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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Jordanian, (b) Egyptian, (c) Saudia Arabian counterparts and (d) the Palestinian Authority on the removal of reported antisemitic ideology from national curriculums.

Asked by
Siobhan Baillie (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
27 March 2020
Reference
32290
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel about the reported (1) expulsion of students from, and (2) confiscation of, a container classroom in Susya, Palestine.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
12 March 2020
Reference
HL2104
House
House of Lords

Motion, That this House has considered radicalisation in the Palestinian school curriculum. Agreed to on question.

Lead member
Jonathan Gullis
Answering member
James Cleverly
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Debates
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc51-76WH
House
House of Commons

I apologise for not being here at the start of the debate; I too was at a Select Committee hearing. Given that this has been an issue for 19 years, what faith does the Minister genuinely have that the Palestinian Authority will investigate the matter properly?

Member
Dan Poulter (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c74WH
House
House of Commons

Thank you, Sir Charles.

The simple truth is that we have to work with the Palestinian Authority. We have to encourage and support them to do the right thing, but ultimately a sustainable two-state solution will have to be negotiated between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority. Although there may...

Member
James Cleverly (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c74WH
House
House of Commons

I am a committed believer in having a UK aid budget that will make a massive difference. However, I cannot escape the fear that, although we might be not paying for textbooks directly, we are somehow freeing up cash within the Palestinian Authority education system to fund the textbooks being...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc74-5WH
House
House of Commons

I join my hon. Friends in thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) for securing today’s debate; it is right for the House to consider this important motion. By considering the worrying levels of radicalisation in Palestinian schools today, we are supporting the peace brokers of...

Member
Peter Gibson (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc65-6WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing the debate and allowing us the opportunity to highlight this important issue. I, too, want to refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, with reference to trips to Israel.

My hon. Friend mentioned...

Member
John Howell (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc66-7WH
House
House of Commons

Shalom.

Member
John Howell (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c67WH
House
House of Commons

Thank you, Sir Charles; colleagues will be glad to know that I will come nowhere near 10 minutes. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in my first Westminster Hall debate.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on having brought this important subject before the...

Member
Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc67-8WH
House
House of Commons

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Charles. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing his first debate. He started with a tough subject, for which I admire him. Like other right hon. and hon. Members, I declare an interest as I...

Member
Alex Norris (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc68-70WH
House
House of Commons

I am always respectful to other hon. Members, but if an evidential base proves that the money has been used for ulterior motives, which is wrong, surely that cannot be ignored.

Member
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c69WH
House
House of Commons

No, absolutely. This is a case where 97% or 99% compliance will not give hon. Members or people worldwide much confidence. Of course, 1% is too much, but that is the basis to start from. We need to start from the evidence base, which is why we need the report.

Member
Alex Norris (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c69WH
House
House of Commons

I want to be clear that I understand my hon. Friend’s point. Earlier, he criticised the IMPACT-se study and said that he would like a more objective study, which is why we should wait. I am happy with that, but surely the impressionistic view that has been given to him,...

Member
Lord McCabe (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c69WH
House
House of Commons

I am grateful for the intervention. On the IMPACT-se point, those were not my words, but the words of the then Minister. On UNRWA, I take the point that we need to see it in the round, but I do not see UNRWA as a particularly politicised operator, and it...

Member
Alex Norris (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c69WH
House
House of Commons

Surely that is exactly the point. UNRWA should act quickly to address all the concerns and issues that have been raised. All hon. Members want aid to reach people who are desperately in need, but at the same time, they do not want aid to be used counterproductively or in...

Member
Lisa Cameron (Scottish National Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c69WH
House
House of Commons

Absolutely. I am sure the staff of UNRWA do not want to be in classrooms teaching such things either. We have common cause here—we need to look at the evidence, because what we need to do will flow from that.

It is important that we look at the wider context. We...

Member
Alex Norris (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c71WH
House
House of Commons

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Charles. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing this debate and speaking so passionately. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. It is quite clear that this issue generates significant interest and...

