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914715

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	Iran: BBC Persian Service
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 his Department has made of the criminal charges issued by the Iranian authorities against BBC Persian staff; and what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on that subject.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	148591
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>We are concerned by the charges against BBC Persian staff. I call upon the Government of Iran to cease all such action against BBC staff and their families, and to end harassment of independent journalists, whether affiliated to the BBC or not. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are essential to a free and open society.</p><p>We expressed our concern about Iranian treatment of BBC Persian staff at the UN Human Rights Council on 12 March and both the Foreign Secretary and I have raised the issue, including the criminal charges, with our Iranian counterparts on several occasions. Most recently I raised these issues during my visit to Tehran on 29 April. We will continue to raise the treatment of BBC Persian staff and their families with the Iranian government at all levels.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 06/06/2018 14:17:06 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

914739

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	South Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations
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 whether 4,000 troops is the appropriate level for the Regional Protection Force in South Sudan; and what recent discussions he has had with the UN Secretary-General on the proposed number of troops to be deployed as part of that force.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	148688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2018 answer text <p>Detachments of troops from Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Ethiopia have arrived and are now operational in Juba, bringing the total number of Regional Protection Force (RPF) troops to 1,030.</p><p>The UK gave our strong support to the Security Council's decision to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) which, extended to March 2019, maintains UNMISS's overall troop ceiling of 17,000, and includes the RPF's deployment of 4,000 troops. We continue to engage with the UN Secretary General's office, and with the Head of UNMISS, to encourage the full and swift deployment of the RPF.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson grouped question UIN 148687 question first answered 08/06/2018 12:15:40 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

914744

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	South Sudan: Ceasefires
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in (a) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and (b) African Union member states on (i) the compliance of parties to the civil war in South Sudan with the cessation-of-hostilities agreement of December 2017 and (ii) the imposition of multilateral sanctions by those organisations against those responsible for violations of that agreement.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	148693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2018 answer text <p>The third phase of the High Level Revitalisation Forum closed on 23 May with the parties unable to reach agreement on the key governance and security issues that are essential for long term peace. However, following a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)'s Council of Ministers, IGAD has decided to convene a further round of discussions between the parties to push for a viable agreement.</p><p>The UK continues to engage closely with IGAD and its member states to urge them to take clear, robust action against those who violate the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). Violations have continued since the agreement was signed in December. The Minister for Africa, along with senior officials including the UK Ambassador to South Sudan and the UK Special Representative, consistently raise the UK's concerns about ongoing violations of the COHA with IGAD and its member states, and continue to urge swift action against spoilers.</p><p>We continue to provide financial and political support to the ceasefire monitoring body, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), to ensure that it is able to continue reporting on violations in a timely manner. We are nevertheless concerned that some CTSAMM reports have not been made public. The UK therefore continues to call on IGAD to ensure that reports are published in a timely manner and acted upon quickly.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson grouped question UIN 148682 148692 148694 question first answered 08/06/2018 12:05:26 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

914745

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	South Sudan: Ceasefires
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 make representations to (a) his counterparts in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development member states and (b) officials from that organisation on the publication of all reports of the ceasefire transitional security arrangements monitoring mechanism on ceasefire violations since December 2017.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	148694
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2018 answer text <p>The third phase of the High Level Revitalisation Forum closed on 23 May with the parties unable to reach agreement on the key governance and security issues that are essential for long term peace. However, following a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)'s Council of Ministers, IGAD has decided to convene a further round of discussions between the parties to push for a viable agreement.</p><p>The UK continues to engage closely with IGAD and its member states to urge them to take clear, robust action against those who violate the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). Violations have continued since the agreement was signed in December. The Minister for Africa, along with senior officials including the UK Ambassador to South Sudan and the UK Special Representative, consistently raise the UK's concerns about ongoing violations of the COHA with IGAD and its member states, and continue to urge swift action against spoilers.</p><p>We continue to provide financial and political support to the ceasefire monitoring body, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), to ensure that it is able to continue reporting on violations in a timely manner. We are nevertheless concerned that some CTSAMM reports have not been made public. The UK therefore continues to call on IGAD to ensure that reports are published in a timely manner and acted upon quickly.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson grouped question UIN 148682 148692 148693 question first answered 08/06/2018 12:05:26 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

914747

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	South Sudan: Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on the establishment by the UN Security Council of an adhoc international tribunal in the event of a failure to establish hybrid court for South Sudan.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	148696
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2018 answer text <p>The UK strongly supports the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms in South Sudan, including the Commission for Truth Reconciliation and Healing, the Compensation and Reparations Authority, and the Hybrid Court, both to promote healing and reconciliation for the victims of human rights violations, and to ensure that the perpetrators of such abuses are held to account for their crimes.</p><p>We continue to urge the Government of South Sudan to work with the African Union to expedite the Court's establishment.</p><p>The UK will continue to consider the most effective means to bring to justice perpetrators of atrocities and those who have assisted them. The victims of the conflict in South Sudan must be central to any process.</p> answering member constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip answering member printed Boris Johnson grouped question UIN 148695 148697 question first answered 08/06/2018 12:26:48 answering member 1423 label Biography information for Boris Johnson
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

