Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

The UK is a long-term supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). We recognise UNRWA's unique mandate from the UN General Assembly, to provide protection and core services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review. Full budgets will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts.

The FCDO received around 50,000 calls on our consular emergency lines between 11 August - 26 September, many on behalf of Afghans rather than British Nationals. Since 20 August, the average wait time was less than one minute. Since the Afghanistan crisis began, the FCDO alone have received 240,000 emails, sent to a number of our email addresses. FCDO along with the Home Office and the MOD, are working to assess cases raised in them as quickly as possible. We have processed the 30,000 emails from MPs sent on Afghanistan, including information about cases, that were received before 11 September and replied to all 650 Members so that we can focus on repatriation. We are replying to Members' correspondence after 12 September in the usual way. Of the remaining 210,000 emails, after much analysis and deduplication, we have identified more than 60,000 individual email originators and sent a response to all of them, including how to find information and support.

UK Syria sanctions carefully target the Assad regime and its cronies, not the civilian population. Sanctions are imposed for specific purposes. They play an indispensable role in countering breaches of international law, proliferation, staunching the flow of arms into war zones, combatting human rights abuses, and targeting spoilers of peace processes. The UK does not sanction medicine, medical equipment or medical assistance, and items required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are not subject to direct restrictions on export, supply, financing or use in Syria. To further guard against unintentional humanitarian impact, UK sanctions provide for a range of exceptions, in order not to obstruct humanitarian activity, or export of medicines or other humanitarian goods.

As the third largest bilateral donor to the Syria Crisis, the UK is at the forefront of the international response, helping those most in need and encouraging the wider international humanitarian response to do the same. To date, the UK has committed over £3.7 billion in response to the regional Syria Crisis, our largest humanitarian response. In financial year 2020/21, UK Aid helped deliver 11,077 food rations, 552,496 people with clean drinking water, 202,004 vaccines, 133,367 relief packages, 1,350,048 medical consultations and 244,739 pupils with access to formal education, inside Syria. The UK remains a force for good at times of crisis, and we will continue to support the Syrian people.

In its first year, the Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme will welcome up to 5,000 vulnerable Afghans to the UK who have been forced to flee the country, with up to a total of 20,000 over a five-year period. The Afghan citizens' resettlement scheme (ACRS) will provide protection for people at risk identified as in need. We will work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify those we should help. The scheme is not yet open and further details will be announced in due course by the Home Office. For further information on the scheme can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.

The UK Government is concerned about the recent violence directed against Hindu Durga Puja celebrations across various districts in Bangladesh. We engage with the Government of Bangladesh on the importance of freedom of religion or belief, which remains a priority for the UK Government. The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh has publicly expressed his condolences to the victims of the violence and the UK's support for those working for religious tolerance and harmony in Bangladesh and around the world.

All doses used in the UK have been subject to rigorous safety and quality checks, including individual batch testing and physical site inspections, by the medicines regulator, the MHRA. 5 million doses of AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria deployed in the UK were manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. There have been incorrect reports that this is Covishield. This is untrue. No Covishield vaccines have been administered in the UK. All AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria deployed in the UK - regardless of site of manufacture - is the same product and appears on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised this vaccine and we are confident travel should not be affected.

Where there have been isolated instances of confusion about what vaccines have been deployed in the UK, officials have worked closely with other departments and international partners to clarify what vaccines have been deployed in the UK.

There are numerous international Conferences of the Parties (COPs) organised on a range of issues (e.g. Biodiversity COP, Desertification, Chemical Weapons).

The UK's engagement with COPs depends on the specifics of each. The Government has no plans to introduce a set of guidelines for selection criteria for UK delegations. The UK's departure from the EU does not affect that view.

The Government has increased Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) processing and assessment capacity in the past 12 months. This has helped manage the unprecedented surge in ATAS applications - in part due to course deferrals from 2020 - and ensured that the vast majority of applications are processed within advertised timeframes.

