Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-09-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Hungary about the use of tear gas and water cannon on those seeking asylum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK expects all EU Member States to meet their obligations to comply with international standards including with regards to the fundamental values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, in the same way they have this expectation of us. The British Government recognises that Hungary has received the second highest number of asylum claims of any EU Member State this year to June, reaching unprecedented levels. We continue to follow closely the situation in Hungary and other Central European countries regarding the arrival of unprecedented numbers of people seeking entry and, often, passage onwards. Staff at our Embassy in Budapest have visited the border with Serbia and reception centres and have also met with Hungarian officials. More broadly as the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has stated, the UK and its EU partners must pursue a comprehensive approach which addresses the causes of the migration problem as well as the consequences.