914766

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of UK ODA spending has been spent on UN peacekeeping in each of the last eight years.
tabling member constituency	Llanelli
tabling member printed	Nia Griffith
uin	148703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>UK ODA spending as part of our assessed (mandatory) contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget, in each of the last eight years has been: 2010 0.25%; 2011 0.24%; 2012 0.23%; 2013 0.22%; 2014 0.16%; 2015 0.16%; 2016 0.38%; and 2017 data will be published in Autumn 2018 in the &quot;Statistics on International Development: Final UK aid spend 2017&quot; report.</p><p>The UK has also given other voluntary ODA funding to UN peacekeeping on a case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p><strong>UK's ODA Assessed Contributions to UN Peacekeeping Missions as a proportion of total UK ODA 2010-2016</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Total UK ODA (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total core contributions to UN Peacekeeping Missions (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion of total UK ODA</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>8,529</p></td><td><p>21.4</p></td><td><p>0.25%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>8,629</p></td><td><p>21.0</p></td><td><p>0.24%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>8,802</p></td><td><p>20.3</p></td><td><p>0.23%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>11,407</p></td><td><p>25.6</p></td><td><p>0.22%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>11,700</p></td><td><p>19.1</p></td><td><p>0.16%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>12,138</p></td><td><p>19.1</p></td><td><p>0.16%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>13,377</p></td><td><p>50.9</p></td><td><p>0.38%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Source: Statistics on International Development 2017</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td><td><p>​</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field question first answered 06/06/2018 16:27:12 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
tabling member	1541 label Biography information for Dame Nia Griffith

914789

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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: Arms Trade
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 whether any arms licensed for export from the UK to Israel over the last three years have been used by the Israeli authorities in their policing of the Gaza border in recent weeks.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
tabling member printed	Mr Paul Sweeney
uin	149035
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>The Government takes its defence exports responsibilities extremely seriously and we have been keeping the situation in Israel under review. We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used in contravention of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 06/06/2018 14:28:37 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
tabling member	4642 label Biography information for Mr Paul Sweeney

914824

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	Andargachew Tsege
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 his Department is taking to support the return to the UK of Andy Tsege.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	148594
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2018 answer text <p>On 29 May, Andargachew Tsege was released from Kality prison in Addis Ababa to his family living in Ethiopia. With the assistance of Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff in Addis Ababa and London, Mr Tsege returned to the UK on 1 June where he was reunited with his partner and children.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 11/06/2018 15:08:13 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

914956

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	British Overseas Territories: Companies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress he has made on ensuring that Overseas Territories establish public registers for company beneficial ownership.
tabling member constituency	Chipping Barnet
tabling member printed	Theresa Villiers
uin	148666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2018 answer text <p>Provisions to this effect are included in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 06/06/2018 16:29:31 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	1500 label Biography information for Theresa Villiers

914983

registered interest
date	01/06/2018
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	Developing Countries: Minerals
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 his Department is taking to help prevent the mining and trading of conflict minerals overseas.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Mrs Anne Main
uin	148706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2018 answer text <p>The UK does not regard the mining and trading of 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, also known as &quot;conflict minerals&quot;) as problematic in itself. These minerals are key components for modern technology. Under the right conditions, the mining of these minerals can build both prosperity and security for local communities. However, there is also a risk that their mining can be linked to a range of deplorable practices from human rights abuses to illicit financing of conflict.</p><p>It is these risks that the UK is committed to addressing by encouraging compliance with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. The implementation of this guidance will be made mandatory for the biggest importers in the EU via the EU Regulation on the Responsible Sourcing of Conflict Minerals. This will come into force in January 2021.</p><p>The UK will continue to implement this regulation after leaving the EU as it will be rolled over into UK Law via the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. The Department for Buiness Energy and Industrial Strategy will act as the UK's Competent Authority, monitoring the implementation of the regulation in the UK.</p><p>In addition to direct action via the EU Regulation, the UK supports the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM). This is a multi-stakeholder initiative consisting of governments, civil society and the private sector that is recognised by the EU as an official &quot;accompanying measure&quot; to the EU Regulation. The EPRM aims to increase the proportion of &quot;responsibly sourced minerals&quot; by operating along the full length of the supply chain, from building capability to implement the EU Regulation amongst EU business, to providing funding for projects aimed at improving conditions and building capability at minesites to enable them operate in a way consistent with OECD Due Diligence Guidelines. Further detail is available at <a href="https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/" target="_blank">https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field question first answered 11/06/2018 14:37:42 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
tabling member	1568 label Biography information for Mrs Anne Main