Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the exploitation of women in poorer countries involved in surrogacy.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK does not support international surrogacy involving any form of exploitation and is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8.7. Globally the UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. At the multilateral level, and through our diplomatic and Official Development Assistance partnerships, we advocate that all people have the right to make informed decisions about childbearing, including if, whether and when to have children. Family planning interventions, including surrogacy, must always be voluntary and rooted in a human rights-based approach.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the disproportionate impact of climate change, such as flooding, disease, drought and famine, on developing and poorer countries; and what funding they have allocated to address this in collaboration with other international governments.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Increasing ambition and action on adaptation and loss and damage is a priority for the UK. From April 2011 to March 2023, it is estimated that UK International Climate Finance programmes have directly supported over 100 million people to adapt to the effects of climate change. At COP26, the UK COP Presidency secured a commitment from developed countries to at least double adaptation finance for developing countries by 2025. As the UK, we will triple our funding for adaptation from £500 million in 2019 to £1.5 billion in 2025. In September, the Prime Minister announced a pledge of $2billion (£1.62 billion) to the Green Climate Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) humanitarian, and (2) financial, assistance they are providing to Pakistan in relation to the floods in the Sindh province and related areas.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan as it faces the consequences of the recent devastating flooding. The UK was one of the first countries to announce funding (£1.5 million) to respond to the humanitarian need. We have now increased this to £16.5 million to support flood relief efforts. UK aid will be targeted towards the hardest hit areas of Sindh and other provinces. The UK contribution is also now over 10 per cent of the joint UN and Government of Pakistan emergency appeal ($160 million). This flooding demonstrates how climate change is making extreme weather events both more intense and more frequent.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans (1) unilaterally, or (2) in conjunction with the government of Azerbaijan, to commemorate or mark on 26 February the 30th anniversary of the killings in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly; and whether they have (a) held bilateral discussions, or (b) supported action, to ensure that such hostilities to do not take place again and that there is no escalation of violence in Azerbaijan, in the light of emerging issues in Armenia and Russia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The events of February 1992 were a tragic episode in Azerbaijan's history, and were strongly condemned by the UK Government at the time. Such hostilities should never take place again. The UK Government has not yet made plans to mark this anniversary of the date.
The UK Government remains deeply committed to stability and security across the South Caucasus region and continues to work through bilateral channels and multilateral fora in pursuit of those goals. This includes our continuing support for the efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group Co-Chairs to facilitate discussions to secure a sustainable, peaceful resolution to ongoing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that there is an agenda within Europe and Saudi Arabia for engaging with Iran with respect to conflict resolution in the Middle East.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Like our EU partners, we continue to have serious concerns about Iran’s role in parts of the Middle East such as Syria and Yemen, and its support to militant groups such as Hizballah and Hamas. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), most recently spoke to President Rouhani about these issues on 16 July. He also spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia about the issues on the same day. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said on 15 July, the recent nuclear agreement with Iran has the potential to change the dynamics in the region in a positive way. We will continue to encourage Iran to re-align its approach in support of the international community’s efforts, in particular in confronting the challenge of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and resolving the crises in Yemen and Syria. We have also encouraged the Gulf Co-operation Council to strengthen its dialogue with Iran.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the nuclear agreement with Iran, what plans they have for securing European interests in Iran.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Since President Rouhani’s election in 2013, we have been exploring the scope for improving our bilateral relations with Iran, on a step by step basis. Last week’s nuclear agreement between the E3+3 and Iran offers the potential to take this further. It is a robust and verifiable deal which addresses our, and the EU’s, proliferation concerns. When Iran has implemented its commitments under the deal, the international community will lift some of its sanctions, delivering significant economic and financial benefits, and offering the potential to expand trade and investment between the EU and Iran. The UK and other EU partners continue to have other serious concerns about Iranian policy, for example its approach to terrorism and respect for human rights; these are unchanged with the deal.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been invested in soft power in conflict zones in the Middle East in order to bring interfaith communities together.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Spending on projects to bring together interfaith communities is dispersed across Government and is a mainstream part of other Government activity. Disaggregating this spending would incur disproportional cost.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have for addressing interfaith conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports greater dialogue between Sunni and Shia Muslims among all faith groups in the Middle East and North Africa region to build bridges, talk, listen and learn from each other. At the 27 March UN Security Council debate on the persecution of minorities in the Middle East, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), called for bold leadership from governments and communities in the region to continue working for tolerance and reconciliation. Where the British Government is best placed to act, and has the means to do so, we will. For example, in Syria a number of Government-funded projects have brought together religious leaders from all denominations (including Alawi, Christians, Kurds, Druze and Sunnis) to foster greater understanding between faiths and support reconciliation.