Member
James Cleverly (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc71-2WH
House
House of Commons

It is good news that the Palestinian Minister is undertaking a review. Have we also got an assurance that any textbooks that are found to be wrong, in every sense of the word, will be withdrawn and not used in the next academic year? That is the point.

Member
Jonathan Lord (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c73WH
House
House of Commons

The short answer is that we do not have an absolute guarantee, but as in so much of the work that we do with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, human interaction, persuasion and good old-fashioned diplomacy can bring about change, and that is what we seek to do in our...

Member
James Cleverly (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c73WH
House
House of Commons

I apologise for not being present for the start of the debate; I had a Select Committee meeting that clashed. I first raised this issue with a parliamentary question in the European Parliament 19 years ago. Why has the problem not been fixed?

Member
Theresa Villiers (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c73WH
House
House of Commons

I detect in the tone of my right hon. Friend’s question her frustration at the delay in resolving some of these problems. She is far from alone in feeling frustration that the peace process in the middle east has not progressed as quickly as we would like, but we are...

Member
James Cleverly (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c73WH
House
House of Commons

I think the question that we all have in mind is this: is there not a suitable methodology within the system? It is good to provide money for Palestinian children’s education, and I understand the logic behind that. What I do not understand is how we check that. How does...

Member
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c74WH
House
House of Commons

I recognise the hon. Member’s point. We absolutely recognise that this is an imperfect situation, but we are working with the Palestinian Authority, as we will continue to do, to reinforce and support moves to improve textbooks. My hon. Friend the Member for Bury South (Christian Wakeford) pointed out that...

Member
James Cleverly (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c74WH
House
House of Commons

I beg to move,

That this House has considered radicalisation in the Palestinian school curriculum.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard.

I am grateful to be leading my first Westminster Hall debate on such an important and timely subject. I am delighted to see so many Members present,...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c51WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. Like him, I took advantage of one of the fact-finding trip organised by Conservative Friends of Israel in 2015, when I was first elected. The trip took in both Palestine and Israel, and while I was there we heard about...

Member
Craig Tracey (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c52WH
House
House of Commons

I could not agree more. When I walked around the streets of Jerusalem, I saw Jew and Arab side by side, living peacefully together with the Christian community. There is indeed an appetite among the people of Palestine and the people of Israel to live side by side in peace....

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c52WH
House
House of Commons

Mr George Bradford, a constituent of mine, works hard to raise awareness about extremist teaching in Palestinian schools. I met him here in Parliament last week. Does my hon. Friend agree that such awareness-raising has a valuable role as part of wider debates such as this one?

Member
Andrew Lewer (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c52WH
House
House of Commons

I agree absolutely. We must ensure that we raise awareness of this issue. It is sad that has taken a Daily Mail report to bring this matter to the public eye on a wider scale in the United Kingdom. We must do more to bring it to the world’s attention....

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c52WH
House
House of Commons

I could not agree more with my right hon. Friend. One reason why I wanted to secure the debate is that two years is absolutely too long. We need to ensure that UK aid money—UK taxpayers’ hard-earned money—is used appropriately, for aid and support and not to promote violence and...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c54WH
House
House of Commons

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Debate and concerns raised in this place about this issue go back more than two years—check the parliamentary record. For five years-plus, concerns have been consistently

raised by Members from various parties about the use of discriminatory and inciteful language in textbooks...

Member
Stephen Crabb (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c54WH
House
House of Commons

I agree completely that this has been going on for far too long. Warwick University’s vice-chancellor has failed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. That is an absolute abomination. UK textbooks, including those produced by Pearson, contained material that had to be removed. It is bad...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c55WH
House
House of Commons

The hon. Gentleman brings a lot of legitimate concerns to the House. On the timing and the immediacy of this debate, he will be aware that the Georg Eckert Institute is investigating this issue for the European Union, and the report is due in a couple of weeks’ time. I...

