@prefix rdf: . @prefix xsd: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . @prefix rdfs: . @prefix api: . @prefix parl: . parl:answerText "

Protecting minority communities is a key part of the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, discussed the need to safeguard the rights of religious minorities during his meeting with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, and raised proposed amendments to the blasphemy laws. Lord Ahmad also discussed the importance of promoting respect for all religions during his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2023-02-14"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2023-02-14T17:41:05.503Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

Iran continues to develop its ballistic missile programme, which is destabilising for the region and threatens European security. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls on Iran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.

A viable deal was put on the table in March to restore the JCPoA. Iran refused to seize the critical diplomatic opportunity in August to conclude the deal, and continues to make demands beyond the scope of the JCPoA. We are considering next steps with our partners. Iran's recent actions have made progress much more difficult.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-11-22"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-11-22T17:03:56.757Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Somalia: Terrorism" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the organisation responsible for the planning and execution of the attack in Mogadishu on 19 August 2022." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "45786" ; dcterms:date "2022-09-02"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to (a) accelerate payment of the £286m of humanitarian assistance committed to alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan; how much of that funding has been distributed to-date; and when the remainder of the funding will be distributed." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "160245" ; dcterms:date "2023-03-07"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Somalia: Terrorism" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for her policies of the terrorist attack in Mogadishu on 19 August 2022." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "45783" ; dcterms:date "2022-09-02"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

This is an annual UN General Assembly resolution that the UK traditionally supports because it is consistent with our longstanding concerns over the impact of the Israeli occupation on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. However, the UK abstained on the resolution this year because of the inclusion of a referral to the international Court of Justice (ICJ). We support the ICJ, but we do not believe that a referral to the ICJ is helpful to bringing the parties back to dialogue. It is also our longstanding position that it is inappropriate, without the consent of both parties, to ask the Court to give an advisory opinion in what is essentially a bilateral dispute.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-11-22"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-11-22T17:07:14.89Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Somalia: Terrorism" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of UK nationals who were directly affected by the terrorist attack in Mogadishu on 19 August 2022." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "45785" ; dcterms:date "2022-09-02"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Iran: Conferences" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what security assessment the UK Embassy in Albania made of the Free Iran Summit on 23 and 24 July in Durres." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "45782" ; dcterms:date "2022-09-02"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Pakistan: Mosques" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the attack on a mosque in Karachi on 2 February 2023." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "140092" ; dcterms:date "2023-02-06"^^xsd:dateTime . skos:prefLabel "House of Commons" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Iran: Nuclear Power" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether a renewed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal will include terms addressing Iran’s ballistic missile program." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "86457" ; dcterms:date "2022-11-14"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Cyprus: Peace Negotiations" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with his international counterparts on the appointment of a special envoy to re-start the reunification process in Cyprus." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "97556" ; dcterms:date "2022-11-28"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

It is our assessment that the referenced attack in Mogadishu on 19 August 2022 was conducted by Al Shabaab.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-09-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-09-21T12:18:54.233Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

Tackling Al Shabaab is one of the UK's top international counter-terrorism priorities, as we seek to keep the UK and its interests at home and overseas safe from the threat of terrorism. We condemn the ongoing violence perpetrated by Al Shabaab and partner with the Kenyan and Somali Governments, as well as the wider international community, to counter the threat posed by the group.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-09-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-09-21T12:37:22.553Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord" . parl:answerText "

Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities continues to be central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society, including on recent attacks on Ahmadi mosques.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2023-02-13"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2023-02-13T11:58:20.493Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The FCDO has supported one man who was injured in the attack and have offered our support to the family of another man who was killed.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-09-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-09-21T16:58:50.853Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Israel: Palestinians" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK abstained in the UN vote to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories on 11 November 2022." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "86458" ; dcterms:date "2022-11-14"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The UK is providing life-saving aid to the most vulnerable Afghans. Since April 2021, the UK has disbursed £515 million to help urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. We have disbursed £229 million in aid for Afghanistan since April 2022, including payments to the UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (£50 million), World Food Programme (£95 million) and UNICEF (£28 million). A further £17 million is due for disbursal in March 2023.

We are supporting 4 million people with food assistance through the World Food Programme this financial year (FY22/23) and continue to support basic services, such as health, education and livelihoods.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2023-03-15"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2023-03-15T17:12:08.047Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The UK remains committed to supporting the UN efforts to reach a Cyprus settlement. On 15 November, the Foreign Secretary and the Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides agreed to work closely together for a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus settlement process within the UN parameters. There remain very significant differences between the parties' positions. However, we continue to believe that, with flexibility, sufficient common ground to start formal negotiations can be found. The appointment of an envoy is a matter for the UN Secretary-General, in consultation with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-12-05"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-12-05T16:41:46.32Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Leo Docherty" . parl:answerText "

On 22 July, we amended FCDO Travel Advice for Albania to include a factual reference to US advice to US citizens, to avoid the Free Iran Summit. The organisers of the Free Iran Summit subsequently cancelled the event, citing security concerns. We do not routinely comment on security assessments. The UK continues to work closely with the Government of Albania and international partners to promote security and stability across the Western Balkans and protect UK interests.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Aldershot" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Leo Docherty" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2022-09-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2022-09-21T12:25:27.397Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "208" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office" ; parl:hansardHeading "Pakistan: Religious Freedom" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on steps being taken to help ensure that the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill introduced on 17 January 2023 in Pakistan will not be used to target minority Muslims and non-Muslims." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Hendon" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Dr Matthew Offord" ; parl:uin "140094" ; dcterms:date "2023-02-06"^^xsd:dateTime . a api:Page ; "10"^^xsd:long ; "1"^^xsd:long ; "2615"^^xsd:long ; dcterms:isPartOf ; api:definition ; api:extendedMetadataVersion ; api:items ( ) ; api:page "0"^^xsd:long ; ; . a api:ListEndpoint ; dcterms:hasPart ; api:definition .