Topical Questions

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

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.

Answer from The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)

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.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

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.

Answer from The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)

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.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)

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.

Answer from David Lammy (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)

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.

Answer from David Lammy (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)

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.

Answer from David Lammy (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)

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.

Answer from Anneliese Dodds (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)

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.

Answer from Falconer (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)

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.

Answer from Catherine West

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.

Answer from Anneliese Dodds

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.