Member
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c55WH
House
House of Commons

I agree that the report will be extremely important, and along with many other Members I look forward to reading its lessons and how we can make progress. While I and my colleagues may display a lot of passion, I totally take on board those facts and hope that that...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c55WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Like him, I have been to Ramallah in the west bank, and met members of the Palestinian Authority. It worries me that they not only glorify terrorism but financially reward it, paying

monthly salaries to terrorists and their families to the...

Member
Robert Largan (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c55WH
House
House of Commons

My hon. Friend speaks with absolute authority on this subject. It is utterly shameful that money is paid to terrorists who have committed heinous crimes against the people of Israel and foreign nationals in Israel. This problem affects us globally. We absolutely need to ensure that the funding stops, because...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc56-7WH
House
House of Commons

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this important matter to the House today. I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Government should be looking very closely at the psychological impact of these materials on children...

Member
Lisa Cameron (Scottish National Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c57WH
House
House of Commons

I could not agree more. Again, we are seeing vulnerable young children growing up in a world of conflict who already have some sort of psychological damage, just because of the situation and circumstances in which they live. To add on top of that the material seen in these textbooks...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c57WH
House
House of Commons
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c57WH
House
House of Commons

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I declare an interest as the new chair of Labour Friends of Israel, and I refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing...

Member
Lord McCabe (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c58WH
House
House of Commons

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is not good enough for a Government to say, “We do not fund this or that directly,” because while we are giving funds to the Palestinian Authority for one thing, we are releasing funds for them to use for other things and therefore...

Member
Julian Lewis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c58WH
House
House of Commons

I do agree. I suspect that every one of us here supports the aid programme, but we do not support the misuse of the aid programme. I am certainly not here to attack the Minister, but I am here to say that we have to guard our own best interests...

Member
Lord McCabe (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc58-9WH
House
House of Commons

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis), who did a very good job of outlining this concerning and difficult set of issues. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for...

Member
Stephen Crabb (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc59-60WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing the debate. I thank him for the way he set the scene. I am happy to stand with him and other hon. Members on this matter, and to say to the Minister that there must be a change...

Member
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc60-1WH
House
House of Commons

Having enjoyed conversations with the hon. Gentleman, I know that he speaks with years of experience. My stepmother was involved in the peace process in Northern Ireland, using music education to bring the different factions together. Does he agree that Northern Ireland is a good example of how, when peace...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c61WH
House
House of Commons

I agree. In my conversations with the hon. Gentleman prior to this debate we discussed those matters and were clear on what we wish to see. Northern Ireland may be an example, and it is one we use many times. We now have a working Assembly again, so there is...

Member
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc61-2WH
House
House of Commons

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr Pritchard. I draw Members’ attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Along with many other Members, I participated in a fact-finding trip to Israel, paid for by Conservative Friends of Israel, only last month....

Member
Robert Courts (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc62-3WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing this debate, and I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (James Cleverly) on his new role. I, too, refer hon. Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, because I...

Member
Christian Wakeford (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc63-4WH
House
House of Commons

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I declare an interest as a parliamentary officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel, and I have visited Israel with them. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) on securing this debate.

Education is a...

Member
Mary Robinson (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 cc64-5WH
House
House of Commons

Thank you, Mr Pritchard. I apologise, but you can understand the importance of the material that was on display.

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c53WH
House
House of Commons

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the great speech that he is making. Is he aware that in addition to the 31 schools named after terrorists from the Palestinian Authority, three are named after Nazi collaborators? That sends a clear message, not only that killing Israelis is something that children...

Member
Matthew Offord (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c53WH
House
House of Commons

I am aware of that. Such a blatant attempt to stir up racial hatred and bring up what is a very dark history is despicable and disgusting. As one whose step-grandmother was born in Germany in the 1920s, went through an education system under Nazi rule and has lived with...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c53WH
House
House of Commons

The fact that holocaust denial is most prevalent in Gaza and the West Bank compared with elsewhere in the world—standing at around 82% of the population—proves that something is going seriously wrong. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Palestinian education system should seek to promote peace and unity, with...

