Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on women and girls of the 39 per cent reductions in bilateral ODA to Afghanistan by 2029.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has committed £315 million to Afghanistan in the new spending review period to address the most severe impacts of Afghanistan's protracted crisis and protect the most vulnerable. While reducing the size of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for Afghanistan will necessarily have an impact on the scale and reach of the work we do, we have taken steps to limit this. Women and girls will remain central to our approach, as highlighted in the UK international strategic framework on women and girls 2026. Funding allocations for Afghanistan are based on a robust Equalities Impact Assessment and aim to address the rights and needs of women and girls. We also remain steadfast in our commitment that at least half of those reached by UK aid in Afghanistan will be women and girls.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that their priorities are furthered by multilateral official development assistance spending contributions; and how will UK contributions will be recognised.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains committed to multilateral institutions. I refer the noble Baroness to the reply to HL2775, which affirms the Foreign Secretary's commitment to international institutions, as set out in a statement on 21 July. On 27 July, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced that the Foreign Secretary will take on the role of UK Governor to the World Bank, which provides around $100 billion in finance per year. In the announcement, the Foreign Secretary stated that in taking on this role, he wishes to send an unambiguous signal regarding this Government's commitment to global leadership on development and climate.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement their commitment to establish and publish a cross-government monitoring framework for Women, Peace and Security.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is unwavering in its commitment to the Women, Peace and Security agenda and is in the process of refreshing the UK's fifth Women, Peace, and Security National Action Plan. The refresh will retain transparent and proportionate governance, monitoring and evaluation arrangements, ensuring transparency, accountability and effective measurement of progress and impact.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are providing support to strengthen the participation of women in peacebuilding efforts in Columbia.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is firmly committed to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Following the launch of Colombia's WPS National Action Plan, which the UK supported, we continue to work with the Colombian Government and civil society to support its implementation. UK funding has helped advance accountability and support for thousands of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Colombia over the last ten years. The UK continues to advocate for women's full and equal participation in peace negotiations in Colombia and on a global scale, which we made clear during the statement delivered by the UK's Chargé d'Affaires to the UN Security Council on 17 June.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are providing support to assist the implementation of Colombia's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and, if so, whether funding for this reaches local organisations.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The UK is firmly committed to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Following the launch of Colombia's WPS National Action Plan, which the UK supported, we continue to work with the Colombian Government and civil society to support its implementation. UK funding has helped advance accountability and support for thousands of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Colombia over the last ten years. The UK continues to advocate for women's full and equal participation in peace negotiations in Colombia and on a global scale, which we made clear during the statement delivered by the UK's Chargé d'Affaires to the UN Security Council on 17 June.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what emergency humanitarian response plans they have to prevent the worsening of humanitarian needs and mass displacement in El Obeid, Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Further to the answers provided in the Private Notice Question debate on 24 June, the UK is continuing to use its role as UN Security Council penholder to urge an immediate end to the violence in El Obeid, in concert with our fellow members of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention for Sudan, and other international partners.
On 3 July, the UK convened an Urgent Debate at the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in El Obeid, and on 6 July, we secured the adoption by consensus of a UK-led resolution, condemning - and calling for an urgent inquiry by the UN Fact-Finding Mission into - recently reported atrocities.
We will continue using every lever available over the coming days and weeks to try and prevent the mass civilian casualties in El Obeid that we all fear.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent further sexual violence in Sudan; whether they are collecting evidence of those who have suffered sexual violence; and what plans they have to hold perpetrators to account.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The UK remains determined to tackle the abhorrent levels of conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) against women and girls in Sudan, including the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war.
Since the start of the conflict, we have prioritised work on protection, prevention and care services, providing access to vital medical and psychological care, supporting survivors' families, and supporting women-led organisations to deliver essential services on-the-ground. Earlier this year, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £20 million of funding for these activities after meeting survivors in the border town of Adré.
Alongside our atrocity prevention work, the UK is also committed to gathering evidence of atrocities to support future prosecutions. We led efforts to establish the UN Fact-Finding Mission and have secured its mandate extension for two successive years. We also supported the deployment of a specialist sexual and gender-based violence investigator last year, and through our Sudan Witness programme, we are supporting Sudanese human rights defenders to document violations and abuses, including evidence of CRSV, to ensure Sudanese civil society can build a foundation for justice. We have also earmarked funding for development of a women-led investigations network.
We need urgent action from across the international community now, including international criminal investigations into the atrocities committed to date, to ensure accountability for the perpetrators, justice for victims, and an end to the systematic campaign of sexual violence against Sudanese women and girls.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the remarks by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 24 June (HL Debs cols 663–6), what imminent steps will be taken to protect civilians from the risk of violence and atrocities in El Obeid.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Further to the answers provided in the Private Notice Question debate on 24 June, the UK is continuing to use its role as UN Security Council penholder to urge an immediate end to the violence in El Obeid, in concert with our fellow members of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention for Sudan, and other international partners.
On 3 July, the UK convened an Urgent Debate at the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in El Obeid, and on 6 July, we secured the adoption by consensus of a UK-led resolution, condemning - and calling for an urgent inquiry by the UN Fact-Finding Mission into - recently reported atrocities.
We will continue using every lever available over the coming days and weeks to try and prevent the mass civilian casualties in El Obeid that we all fear.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions and diplomatic engagement they are undertaking to prevent further weapons and resources being accessed by the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Further to the answers provided in the Private Notice Question debate on 24 June, the UK is continuing to use its role as UN Security Council penholder to urge an immediate end to the violence in El Obeid, in concert with our fellow members of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention for Sudan, and other international partners.
On 3 July, the UK convened an Urgent Debate at the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in El Obeid, and on 6 July, we secured the adoption by consensus of a UK-led resolution, condemning - and calling for an urgent inquiry by the UN Fact-Finding Mission into - recently reported atrocities.
We will continue using every lever available over the coming days and weeks to try and prevent the mass civilian casualties in El Obeid that we all fear.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN Women report The Cost of War in Gaza on Women and Girls, published on 17 April, particularly that fatalities of Gazan women and girls in the two years of conflict constitute approximately 53% of all fatalities, an increase from between 15% and 22% in previous conflicts.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington
The finding that more than 38,000 women and girls have been killed is appalling and underlines the devastating impacts of this conflict, in addition to the equally appalling evidence of sexual violence. Through our humanitarian and early recovery programmes, we have provided funding to the International Civil Society Action Network to fund Women's Alliance for Security Leadership members to deliver conflict related sexual violence response and prevention work in their communities.