The British Embassy in Kathmandu regularly engages with civil society to discuss a wide range of policy priorities, including human rights, climate change, girls' education, and media freedom. The embassy also meets with representatives of faith and belief groups to hear their priorities and any concerns, and is the Chair of the Human Rights Core Group, a network of like-minded diplomatic missions, which discusses concerns related to freedom of religion or belief to drive collective action.

The UK's assessment of the trends on religious and belief tolerance is that there have not been significant recent shifts in intra-community persecution or closure of civil society space. This is due to Nepal's Constitution and legal framework forming part of the peace settlement to bring marginalised communities into Nepal's institutions, related laws being largely upheld by the courts and relevant human rights commissions, and COVID-19 related lockdowns not discriminating between different faiths or beliefs.

At the G7 Leaders' Summit in June 2021, the PM announced that the UK would donate 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the world by June 2022. Of this pledge, at least 80% will be donated through COVAX. This is part of a wider commitment by G7 leaders to provide one billion doses to help vaccinate the world by the end of 2022. We will donate 30 million doses by the end of 2021.

According to Our World in Data, 2.8% of people in low-income countries have so far received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. World Health Organization advises that 26 African countries receiving COVID-19 vaccines have administered two doses to 2% of their populations. The UK is committed to equitable, global access and is working with international partners to increase global supply, including to low-income countries. This includes our £548 million support for COVAX's Advance Market Commitment, which will aim to supply up to 1.8 billion doses to up to 92 low and middle income countries by early 2022. The UK has also committed to share 100 million doses by mid-2022. Over 10 million of these doses have been donated so far.

The Prime Minister committed the UK to donate 100 million doses by June 2022. To date, we have donated 10.5m doses. At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021 the Prime Minister announced that we will be donating a further 20 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine before the end of the year in order to meet our 30 million target. 80% of all our donations will go through COVAX.

The UK Government continues to raise the importance of the return of all prisoners of war and we welcome the most recent return on 19 October. During visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan in February, I urged both parties to work with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to expedite the return of all prisoners of war. In my most recent conversations with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers, on 14 June and 6 September respectively, I raised the importance of the return of all prisoners of war and detainees.

The Government is actively considering its approach to the N4G summit, including any new nutrition commitment, and will update the house following the conclusion of the Spending Review.

The UK Government continues to raise the importance of the protection of all cultural heritage sites with both the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan and is deeply concerned by reports that both parties have destroyed cultural heritage.

The UK will provide £548m to COVAX to finance vaccines for developing countries, in addition the UK has committed to donate 80 million vaccines from the UK supply through COVAX by June 2022. To date, the UK has donated 6.2 million doses through COVAX, which have been delivered to 14 different countries, including Ethiopia, Uganda and Pakistan. To date, COVAX has successfully delivered over 380 million vaccine doses to 144 participants. COVAX works with governments to ensure robust and transparent distribution and reporting plans are in place to monitor equitable distribution and allocation to priority groups in line with National Deployment and Vaccination Plans.

Following Official Development Assistance (ODA) prioritisation exercises undertaken in March 2021, the UK no longer provides direct funding to the Palestinian Authority to support the salaries of education workers and health professionals. This decision was not influenced by the publication of the Georg Eckert Institute's report on Palestinian textbooks published in June 2021. The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring a quality education for Palestinian children, demonstrated by our longstanding support to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and through the British Council.

Between 15 and 29 August, the UK evacuated over 15,000 people from Afghanistan. Approximately 500 of these are special cases of particularly vulnerable Afghans, which includes Chevening scholars and their dependants. Throughout August and September, the Chevening Secretariat has been in regular contact with all Afghan Chevening scholars and their families in the UK, and has been liaising with universities, local authorities and the Home Office to help scholars access support.

As of 18 October £35m has been disbursed. We expect to make an announcement on the next tranche of funding shortly and are working with partners to assess the situation on the ground and develop programmes. We plan to disburse funding by the end of this financial year.

The Government continues to press the Taliban to allow safe passage and to respect human rights, and to work to enable Afghan nationals who were employed by the UK Government, or who were notified by the Government that they were called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, to come to the UK. Further guidance and helplines numbers for British and non-British nationals in Afghanistan are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/support-for-british-and-non-british-nationals-in-afghanistan. This page will be updated when new information is available.

Hon. Members should approach the MoD with enquiries regarding Afghan nationals who might be eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme. The eligibility criteria for the ARAP scheme are set out here, alongside details of how to apply: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy-information-and-guidance.

They should approach the Home Office regarding the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), information on which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.

FCDO provides consular support to British nationals. We encourage all British nationals who remain in Afghanistan to confirm their presence using this form: https://www.register-afghanistan.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/afghanistan-20210828/confirm-your-presence-in-afghanistan-to-fcdo to give us detailed information of those remaining. All British nationals who have correctly registered their details with the FCDO will receive important updates via email.

If constituents' relatives or friends in Afghanistan are not British nationals and are not otherwise eligible to come to the UK, then there is a limit to what the British Government can do for them as individuals. The Government is committed to supporting Afghanistan and we will use every diplomatic and economic lever at our disposal to restore stability to Afghanistan.

We continue to work closely with international partners on possible flight options to help British Nationals and their dependents to safely leave Afghanistan. Since the end of the evacuation, more than 100 British Nationals and dependents have been able to leave on seven Qatari Government charter flights. We hope more British nationals will be able to make use of this route out of Afghanistan. We will also facilitate relocation, from third countries if possible, for those British Nationals and their eligible dependents.

As the former Foreign Secretary stated on 11 December 2020, the UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined. The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We regularly discuss the situation in Western Sahara with international partners and with the parties, encouraging them to re-engage with the UN-led political process and the new UN Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

The UK has consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to sustain their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara and in the Tindouf camps. We support UN-led efforts to achieve a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

The UK is clear that the application of the UK-Morocco Association Agreement is without prejudice to our position on the status of Western Sahara, which we regard as undetermined. The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

The UK fully supports UN-led efforts, as made clear in UNSCR 2548, to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. We have regular discussions with the UN, both in New York and in the region, as well as with the parties regarding the situation in Western Sahara. We welcome the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy to Western Sahara and encourage the parties to make the most of this opportunity for a renewed political process.

Russia is a FCDO human rights priority country and we remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for civil society in Russia, including the treatment of NGOs. The UK stands by those who defend human rights, and we will continue to make our concerns clear in bilateral interactions with the Russian government. I visited Memorial's offices in November 2020 to learn more about their important work preserving the memories of the victims of Soviet repression and promoting the role of civil society. We regularly call on Russia to uphold its international commitments on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, including in the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

The UK has expressed its solidarity with our French partners, following the Belarusian authorities' unilateral decision to withdraw the accreditation granted to the French Ambassador on 31 August 2020. This is the latest in a series of steps taken against the diplomatic community in Belarus. The UK will continue to work alongside our international partners in support of the Belarusian people and of a lasting solution to the political crisis.

Over the next 3 years the UK's demining work will continue to save lives across the world. The Global Mine Action Programme 3 (GMAP3), due to begin in 2022, will involve landmine clearance and risk education to help affected communities keep safe and capacity development for national authorities to help them manage their landmine contamination.

As one of the founding signatories to the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and a leading supporter of mine action, the UK will also continue to work towards ending the use of landmines and cluster munitions. The UK has now taken on the Presidency of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and will use its leadership role to encourage more states to sign and implement this important treaty.

Our Human Rights and Democracy reports from 2018 to 2020 state that we provided consular assistance to 2,335, 2,193 and 1,985 cases of British nationals who had been detained overseas. In 2017 the figure was not included in the report but was 2,338.

The Human Rights and Democracy reports are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/human-rights-and-democracy-reports.

Data on new cases of detention is also available each month and for each year here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/consular-data

As the former Foreign Secretary said on 18 June 2020, there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the merger between FCO and DFID.

However, like all Government departments, the FCDO is currently reviewing its operating costs ahead of the next Spending Review to ensure we have the right capabilities to deliver on our international priorities as set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

We condemn any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence, and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice. We also continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, in particular the need to protect children, and urge restraint in the use of live fire.

The Government is deeply concerned about the systematic human rights violations being perpetrated in Xinjiang, including disturbing reports of torture of Uyghur Muslims. We have led international efforts to hold China to account for its actions, leading the first two statements on Xinjiang at the UN and utilising our diplomatic network to raise the issue up the international agenda. In March, the UK announced sanctions against four Chinese officials and an entity responsible for the egregious human rights violations taking place. In January, the Government also announced a series of measures to help ensure that British organisations are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in the region. We will continue to take robust action, including by raising our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities.

We have not made this assessment. The UK will continue to monitor UNRWA's implementation of its curriculum framework to ensure UNRWA's educational materials, including those on the digital learning platform, are in line with UN values. We accompany our support for UNRWA with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to any educational materials.

The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has not spoken to counterparts about the desecration and destruction of Jewish Burial sites. We do, however, remain committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities.

We are taking forward relevant recommendations in the research study undertaken by the Department for International Development: "Value for Money Investment in People to People Programming in Israel and Palestine". A just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. The recommendations of the research report are already being incorporated into other UK peacebuilding programmes.

We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.

We have been clear that incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable from all parties. We will continue to raise concerns about this with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and continue to urge all parties to condemn incitement wherever and whenever it occurs.

The Georg Eckert Institute, who were commissioned by the EU to undertake a review into Palestinian textbooks published the final report on 18 June 2021. The review is publicly accessible on their website: http://www.gei.de/en/departments/knowledge-in-transition/analysis-of-palestinian-textbooks-paltex.html

We are taking forward relevant recommendations in the research study undertaken by the Department for International Development: "Value for Money Investment in People to People Programming in Israel and Palestine". A just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue. The recommendations of the research report are already being incorporated into other UK peacebuilding programmes.

The UK warmly welcomed the normalisation agreements between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Sudan. These are historic steps which see the normalisation of relations between friends of the UK. The United Kingdom will continue to encourage further dialogue between Israel and other countries in the region, to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

The FCDO's programme spend is publicly available on devtracker. UK funding to the Palestinian Authority since 2016 to support the salaries of carefully vetted teachers and education workers is available here: https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-1-300050/transactions

We fully support the UN-led peace process in Yemen and urge the parties to engage constructively with the new UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg. UK Ministers and officials engage with their international and regional counterparts on Yemen regularly and use the monthly briefings to the UNSC to encourage efforts towards a political solution, deliver further economic support and bring an end to the humanitarian suffering. On 22 July I met UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator David Gressly to discuss the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and on 17 August, I offered the UK's continued support to the new UN Special Envoy in a call. On 22 September the Minister for Asia delivered a speech at the Yemen humanitarian side event at the UN General Assembly to urge parties to the conflict to come to the negotiating table and to call on all states to release humanitarian funding commitments promptly.

We understand the difficulties faced by British Nationals wishing to travel to China due to the current restrictions on entry linked to the COVID pandemic. The former Foreign Secretary raised this issue in his last call with his Chinese counterpart on 19 August, including requesting a resumption of direct UK-China flights. Officials continue to discuss this and related issues with the Chinese authorities in London and in Beijing. The Government supports the strengthening of people to people links between the UK and China.

The Government has been clear that that the Taliban regime will be judged by its actions not its words. We agree with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that the situation requires a coordinated international approach and the Government has been working hard to achieve this.