@prefix rdf: . @prefix xsd: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . @prefix rdfs: . @prefix api: . @prefix parl: . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Organisation for Securityand Co-operation in Europe will next meet; and whether Ukraine will be on its agenda." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6955" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

We welcome the comments made by President Gül regarding the Kurdish population in Turkey, which we assess as an important reaffirmation of the Turkish government's commitment to finding a sustainable solution to the Kurdish issue.

We have been encouraged by the efforts on both sides to reach a solution and welcome the continuing ceasefire, as well as the President Gül's approval of the democratisation package in March.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-04-14"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-04-14T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The UK Government is concerned by the recent detentions of Azerbaijani human rights activists Mr Rauf Mirkadirov, Dr Leyla Yunus and Mr Arif Yunusov. All three individuals have worked tirelessly to promote valuable people-to-people dialogue between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, where little contact exists between these peoples since the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict twenty years ago. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our Embassy in Baku have publicly expressed their concern about these detentions and continue to monitor the cases closely. In a statement on 6 May, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), also expressed his concern regarding an increasingly worrying trend of apparently politically motivated detentions occurring in Azerbaijan.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-13"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The British Government supports the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and encourages an interactive dialogue with all states. Thus, the UK extends a “standing invitation” to all Special Rapporteurs and commits to full cooperation should they wish to visit. We encourage other states to do the same. At the same time, we respect the independence of Rapporteurs, so do not plan to request a specific visit to the United Arab Emirates.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-04-23"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-04-23T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Baroness Warsi" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement on 19 March by the President of Turkey that the internal peace process should be completed, by giving democratic rights and equal citizenship to the Kurdish people together with freedom for the press and other media." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6508" ; dcterms:date "2014-04-01"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Ukraine in March. ODIHR's Needs Assessment Mission judged that the EOM should consist of 1000 observers in total. 100 long term observers have been on the ground since late March; while a further 900 short term observers will arrive in the week before polling day on 25 May. These observers will also be joined by parliamentarians from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe amongst others. The ODIHR Mission will be crucial in providing an impartial view of the conduct of these extremely important elections, and the UK is providing over 100 observers to it.

Since March, 7 inspection teams of varying staff numbers from OSCE states have been deployed to Ukraine under the auspices of the Vienna Document to which all OSCE States subscribed, with the aim of building confidence and increasing transparency. This is in response to a Ukrainian request to carry out military inspections and separate from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which has a different mandate. A UK-led Vienna Document team is currently in Ukraine and is working closely with national authorities to carry out their mission. The inspection team is made up of UK armed Forces Personnel and international observers. Following the UK-led mission, Vienna Document inspectors from other participating states will commence similar missions.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-13"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Securityand Co-operation in Europe is considering Ukraine at is weekly meetings; and what recommendations, if any, it has so far made, in particular about conflict prevention." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6954" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The challenges that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) faces are regularly discussed in the EU working group on the western Balkans. However these discussions have not focussed on constitutional change. The UK fully supports BiH's aspiration to join the EU but they must meet the conditions. We continue to call on BiH's leaders to make the necessary decisions to progress on the EU accession path, namely through aligning their Constitution with the European Court of Human Rights' judgement in the Sejdic-Finci case. The onus is on BiH's leaders to work collectively to resolve the issue.

Until real progress is made, the international community must remain closely engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UK fully supports the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the European Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea and their work to ensure implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Closure of the OHR will occur once the BiH authorities have met the agreed five objectives and fulfilled the agreed two conditions. Disagreement among the main political parties has prevented the agenda's full implementation. The UK is committed to EUFOR's maintenance of a safe and secure environment in BiH, and is proud of its own contributions, including through a reserve company, 1 Scots. Recent protests have demonstrated the fragility of the security situation in BiH. Therefore, it is vital that EUFOR continues to be able to fulfil its role in country. The UK will continue to support EUFOR's presence in BiH until conditions on the ground change sufficiently to merit its withdrawal.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-04-23"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-04-23T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

It is vital that the Government of Pakistan protects and guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards. As Senior Minister of State for Faith and Communities with a personal commitment to freedom of religious belief, I had frank discussions with the Pakistani Prime Minister and other ministers during my most recent visit to Pakistan and during the UN General Assembly. I will continue to press the Pakistani government to meet these commitments. The British Government also remains fully committed to working in partnership with Pakistan to tackle terrorism and violent extremism in all forms which threatens the people of both our countries and the security of all communities in Pakistan. Our concerns are documented in the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual Human Rights report launched on 10 April.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-04-23"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-04-23T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 2014 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in Pakistan, in particular as regards achieving protection for minorities of all kinds." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6884" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-06"^^xsd:dateTime . skos:prefLabel "House of Lords" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture visits the United Arab Emirates." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6651" ; dcterms:date "2014-04-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

I am aware of the 2014 report, and am concerned by its findings. The latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual Human Rights report launched on 10 April highlights our own assessment and similar concerns. It is vital that the government of Pakistan guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards. During Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to the UK at the end of April human rights issues were raised at the highest levels. I will continue to press the Pakistani government to make progress in this area.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-13"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis in Ukraine over recent months. The crisis has been a regular topic of discussion on the Organisation's agenda since the Permanent Council met to discuss it in special session on 3 March. Both the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security and Co-operation have discussed Ukraine on numerous occasions since then.

