Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of calls from civil society organisations for a UN-mandated comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK does not sell arms to Burma.
We judge there is currently insufficient support across the UN Security Council for a global arms embargo.
We continue to support the EU's retention of its arms embargo, which prohibits the supply of equipment or the provision of any training that might strengthen the Burmese military's combat capability.
The UK was instrumental in the renewal of the EU arms embargo earlier this year.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance they are providing for the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Fact Finding Mission (FFM) will be funded entirely by the UN regular budget through assessed contributions, to which the UK pays 4.46%. The funding for the FFM was requested through a 'programme budgetary implication' (PBI) from the Human Rights Council and is estimated to be around £2 million.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Canada regarding the Safe Schools Declaration.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At present, the UK Government has not signed the Safe Schools Declaration. However, in light of the recent decisions by both the French and Canadian Governments to sign up to the Declaration, the Government is reviewing its position.
We have not held discussions with the Governments of France or Canada on this matter.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of France regarding the Safe Schools Declaration.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At present, the UK Government has not signed the Safe Schools Declaration. However, in light of the recent decisions by both the French and Canadian Governments to sign up to the Declaration, the Government is reviewing its position.
We have not held discussions with the Governments of France or Canada on this matter.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review their position on the Safe Schools Declaration, in the light of the support of a majority of NATO member states.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At present, the UK Government has not signed the Safe Schools Declaration. However, in light of the recent decisions by both the French and Canadian Governments to sign up to the Declaration, the Government is reviewing its position.
We have not held discussions with the Governments of France or Canada on this matter.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of (1) children in South Sudan who are malnourished, and (2) South Sudanese children who are crossing into Uganda; and what steps have been taken to address the plight of children in South Sudan affected by the ongoing armed conflict.
Answered by Lord Bates
The latest estimate from the UN is that there are 1.1 million acutely malnourished children in South Sudan. There are 586,600 children under 18 who have fled to Uganda and many of these will have been malnourished when they arrived. The UK is leading the international response to the crisis in South Sudan, and this year will feed 500,000 people and, with other donors, provide lifesaving nutritional support for 100,000 children and mothers, and over 1.8 million health consultations to children under five.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Burma in support of the efforts of the UN to investigate human rights abuses against the Rohingya people.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We have urged both civilian and military ministers in the Government to ensure a restrained security response in Rakhine, allow immediate and unfettered access for humanitarian aid and to conduct an impartial and independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers raised our concerns with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to the UK in May. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues during his visit to Burma in January.
In March this year, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution which established an Independent International Fact Finding Mission to look into the situation in Rakhine State. We urge the Burmese government to cooperate fully with this mission.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the declaration by UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organisation that 100,000 civilians are at risk of starvation in two counties in South Sudan, and that one million are on the brink of famine, what assessment they have made of the actions by the leadership of South Sudan to resolve those issues.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain deeply concerned by the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in South Sudan. The continued obstruction of aid agencies by the Government of South Sudan, and restrictions on humanitarian access across the country, is particularly troubling. In addition, the proposal to increase the cost of work permits would hinder the response to the worsening famine. Together with our international partners we raised these issues with the South Sudanese First Vice President on 15 March, and made clear that the Government of South Sudan has a responsibility to stop the suffering of its own people, and allow full humanitarian access across the country.The Foreign Secretary made these points when he chaired a Security Council meeting on South Sudan in New York on 23 March.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by Dominque Burgeon, Director of the emergency division of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, that more than 100 million people worldwide are facing malnutrition and severe hunger.
Answered by Lord Bates
We remain deeply concerned about the global humanitarian situation. We are continuing to step up our support to provide lifesaving treatment for acute malnutrition, food, water and emergency healthcare to those affected. In Somalia for example our assistance will provide emergency food assistance for up to 1 million people, life-saving nutritional support to more than 600,000 starving children and pregnant and nursing women and safe drinking water for 1 million people. We have also issued an urgent call to action to the international community to do more.
Asked by: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement by Save the Children on 1 March that shipments of aid for Yemen are being delayed, denying people access to medical aid and other essential support; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those delays on the Yemeni people.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is extremely concerned to hear of reports from Save the Children that they have experienced delays to delivery of shipments into Hodeidah port, significantly impacting delivery of aid to vulnerable Yemenis.
The UK continues to lobby all parties to the conflict to facilitate commercial and humanitarian access. We are supporting the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism, which facilitates the flow of commercial items into Yemen through effectively verifying and where necessary inspecting ships, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Humanitarian Air Service to improve access for humanitarian agencies.