Research Briefing
After a brief period when Myanmar was viewed by the rest of the world as an inspiring 'success story', the country is once again the target of strong international criticism over the Rohingya crisis. This briefing surveys developments since the beginning of 2018.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library research briefing contains a list of commonly-used terms and acronyms that have needed clarification since the United Kingdom voted in the June 2016 EU referendum.
Research Briefing
This paper has been replaced by another Library briefing paper: Disputes over the British Indian Ocean Territory: February 2021 update.
Research Briefing
The EU has over a thousand international agreements with non-EU countries, covering trade, aviation, nuclear co-operation and other issues. These will cease to apply to the UK when it leaves the EU. The Government has identified 157 agreements with non-EU countries that it is seeking in order to replace these arrangements in the event of a no deal Brexit. Some agreements have already been concluded, but engagement is ongoing for most of these and some will not be in place by the scheduled Brexit day of 31 October.
Research Briefing
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was formally adopted by 164 Member States of the United Nations, including the UK, in December 2018. This briefing explains what's in the Compact and its implications for Member States.
Research Briefing
The UK is party to hundreds of international treaties with third states or organisations, many of them on trade, by virtue of its EU membership. To continue to benefit from the advantages of these agreements, the Government has been seeking to replace them in a UK bilateral context. The Government has prioritised trade agreements, but has also agreed replacement agreements covering aviation services and safety, and road transport, for example. But Parliament is not happy about the way the Government is carrying out this 'treaty continuity programme' and Committees in both Houses have called for a greater scrutiny role for Parliament in treaty-making processes. This paper looks at what has been going on and what Parliamentary Committees in both Houses have asked for. It includes a table showing where we are with scrutiny of these treaties and what sort of scrutiny they have undergone, both in their precursor form as EU treaties and currently as replacement treaties.
Research Briefing
This briefing looks in detail at the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and UK and finalised on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU Member State leaders at a special European Council summit on 25 November and the UK Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and around the country. The Agreement was debated at length in Parliament on several occasions and has been voted on three times. But the House of Commons has not endorsed it. A second extension of Article 50 took exit day to 31 October 2019, but once again the UK is faced with the possibility of leaving the EU without an agreement if this agreement or another one is not ratified by the UK and the EU.
Research Briefing
The House of Commons has voted on various options for the future UK-EU relationship in the hope that an agreed UK position may help to break the impasse following the Commons' rejection of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. The Government says it may hold a further Commons vote on future relationship options. What options have been proposed?
Research Briefing
Could the UK unilaterally terminate the Withdrawal Agreement under international law if the Irish backstop, which the Agreement says is intended to be temporary, became permanent? An amendment from Sir Edward Leigh to the Government’s motion in December 2018 on approving the Withdrawal Agreement called for an assurance from the Government that it would terminate the Withdrawal Agreement if the EU refused to agree to removing the backstop at the end of 2021. This note looks at provisions in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties for terminating and denouncing treaties, and arguments about whether these might apply to the Withdrawal Agreement if the Irish backstop were to persist.
Debate Pack
A debate on ‘Opportunities and challenges facing the modern Commonwealth in its 70th year’ has been scheduled for Thursday 7 March 2019 in the Main Chamber. The debate has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee after a representation from James Duddridge MP and David Hanson MP from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Research Briefing
What could happen if the EU and UK negotiators don't agree a withdrawal agreement in time and the UK has to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 without one - and with no framework for future relations either? This paper looks at how such a situation might come about, the constitutional implications for the UK and in some cases for the devolved administrations, and what the impact might be in a range of policy areas.
Research Briefing
For many former Soviet States, proximity to a resurgent Russia has given rise to territorial conflicts and thousands of deaths. This paper looks at the areas of conflict, the causes of the conflicts, Russia's role and international attempts to broker peace.
Research Briefing
This paper looks at the Political Declaration on the Framework for the Future Relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which was agreed by EU leaders on 25 November.
Insight
The UK Government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism in December 2016. Who else has adopted it and is it legally binding?
Research Briefing
The Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 makes provision for nuclear safeguards after the UK leaves Euratom. This Briefing Paper discusses the background to and content of the Bill, and details the Bill's progression through the legislative process.
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