The OSCE has launched a number of initiatives to contribute towards de-escalation of the crisis. On 21 March the Permanent Council agreed to the deployment of a Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. That Mission, which includes a UK Deputy Chief Monitor and nine UK staff, swiftly deployed across the country with a mandate to gather information, report on the security situation and assess how best to meet the concerns of all parties. The Mission is providing regular reporting and recently played a key role in the negotiation of the safe release of the Vienna Document unarmed military inspectors who had been detained in Slavyansk. In Geneva on 17 April the US, the EU, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed that the Mission should have a role in verifying the implementation of agreed steps towards de-escalation. The Government fully supports this Mission's work and is actively backing it with both finance and personnel. The UK has so far contributed over £1 million and is currently the second biggest contributor to the Mission's core costs.

In addition to the SMM, the OSCE has been active in Ukraine through the work of its autonomous institutions, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, while there has been a rolling programme of visits by unarmed military inspectors under the Vienna Document 2011. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is sending a large scale mission of 1000 observers to monitor the Ukrainian Presidential Elections on 25 May. The UK will be providing 10% of the total number of observers with 10 Long Term Observers and 90 Short Term Observers.

There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-14"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-14T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Organisation for Securityand Co-operation in Europe election observers and military observers are present in Ukraine; and when they expect that the full planned number will be in country." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6957" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to propose a European Union working-party to discuss and make proposals for assisting Bosnia-Herzegovina to draw up an appropriate constitution that would make possible the ending of various forms of international supervision." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6650" ; dcterms:date "2014-04-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis in Ukraine over recent months. The crisis has been a regular topic of discussion on the Organisation's agenda since the Permanent Council met to discuss it in special session on 3 March. Both the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security and Co-operation have discussed Ukraine on numerous occasions since then.

The OSCE has launched a number of initiatives to contribute towards de-escalation of the crisis. On 21 March the Permanent Council agreed to the deployment of a Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. That Mission, which includes a UK Deputy Chief Monitor and 9 UK staff, swiftly deployed across the country with a mandate to gather information, report on the security situation and assess how best to meet the concerns of all parties. The Mission is providing regular reporting and recently played a key role in the negotiation of the safe release of the Vienna Document unarmed military inspectors who had been detained in Slavyansk. In Geneva on 17 April the US, the EU, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed that the Mission should have a role in verifying the implementation of agreed steps towards de-escalation. The Government fully supports this Mission's work and is actively backing it with both finance and personnel. The UK has so far contributed over £1 million and is currently the second biggest contributor to the Mission's core costs.

In addition to the SMM, the OSCE has been active in Ukraine through the work of its autonomous institutions, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, while there has been a rolling programme of visits by unarmed military inspectors under the Vienna Document 2011. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is sending a large scale mission of 1000 observers to monitor the Ukrainian Presidential Elections on 25 May. The UK will be providing 10% of the total number of observers with 10 Long term Observers and 90 Short Term Observers.

There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-14"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-14T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the government of Iran for an independent international inquiry into the events at Evin Prison in Tehran on 17 April, and for the International Committee of the Red Cross to have permanent access to that prison, in particular to Ward 350." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6882" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-06"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last made representations to the government of Pakistan about the personal security and protection needs of Christians, Hindus, Shias and Ismailis; and what responses they received." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6652" ; dcterms:date "2014-04-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The UK was disturbed at reports of attacks on political prisoners in Evin prison on 17 April. We remain concerned by ongoing reports of poor prison conditions in Iran and by the Iranian government's refusal to accede to requests for internal or international investigations into potential breaches of prisoners' rights. In March 2014 the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Iran said that conditions for inmates are reported to range from poor to inhumane. Access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor. The International Committee of the Red Cross already has a presence in Iran, and should they request access to Evin Prison, we would encourage the Iranian authorities to allow this.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Baroness Warsi" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2014-05-13"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2014-05-13T12:00:00.00Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Lord Hylton" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "16" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Azerbaijan regarding the recent arrests of Mr Rauf Mirkadirov, Dr Leyla Yunus and Mr Arif Yunusov." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Hylton" ; parl:uin "HL6881" ; dcterms:date "2014-05-06"^^xsd:dateTime . a api:Page ; "10"^^xsd:long ; "1"^^xsd:long ; "759"^^xsd:long ; dcterms:isPartOf ; api:definition ; api:extendedMetadataVersion ; api:items ( ) ; api:page "0"^^xsd:long ; ; . a api:ListEndpoint ; dcterms:hasPart ; api:definition .