Topical Questions 2025-01-14
2025-01-14
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Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Nepal is experiencing severe impacts of climate change, including floods causing over 200 deaths in Kathmandu last year.
I welcome the progress made by COP29 in Baku and the Government’s leadership on climate change. Nepal is at the sharp end of dealing with climate change—late last year, there were 200 deaths from floods in Kathmandu. What are the Government doing to support that nation, which has been a partner and a friend to the UK over many years?
My hon. Friend will be pleased that we announced a £38.5 million resilience, adaption and inclusion programme so that Nepal could deal with disaster risk. That follows £58.5 million for climate-smart development over an eight-year programme. Our relationship with Nepal, particularly on the climate issue, is essential and very important.
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Q2
Direct Answer
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Negotiations with Mauritius over the future of the Chagos Islands and a base at Diego Garcia are ongoing.
Can the Foreign Secretary explain why he is surrendering the Chagos Islands and front-loading payments to the Government of Mauritius to lease back a base at Diego Garcia at a cost of £9 billion to UK taxpayers? If that is such a good deal, why is he so secretive about it?
I know that the shadow Foreign Secretary is new to the job, but I remind her that her Government did 10 rounds of negotiations on this issue and we picked it up, and that the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon believe that it is a good deal, as do the Indian Government.
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Q3
Direct Answer
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Sanctions on Syria are under review following recent developments.
To follow up on the previous question, I am grateful to the Minister for coming to the event that I hosted for the Syrian diaspora yesterday. He will know that they are very keen to support their homeland to rebuild. Will Ministers look at ways to change the sanctions to ensure that ordinary citizens can send back remittances to help rebuild crumbling public services?
I thank my hon. Friend for the question and for his long-standing work on Syria issues. I was very glad to join him and so many inspiring members of Syrian civil society who are keen to make a contribution. We will do what we can to enable the new Syria to be a success and to enable Syrian civil society here and across the world to play their full role in that.
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Q4
Direct Answer
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There is concern about Russia's influence on elections in Georgia, Moldova, Romania, and potentially Germany.
There is strong evidence that Russia has sought to influence the outcome of elections in Georgia, Moldova and Romania, and it may now be doing so in Germany. Is the Foreign Secretary confident that the current measures to track Russian money and misinformation in the UK is sufficient to protect the UK from similar interference, and does he think that the role of Russian money in funding UK political parties should be investigated to ensure that our elections remain free and fair?
The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the important work of the defending democracy taskforce, which works across Government here in the United Kingdom. We closely monitor developments in other countries; we have stood alongside our European partners, including Moldova specifically, in response to these efforts at interference; and of course, we recently appointed Margaret Hodge as our illicit finance and kleptocracy champion, to tackle many of the issues the hon. Gentleman has raised in relation to money.
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Q5
Direct Answer
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Imran Khan has been imprisoned in Pakistan, raising concerns about human rights abuses.
It is now over a year since Imran Khan was imprisoned in Pakistan. Since then, there have been reports of widespread intimidation and human rights abuses. Can the Minister set out what steps the UK Government are taking to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan?
The UK Government consistently urge Pakistani authorities to act in line with their international obligations and respect fundamental freedoms and human rights. I raised these issues during my visit to Pakistan in November and in my statement to the House on 28 November. We issued a further statement on 23 December about the role of military courts. We have made it clear that the UK supports individuals’ rights to freedom of assembly and expression, and we will continue to do so.
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Q6
Partial Answer
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Mr Paul Foster referenced his recent trip to Kosovo where he met with President and Prime Minister, who expressed serious concerns about incursions across their northern border.
While I was in Kosovo, I met the President and the Prime Minister, who were seriously concerned about incursions across their northern border. Can Ministers please provide a progress update as to the bilateral security agreement between Kosovo and the United Kingdom?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right about our historical role and responsibilities in relation to Kosovo. KFOR makes a vital contribution to maintaining a safe and secure environment in Kosovo, and of course UK troops play a key part in that. We engage very closely with our partners in Kosovo and across the region, and continue to urge Serbia and Kosovo to engage constructively in the EU-facilitated dialogue. In recent months, I have spoken to both Prime Minister Kurti and Foreign Minister Đurić of Serbia.
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Q7
Partial Answer
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The Israeli Government stated that their presence in the Golan heights buffer zone is defensive, limited and temporary. Israel's Cabinet has approved a financial package to increase the number of illegal settlements.
Given that the Israeli Cabinet has recently approved a financial package to increase the number of illegal settlements in the Golan heights, what assessment has the Secretary of State made of the veracity of Israel’s statement?
My hon. Friend will be pleased that I raised this issue directly with the Israeli Foreign Minister yesterday. He wanted to emphasise that this is a temporary measure in Israel’s national interests, and I emphasised that the Syrian Foreign Minister had made it clear to me that the Syrians stand by the 1974 commitment and do not want to seek any escalation with their Israeli neighbour.
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Q8
Partial Answer
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Alaa Abd el-Fattah is in prison, his mother Laila has gone beyond 100 days on hunger strike.
Will the Foreign Secretary update us on the representations that he and the Prime Minister have made to the President of Egypt to secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah? His mother Laila, who is with us in the Gallery today, has gone beyond 100 days on hunger strike.
I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Prime Minister wrote to President Sisi on 26 December and 8 January. The National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, was in Egypt on 2 January, and I met the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. This remains our No. 1 issue.
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Q9
Partial Answer
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Women's rights have been under assault since the Taliban’s return to power, barring them from attending school and university.
What pressure are the UK Government putting on the Taliban to ensure that women and girls can go back to school?
I agree with the hon. Lady. We are deeply concerned by the appalling erosion of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, and we are seeking to use every avenue to exert pressure. I remind the House that on 9 January I announced that the UK had formally joined the list of countries pledging political support to the initiative to refer Afghanistan to the International Court of Justice for violations of the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
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Q10
Partial Answer
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The ICJ has issued an advisory opinion regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Will Ministers update the House on the implementation of the advisory opinion from the ICJ on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, particularly in relation to the consequences for the UK and other nation states?
We continue to consider the advisory opinion of the ICJ carefully. It is a far-reaching opinion that took months in the production, and we hope to be able to report back soon.
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Q11
Direct Answer
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Jagtar Singh Johal has been detained in India for over seven years. The Secretary of State and his ministerial team have provided assistance to resolve the situation.
My constituent Jagtar Singh Johal has been in arbitrary detention in India for more than seven years. The Secretary of State and his ministerial team have been extremely generous with their time and assistance to help resolve the situation, but can I seek the Minister’s assurance that those efforts are ongoing?
Ministers have engaged frankly with counterparts in India on Mr Johal’s case, pushing for faster progress towards a resolution, including the call for an investigation into allegations of torture by the authorities.
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Q12
Direct Answer
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The International Development Association is undergoing a replenishment process. The previous Chancellor added £2.5 billion to the official development assistance budget.
The Government are right to continue the all-party approach to the next International Development Association replenishment of the World Bank, which is extremely good value for taxpayer money. Will the Foreign Secretary press the Treasury to match what the former Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt), did in adding £2.5 billion to the 0.5% official development assistance budget, to help defray some of the costs of first-year asylum seekers, which that budget bears? Otherwise, we will be spending more development money in UK postal districts than in Africa.
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. He understands deeply that under Conservative Governments, we saw those so-called in-donor refugee costs spiralling out of control. The system was not being brought under any kind of coherent plan by previous Governments. Now there is a plan, which is being delivered by the Home Secretary. We are determined to ensure that those costs are brought down.
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