Every parliamentary written question tabled by Mark Pritchard this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–31 of 31 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the new government of Syria on including women in senior roles in the (a) government, (b) judiciary, (c) peace and reconciliation dialogue, (
In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women and minorities.Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discus...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the new government of Syria on protecting the human rights of (a) Muslim minorities and (b) Christian minorities.
The FCDO has consistently underlined the importance of protecting all civilians, including religious and ethnic minorities, publicly and in our engagement with regional and international partners. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jor...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to re-open the British Embassy in Syria.
Currently, there are no plans to reopen our embassy in Damascus. We will keep this under review.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with YouTube on its policy on (a) advertising and (b) monetisation by Russian opposition supporters on its platform.
The Government stands in solidarity with Russian independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists who continue their work, including online, at great personal risk. We condemn the Russian authorities' use of repressive legislati...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support the release of Ukrainian civilians taken hostage by the Russian military who are not subject to the military prisoner exchange programme
The UK consistently draws attention to Russia's abhorrent actions in Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions of civilians. In the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, alongside other participating states, we have invoked the Moscow Mechani...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with Apple on its reported removal of apps linked to Russian opposition supporters from its Russian app store.
The UK Government condemns the Russian authorities' use of censorship to punish political opposition, repress anti-war sentiment and clamp down on freedom of expression online. The UK has raised Russia's use of repressive legislation to maintain a climate...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with his international partners to help protect Hazara communities in Afghanistan.
The Government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected, including those of Hazara communities, most recently in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September. We condemn recent attacks against Hazaras. In line ...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will join his EU counterparts in making representations to the Russian Federation over the construction of a naval base in Abkhazia.
We have repeatedly condemned Russia's illegal military presence and the Russification of Abkhazia, including through the proposed Russian naval base at Ochamchire, most recently in a UN Security Council Statement on the 16th Anniversary of Russia's invasion of Georgia. The UK fully supports Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty, including over the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in the face of continued hybrid aggression from Russia.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve access to (a) clean drinking water and (b) sanitation in fragile and conflict affected states and regions.
The UK is committed to improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for people in the developing world. The FCDO WASH programmes that are in fragile and conflict affected states including in Chad, DRC, Ethiopia and Mozambique. One example is the £18.5 million 4-year WASH Systems for Health program which works with governments and stakeholders to strengthen the planning, finance, management and accountability systems to improve water and sanitation services. We are also providing UNICEF with £6.25 million over 4 years to strengthen the capacity of governments to provide climate resilient WASH services in countries including fragile and conflict-affected states.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that companies that (a) manage and (b) insure the shipping of liquefied natural gas are compliant with the UK's sanctions against Russia.
The UK has taken extensive action to limit Russian energy revenues, including prohibiting the import of Russian liquid natural gas (LNG) and an export ban on energy-related goods to target Russia's longer-term LNG production. The new Government is committed to rigorously enforcing our sanctions, cracking down on those who seek to circumvent them, and to working with partners to constrain Russian revenue which is supporting Putin's illegal war in Ukraine.We took robust action against Russia's "shadow fleet", alongside allies, at the European Political Community, and will continue to explore further options to strengthen our sanctions regime and enforcement, including in the energy sector.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce famine in Sudan.
The conflict in Sudan has created a manmade humanitarian disaster with 8.5 million people facing emergency or famine conditions, more than Gaza, South Sudan, Mali, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan combined. This financial year, UK bilateral ODA to Sudan will increase to £92 million. UK support is being delivered through the UN and other trusted partners, and is providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter. The UK continues to pursue all diplomatic avenues to press the warring parties into a permanent ceasefire, allow unrestricted humanitarian access, protect civilians and commit to a sustained and meaningful peace process.