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Last year, 2014, was dominated by news of horrendous violence against those of different faiths, from Boko Haram abducting Christian girls in Nigeria to the attacks by ISIL against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities within Iraq. In the light of those developments, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a global envoy for religious freedom, reporting to the Foreign Secretary should be appointed? If this Government choose to act, we will support them; if they do not, a Labour Government will act.
Last year, 2014, was dominated by news of horrendous violence against those of different faiths, from Boko Haram abducting Christian girls in Nigeria to the attacks by ISIL against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities within Iraq. In the light of those developments, does the Foreign Secretary agree that a global envoy for religious freedom, reporting to the Foreign Secretary should be appointed? If this Government choose to act, we will support them; if they do not, a Labour Government will act.
Our general approach is to try to get things done using the mechanisms we have. We have an extensive diplomatic network around the world, and we have large amounts of soft power at our disposal, including the leverage that our large aid budget gives us. I do not think simply creating new posts and ticking a box delivers in the way the right hon. Gentleman and the previous Government seem to think it will.
I certainly echo the sentiment of the Foreign Secretary’s final remarks. At this difficult and dangerous moment, it is vital that Europe and NATO stand united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. However, may I bring him back to his remarks about tier 3 sanctions? Does he believe that new EU restrictive measures should be on the table at the next European Council meeting, as opposed simply to the roll-over and extension of existing measures that he described in his answer?
I certainly echo the sentiment of the Foreign Secretary’s final remarks. At this difficult and dangerous moment, it is vital that Europe and NATO stand united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. However, may I bring him back to his remarks about tier 3 sanctions? Does he believe that new EU restrictive measures should be on the table at the next European Council meeting, as opposed simply to the roll-over and extension of existing measures that he described in his answer?
The European Commission has been tasked to look at a menu of possible additional measures that could be taken. As I have indicated, I think that we need two tools. We need an extension of the existing tier 3 measures through to the end of December. Putin
has been telling oligarchs around Moscow that the sanctions will be over by the end of July: “Just hold your breath and it’ll all be fine.” We need to show him that that will not be the case. Alongside that, we need a credible set of options that we can implement immediately if there is a failure to comply with milestones in the Minsk implementation agreement or a serious further outbreak of conflict in the region.
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s answer, but let me return to the appalling murder of Boris Nemtsov on Saturday in Moscow, to which he has referred. Clearly, the priority needs to be a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder. President Putin has a personal responsibility to show that the Russian authorities are willing and able to identify Mr Nemtsov’s killers and to bring them to justice. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm whether he has raised this matter with the Russian authorities, and give his assessment of the steps that have been taken by the Russian authorities to begin investigating the case?
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s answer, but let me return to the appalling murder of Boris Nemtsov on Saturday in Moscow, to which he has referred. Clearly, the priority needs to be a thorough and impartial investigation into the murder. President Putin has a personal responsibility to show that the Russian authorities are willing and able to identify Mr Nemtsov’s killers and to bring them to justice. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm whether he has raised this matter with the Russian authorities, and give his assessment of the steps that have been taken by the Russian authorities to begin investigating the case?
We have heard a lot of noise from Moscow, but we have not yet seen any serious action. The omens are not promising. I heard just this morning that some countries’ intended high-level delegations to the funeral have not been able to obtain Russian visas. That probably tells us all we need to know.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2015, Official Report, column 79, whether he met the Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister; and with whom he has discussed the case of Raif Badawi.
Due to the late King’s ill health at the time, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not attend the Counter ISIL meeting in London as had been planned. Instead, I raised the case of Raif Badawi with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to London, as the most senior member of the Saudi delegation, at the inaugural meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, on 22 January.
The Minister is absolutely right to pay tribute to the neighbouring countries of the Syrian conflict, Jordan and the Lebanon, for the extraordinary work that they have done in receiving a huge population of refugees as a consequence of the conflict. On the point about the UN food vouchers, given the reports last week of the value of those food vouchers having been cut as well as the importance of ensuring the availability of vouchers, what further steps are the British Government taking to encourage international partners to provide a level of resource needed by the United Nations to meet the humanitarian crisis?
The Minister is absolutely right to pay tribute to the neighbouring countries of the Syrian conflict, Jordan and the Lebanon, for the extraordinary work that they have done in receiving a huge population of refugees as a consequence of the conflict. On the point about the UN food vouchers, given the reports last week of the value of those food vouchers having been cut as well as the importance of ensuring the availability of vouchers, what further steps are the British Government taking to encourage international partners to provide a level of resource needed by the United Nations to meet the humanitarian crisis?
Given the right hon. Gentleman’s previous job, I know that this is a matter that is close to him as well. As I have said, I raised that issue in meetings with the United Nations representatives both in Lebanon and in Jordan. I was assured that, for the moment, the funding streams are in place. It might be helpful if I get a colleague from DFID to write to him with an update.
In these exchanges, we have already heard of the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Jordan. Beyond the very welcome humanitarian support that is being provided to refugees in Jordan and the Lebanon, what specific additional support is being provided to Jordan to maintain stability within that country given that a significant number of refugees are not in camps such as Zaatari, but with host populations?
In these exchanges, we have already heard of the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Jordan. Beyond the very welcome humanitarian support that is being provided to refugees in Jordan and the Lebanon, what specific additional support is being provided to Jordan to maintain stability within that country given that a significant number of refugees are not in camps such as Zaatari, but with host populations?
We are adopting a number of initiatives to support a country that has already been described as being very, very close to Britain. The Secretary of State has met his counterpart to look at improvements to the security situation, and I have visited Zaatari, the biggest refugee camp. We are not simply pouring money into the area, but funding support for the local towns that feel the burden of having large numbers of Syrians coming into their area. We are providing support to the
Jordanian towns in the area as well so that they do no feel so burdened with what is happening in the north part of Jordan.
I have written to the Foreign Secretary raising the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for the content of his blog. I am still awaiting a reply. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned the importance of effective channels of communication to the Saudis. Does that include him? Would he tell the House whether he has raised this matter directly with the Saudi Government?
I have written to the Foreign Secretary raising the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for the content of his blog. I am still awaiting a reply. Earlier, the Foreign Secretary mentioned the importance of effective channels of communication to the Saudis. Does that include him? Would he tell the House whether he has raised this matter directly with the Saudi Government?
As I said earlier, we deplore this punishment—we deplore the use of corporal punishment in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere—but we have found in the past that the best way of influencing Saudi behaviour is to message them privately through the many channels available to us. The deputy Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia—the Foreign Minister is undergoing medical treatment—will be in London on Thursday, and I shall speak to him directly on this issue. We have already made our views known to the Saudi authorities at the highest level.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met Dr Husn Banu Ghazanfar, the Afghan Minister for Women's Affairs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met Dr Husn Banu Ghazanfar, the Afghan Minister for Women's Affairs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next expects the Friends of Syria Group to meet.
The Core Group of the Friends of Syria countries (UK, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and United Arab Emirates – also known as the London 11) meets at regular intervals at both senior official and ministerial level. The UK is a leading member and the group most recently met at senior official level on 10 November 2014 in London. There are currently no fixed plans for a next meeting but the group will reconvene when it is appropriate to do so. The group remains committed to helping end the long-running Syrian crisis.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what requests the UK has received for additional support from the Kurdistan regional government.
The UK remains committed to the stability and security of Iraq. To date we have provided substantial support to the Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities to combat the ISIL threat, including airstrikes, Intelligence, surveillance and targeting support, training and lethal and non-lethal military equipment.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) submit formal requests for assistance to the international coordination cell in Erbil, the Organisation for Security Cooperation Iraq (OSC-I), on a weekly basis.
We continue to look at ways in which we can support Kurdish forces, in coordination with the federal government of Iraq, and consider additional requests for equipment or training as they are received.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the interception of Russian aircraft by NATO forces over the Baltic.
The UK has made no direct representations to the government of Russia on this issue. We strongly support recent comments made by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General Stoltenberg calling on Russia to obey the norms of international air traffic. On 2 December NATO Foreign Ministers also agreed on the need to maintain contact through NATO/Russia military channels to help ensure that Russian military flights, or naval activities, do not give rise to unintended accidents or escalation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes his Department is planning to the number of its staff based in Afghanistan.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what changes his Department is planning to the number of its staff based in Afghanistan.
The total number of UK civilian staff in Afghanistan, excluding security and logistics personnel, will reduce from approximately 180 staff at present to approximately 110 staff by 2015.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Hadi al-Bahra on the humanitarian situation in Kobane.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Hadi al-Bahra on the humanitarian situation in Kobane.
We had regular discussions with Hadi al-Bahra, while he was President of the Syrian National Coalition, most notably through the UK Special Representative for Syria. The UK Special Representative last met President al-Bahra on 18 December. I held detailed discussions with President al-Bahra on the situation in Syria when they met in London on 10 November 2014. All of these discussions covered the humanitarian situation throughout the whole of Syria as well as UK support to the Syrian opposition and the wider political process.
The Department for International Development have already responded to the urgent needs of Syrian refugees that have fled from Kobane to Turkey, by working with the relevant authorities and our partners to provide mattresses, non-food items and shelter for distribution to the most needy families. We stand ready to respond positively should further aid be needed.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security situation around Mount Sinjar.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security situation around Mount Sinjar.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps at an EU-level to increase the size of the sanctions regime against Russia in response to the security situation in Ukraine.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps at an EU-level to increase the size of the sanctions regime against Russia in response to the security situation in Ukraine.
As the Prime Minister made clear to President Putin at the G20 meeting in Brisbane, unless Russia follows through on its obligations, and we see real progress towards peace in Ukraine, with full respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, additional sanctions could be imposed. We are working with partners on contingency plans for that eventuality.
Sanctions are an important element in the range of diplomatic measures we are undertaking to effect a change in Russia’s behaviour. EU sanctions against Russia are regularly reviewed. Most recently, on 18 December, the Council of the European Union expanded the scope of sanctions in Crimea and Sevastopol, and on 4 December sectoral sanctions against Russian companies were revised.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of EU-wide sanctions on Russia's policy towards Ukraine.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of EU-wide sanctions on Russia's policy towards Ukraine.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with the EU's new High Representative for Foreign Affairs on other EU member states' contribution towards the fight against ISIL in Iraq.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has held with the EU's new High Representative for Foreign Affairs on other EU member states' contribution towards the fight against ISIL in Iraq.
I have regular discussions with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs on the EU’s strategy to tackle ISIL, both bilaterally and directly in EU meetings. Conclusions of EU meetings are available on EU websites.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Minsk Protocol by all parties to the agreement.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implementation of the Minsk Protocol by all parties to the agreement.
We are concerned by continued breaches of the ceasefire which was agreed in Minsk on 5 September and urge all parties to implement the Minsk Protocol in full so peace and stability can return to eastern Ukraine. Russia’s actions - troop movements, further convoys without the permission of the Ukrainian government, and Russia’s respect for the results of illegitimate separatist elections - are unacceptable. These actions have increased tensions in Ukraine and further call into question the sincerity of Russia’s commitment to de-escalate tensions and fulfill commitments they made in Minsk and elsewhere.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed the conflict against ISIL with representatives of the Kurdistan regional government.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed the conflict against ISIL with representatives of the Kurdistan regional government.
My officials in Erbil, Baghdad and London discuss the conflict against ISIL with representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on a regular basis.
I last discussed this issue with KRG representatives during my visit to Erbil on 13 October in meetings with both KRG President Masoud Barzani and KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
The Minister for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed this issue with the Head of the KRG’s Department for Foreign Relations, Mr Falah Mustafa, on Thursday 11 December.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the Syrian opposition to assist delivery of essential services.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to the Syrian opposition to assist delivery of essential services.
In the current financial year, the UK has allocated £27 million of non-humanitarian aid to support the work of the National Coalition and Interim Government, local councils, non-government organisations, civil society, media and human rights activists in Syria. We are providing a range of support to Syrians to help save lives, bolster civil society, counter extremism, promote human rights and accountability, deliver basic governance and help lay the foundations for a more peaceful and inclusive future for Syria.
As part of this, in the past 12 months the Government has provided £2.3 million in support for local governance in opposition-controlled areas in Syria. This funding has enabled the training of local officials to help them ensure the provision of essential services to ordinary Syrians in their towns and villages, including vital infrastructure repair and rehabilitation projects which meet the needs of local people. We plan for this project to continue for at least one more year. The UK is committed to helping the Syrian people who continue to suffer after more than three years of conflict.