. During Brunei's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 2 May, we called on Brunei to lift its state of emergency, to establish a national human rights institution and to ensure that the implementation of their new sharia criminal code was in line with international human rights standards. This includes the Commonwealth Charter which commits members to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I discussed this with His Majesty The Sultan, and other government figures during a visit to Brunei in April. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for East Devon also raised our concerns with Brunei's Deputy Foreign Minister Pehin Kunis on 12 June. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara), raised this with the Bruneian Attorney General at the Commonwealth Law Ministers meeting on 6 May. The Secretary of State for Health, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), discussed this with his opposite number at a Commonwealth Health Ministers' meeting on 18 May 2014.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 24/06/2014 15:37:30 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

61242

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Gibraltar: Spain
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making in talks with Spain to prevent excessive delays at its border with Gibraltar.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2014 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), suggested ad hoc talks, involving all relevant parties, to address practical issues (including the delays at the border) to the Spanish government in April 2012. We are actively discussing this proposal with the Governments of Gibraltar and Spain and hope it will be possible to hold talks soon.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, we are maintaining strong diplomatic pressure on the Spanish government to end disproportionate and unlawful checks at the border. We have also asked the European Commission to continue to monitor the situation and urge Spain to return their checks at the border to proportionate levels.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 18/06/2014 11:37:51 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

61262

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Kenya
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to public funds of the evacuation of tourists from Mombasa in May.
tabling member printed	Lord Steel of Aikwood
uin	HL222
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The British Government did not evacuate British nationals from Mombasa in May and there was no cost to public funds.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 17/06/2014 15:45:01 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	949 label Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood

61263

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
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	Kenya
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their current travel advice for visits to Kenya.
tabling member printed	Lord Steel of Aikwood
uin	HL223
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>We keep our travel advice under constant review. As of 12 June, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised against all but essential travel to:</p><p>- areas within 60km of the Kenya-Somali border</p><p>- Kiwayu and coastal areas north of Pate Island</p><p>- Garissa District</p><p>- the Eastleigh area of Nairobi</p><p>- low income areas of Nairobi, including all township or slum areas</p><p>- Mombasa island and within 5km of the coast from Mtwapa creek in the north down to and including Tiwi in the south (this area does not include Diani or Moi international airport).</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 17/06/2014 15:44:45 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	949 label Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood