Official Development Assistance: Vulnerable Children
Debate between Baroness Anelay of St Johns and Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the impact on vulnerable children of cuts to official development assistance.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)
My Lords, to fund a necessary increase in defence spending, the Government have taken the decision in the current fiscal circumstances to reduce our official development assistance budget. We remain fully committed to tackling global challenges and, as a ratifier of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government will continue to champion the promotion, protection and realisation of children’s rights at home and overseas.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)
My Lords, in welcoming that final commitment, I ask the Minister whether she agrees that children who have access to nutrition, education and health services are the very bedrock on which safe societies and strong economies are built? If so, can she give positive consideration to UNICEF UK’s call this month for the Government to allocate at least 25% of ODA to child-focused programmes, because it considers that that could moderate the impact of the Government’s cuts?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness again and should just say how well regarded she remains in the department; when I saw this Question this morning, there were many kind comments about her. She is absolutely right to remind us of the importance of this, and particularly of nutrition. The UK led the recent Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris compact on the integration of nutrition. We are currently working through the allocations, exactly who will get how much funding and how that will affect our programming, but I thank the noble Baroness for reminding us of the importance of this.
Belarus: Elections
Debate between Baroness Anelay of St Johns and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Anelay of St Johns
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of the elections held in Belarus on 26 January, and what advice, if any, they have given to the Belarusian democratic movement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)
My Lords, the sham presidential election in Belarus on 26 January represented only a self-reappointment of Lukashenko and his regime, which continues to undermine fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms. While it is not for us to advise the Belarusian democratic forces, the UK supports their tireless efforts to realise the democratic rights of the people of Belarus. We will continue to support the aspirations of the Belarusian people for a free, democratic and independent Belarus.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me on two points: first, that the sham re-election of Lukashenko has strengthened the alignment of Belarus with Russia, giving President Putin greater use of Belarus as a tool against western security; and, secondly, that this really is the time to give greater support to the independent media and civil society in Belarus, because they provide the basis for democratic infrastructure, which at the moment Lukashenko is tearing apart every day?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Baroness is completely right in what she says and I thank her for securing this question and allowing us to discuss the matter this afternoon. I agree with everything she said. We are working hard to make sure, as far as we can, that the people of Belarus have the opportunity to elect a government who represent their wishes.
Ethiopia and Somalia
Debate between Baroness Anelay of St Johns and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(8 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is a very important point and is what I have been trying to get across—that you cannot separate some of these disputes, whether long-standing or more recent. As the noble and gallant Lord said, they need to be dealt with strategically and holistically, because the security and stability of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa more generally depends on us taking that approach.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)
My Lords, I welcome the fact that the Minister referred to the whole issue being dealt with holistically and strategically. Perhaps she did not have the opportunity to answer one part of the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, about the African Union. Have Ministers spoken to the African Union about this on their very welcome diplomatic travels? If so, what response have they had?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
As the noble Baroness will know, the African Union has been very helpful in trying to support the resolution of these issues—specifically on security in Somalia in relation to al-Shabaab. We welcome and support that. We will continue to work with the African Union in this regard.