Member
Nicola Richards (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c53WH
House
House of Commons

I am sure my hon. Friend’s knowledge of that issue is far greater than mine. She has been leading the charge among the new intake of Members of Parliament to ensure that we tackle the scourge of antisemitism, not just in UK society but in the wider world. I could...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c53WH
House
House of Commons

My hon. Friend and I were together on that last trip to Jerusalem. He knows that I try to take a balanced view of the middle east and previously visited the area with a Palestinian charity. Most alarming is that these propaganda books are available to children as young as...

Member
Tim Loughton (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c54WH
House
House of Commons

I remember that trip. When we met members of the Palestinian Authority, including one of the chief negotiators back in the early 1990s, we saw the lack of drive and vision for how to reach a two-state solution. I could not agree more with my hon. Friend and will not...

Member
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c54WH
House
House of Commons

The House of Commons Library briefing shows that, on 1 April 2018, in response to reports about this sort of material, the Department for International Development’s media team stated:

“DFID is planning to conduct a thorough assessment of the Palestinian curriculum and evidence and if we find evidence of material which...

Member
Julian Lewis (Conservative)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
10 March 2020
Reference
673 c54WH
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Kenyan authorities on a reported attack on a school in Kamuthe on 13 January 2020 in which terrorists murdered three Christian teachers.

Asked by
Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
24 February 2020
Reference
14961
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about (1) the punishment of settlers reported to have damaged a Palestinian school in South Nablus, (2) any damages to be paid to the school, and (3) plans for its future protection.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
13 February 2020
Reference
HL1287
House
House of Lords

Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about the stopping of school buses serving villages in the southern Negev region by that government.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
10 February 2020
Reference
HL820
House
House of Lords

Her Majesty's Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Israel about reports of a raid on a school in Deir Nizam on 19 January.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
10 February 2020
Reference
HL819
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to recommend an independent person to mediate between the government of Eritrea and the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim authorities, whose health centres and schools there have recently been seized.

Asked by
Lord Hylton (Crossbench)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
8 October 2019
Reference
HL17913
House
House of Lords

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Cameroonian counterpart on reports of attacks on school children in Ambazonia state; and what support the Government provides to schools in that region.

Asked by
Catherine West (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
9 September 2019
Reference
286818
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2019 to Question 263894 on Israel: Hebron, if he will make representations to the Israeli Government on reports of tear gas canisters being fired at schools in Hebron by Israeli armed forces.

Asked by
Lisa Nandy (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
9 July 2019
Reference
271514
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on reports of Israeli forces firing tear gas canisters into a boys’ school in the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron City on 9 April.

Asked by
Lisa Nandy (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
21 June 2019
Reference
263894
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about the auction of prefabricated classrooms that were confiscated by Israeli forces from a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
17 June 2019
Reference
HL16065
House
House of Lords

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports that prefabricated classrooms in the Occupied Palestinian Territories funded by EU aid have been removed and are to be sold at auction by the Israeli authorities.

Asked by
Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
12 June 2019
Reference
259920
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure that deconflicted (a) hospitals and (b) schools in Yemen are protected from bombing.

Asked by
Richard Burden (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
28 May 2019
Reference
255649
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Mexico about ensuring that teachers and school administrators at all state schools are trained in freedom of religion and belief; and whether they will encourage that government to put in place mechanisms to (1) respond swiftly to cases...

Asked by
Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
7 May 2019
Reference
HL15273
House
House of Lords

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the reported firing of tear gas into an elementary school in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city by Israeli forces on 21 February 2019.

Asked by
Lisa Nandy (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
2 May 2019
Reference
248668
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support an independent investigation into the airstrike on two schools in Sana’a, Yemen on 7 April 2019.

Asked by
Stephen Twigg (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
24 April 2019
Reference
244004
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of whether the airstrike on two schools in Sana’a, Yemen on 7 April 2019 was a legitimate military operation in line with international humanitarian law.

Asked by
Stephen Twigg (Labour; Co-operative Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
24 April 2019
Reference
244005
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about the attempted attack on two elementary schools in Tuqu village by Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli military forces on 26 March.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
10 April 2019
Reference
HL14987
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following reports of the demolition of a school annex in Shufat Refugee Camp, what steps they will take to uphold the rights of Palestinian children to education.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
3 April 2019
Reference
HL14805
House
House of Lords
Laid by
Secretary Jeremy Hunt
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Treaties; Command papers
Date
28 March 2019
Reference
CP 77
House
House of Lords; House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of attacks on schools by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank and the impact of such attacks on Palestinian children and their education.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
6 March 2019
Reference
HL14024
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of Israeli forces using live rounds against schoolchildren who protested those forces invading school grounds; whether they intend to take action in response; if so, what; if not, why not; and whether they have made representations on the...

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
14 February 2019
Reference
HL13542
House
House of Lords

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the closure of a checkpoint south of Jenin, following reports that the closure prevented students from attending school exams.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
28 January 2019
Reference
HL12815
House
House of Lords
Notes
The Agreement was previously published as Panama No. 1 (CM 9539) (2017)
Date
25 October 2018
Reference
Cm. 9711
House
House of Lords; House of Commons

What representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the bombing of a school bus in Yemen by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Asked by
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
906712; 646 cc9-11
House
House of Commons

What representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the bombing of a school bus in Yemen by Saudi-led coalition forces.

Asked by
Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - Lead
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
906718; 646 cc9-11
House
House of Commons

We are deeply concerned by the tragic incident in which so many were killed. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to his Saudi counterpart shortly afterwards and pressed for a quick and transparent investigation, so the recent announcement of the outcome, the coalition’s regret and action to address the recommendations are

important developments. We call on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law, and to engage in the UN-led talks this week to reach a political settlement.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c9
House
House of Commons

It beggars belief that anyone could claim that a school bus travelling through a marketplace crowded with civilians could ever be a legitimate military target, but that is precisely what the Saudi Arabian regime did. Does the Minister now accept that the previous Government policy of leaving Saudi Arabia to investigate its own crimes is not working, and will the Government support the call from the United Nations Human Rights Council for us to refrain from providing arms that could be used in this dreadful conflict?

Asked by
Peter Grant (Scottish National Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

The hon. Gentleman’s concerns are obviously shared by all, but let me draw attention to the fact that the report produced by the Joint Incidents Assessment Team is almost unparalleled in terms of admitting error and pointing out where that error was. I think that the hand of the United Kingdom can be seen in the work that we have done with the coalition over time in order to ensure that should things go wrong, there is proper accountability, and I think that that is what we have seen in the report. Of course we regret the circumstances hugely, but what is most important is for the conflict to come to an end so that we see no more of this.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

As the Minister will know, in the past I have offered help from SNP Members to support the work of Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen. I have also issued a plea for a halt to the bombing and the weapon sales from the UK to Saudi Arabia, and for the envoy to be given space in which to do his work and, indeed, back up some of the great work done by Karen Pierce, our ambassador to the UN, who has asked for a review in the event that an investigation proves flimsy. Why is the Minister tone deaf to those calls? How many more Yemeni children have to die?

Asked by
Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s approach to this and know that he wants Martin Griffiths’s work to succeed. The United Kingdom is not tone deaf to this at all; I draw attention to the detail of the report which sets out the errors that were made and suggests that this would just not have happened some time ago. I am not aware of it happening in parallel with others responsible for humanitarian offences and issues in the region, such as the Houthi; there is no comparison with this. We are not tone deaf; we will continue to work with partners but the most important thing is to give Martin Griffiths that space so that the conflict comes to an end.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

The value of British arms sales to Saudi Arabia surpassed £1billion in the first six months of 2017 alone. Is not one of the most effective diplomatic and political steps the Government can take right now to join other countries such as Germany and Norway and stop selling arms and call for a genuinely independent international inquiry to fully establish culpability?

Asked by
Gill Furniss (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

I understand the force of the question and I think we will be coming to that in detail in a further question, but the short answer is no. The coalition acted in support of a legitimate Government; they are

currently having missiles fired at civilian targets in their own state and I do not see the political justification for withdrawing our arms.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c10
House
House of Commons

Assad has been roundly condemned in this Parliament many times for dropping bombs on schools and hospitals, let alone the barrel bombs, so why are the Saudis getting off lightly in this case when they are acting like barbarians? The Minister should go and tell them that.

Asked by
Ronnie Campbell (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - 1st Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

There is no justification for any breaches of international humanitarian law. It is absolutely essential that it is adhered to, and should errors be made in any bombing, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure that those responsible are called to account, but the way in which there has been a particular response on this is, in my opinion, unparalleled.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

I am pleased the Minister has condemned the latest tragic mistakes made by the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, but what steps is he taking to ensure that we support UN attempts to broker dialogue between the Houthi rebels and the Saudis?

Asked by
Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

The United Kingdom continues to work very closely with all parties to ensure that special envoy Martin Griffiths has the necessary space. We are in constant contact; I spoke to the Deputy Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates yesterday and spoke to the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister just this morning to urge the maximum support for the negotiations, and we have spoken to other parties who have an opportunity to make representations to others involved in the conflict to do exactly the same.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

Last week’s United Nations expert panel report on Yemen completed before the bus bombing of 9 August said that the Saudi coalition was routinely ignoring its own no-strike list of 30,000 civilian sites. Surely that is the very definition of indiscriminate bombing. In light of that, how can the Government continue to claim that there is no clear risk that the arms we sell to Riyadh are being used to violate international humanitarian law?

Asked by
Fabian Hamilton (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Oral questions - Supplementary
Status
Answered
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

The particular report that has been brought forward is not accepted in full by the coalition, and there are some elements of it that the UK does not accept, so we are looking at that more carefully. The important thing is—the hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct on this—that international humanitarian law must be adhered to, but the practices of the coalition that have developed over the conflict to ensure proper investigation should anything go wrong are far more developed than they were. Nobody wants to see such investigations because nobody wants to see the actions that have caused them, and that is the UK position.

Answered by
Alistair Burt (Conservative)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Oral answers to questions
Date
4 September 2018
Reference
646 c11
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the letter from the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 24 April 2018 to schools that participated in the Safe Schools Declaration, what steps he is taking to encourage international partners to endorse...

Asked by
Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
13 July 2018
Reference
161113
House
House of Commons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government is supporting young LGBT+ people in line with the Safe Schools Declaration.

Asked by
Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
12 July 2018
Reference
160696
House
House of Commons

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the threat of demolition by Israeli forces of the EU-funded school in the Bedouin community of Al Muntar.

Asked by
Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
8 May 2018
Reference
HL7194
House
House of Lords

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Burkina Faso on (a) recent attacks by militants on schools and teachers in the north of that country and (b) the subsequent suspension of all school classes in the...

Asked by
Emily Thornberry (Labour)
Answering body
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Date
1 May 2018
Reference
138004
House
House of Commons

My right Honourable Friend, the Secretary for State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Boris Johnson), has made the following written Ministerial statement:

I am today announcing that the UK will endorse the Safe Schools Declaration underlining our political support for the protection of schools during military operations and armed conflict. Furthermore,...

Member
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative)
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written statements
Date
23 April 2018
Reference
HLWS612
House
House of Lords

I am today announcing that the UK will endorse the Safe Schools Declaration underlining our political support for the protection of schools during military operations and armed conflict. Furthermore, the UK will encourage relevant international partners to endorse the Declaration.

The Safe Schools Declaration is a pledge; an assurance from governments...

Member
Boris Johnson (Conservative)
Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Type
Written statements
Date
23 April 2018
Reference
HCWS631
House
House of Commons