United Nations World Humanitarian Summit

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as I have already mentioned, there will be high-level representation at the summit.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, UN member states have agreed that the summit in Istanbul must reinforce the outcomes of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris agreement on climate change. Therefore, will the Government be ready at the summit to commit to action, subject to mutual parliamentary scrutiny and accountability, in what will be the first major opportunity to give meaning to the principle of “Leave no one behind”?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord is absolutely right. This is a very important summit. It will tackle a lot of issues, including the agreements that were reached at Sendai and Paris, to ensure that those strong linkages between the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation agendas continue. On the wider point, it is about making sure that the reforms that are required to ensure preparedness for future crises are also part of the bigger reform agenda. As I said, we also need to encourage other partners and donors and the private sector to step up to the mark.

Health: Ebola

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the principal lessons that can be learned from communities affected by the Ebola epidemic in preparedness for future health crises.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, the UK’s £427 million response was fundamental to combating Ebola and saving countless lives. We are committed to learning lessons and responding effectively to future crises, and made a critical contribution to better understanding community engagement. Many UK nationals worked bravely alongside Sierra Leonean communities and health workers, and I pay tribute to their phenomenal work. Part of our £240 million economic recovery programme will help strengthen local health systems, and help communities to hold government to account.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her reply and for her consideration of the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Africa on lessons to be learned from the Ebola crisis, which will be launched publicly later today. Can she confirm that the Government accept the key finding of this far-reaching study: that, in order to ensure preparedness for future health crises in Africa, health systems should be developed horizontally, local leadership prioritised and investment concentrated at community level? Will the Government regularly monitor DfID’s health development programmes to ensure that they recognise and respond to these findings?

Sudan

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Monday 29th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, although we welcome the role that UN sanctions can play in the right circumstances and support the recent renewal of the sanctions around Darfur, each situation is different. We judge that at present the best way to promote moves towards lasting peace in the Two Areas is to support the peace process negotiations being led by former President Mbeki and his AU High-level Implementation Panel.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, in January Sudanese armed forces destroyed more than 20 villages in Jebel Marra during a major offensive, leaving literally thousands of people in hiding without food, shelter or assistance. Will the Government condemn these atrocities and challenge President al-Bashir’s claims to have ended the rebellion, as he calls it, in early February while his warplanes continue to bomb and murder helpless civilians in Darfur on a daily basis?

Female Genital Mutilation: International Action

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Thursday 4th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of current campaigns and programmes sponsored and executed by western governments and international non-governmental organisations aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation and cutting practices in African countries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, since 2008, the UN estimates that 13,000 communities representing 10 million people have declared that they will abandon FGM. DfID is the largest ever donor on FGM, investing £35 million over five years, and that support is accelerating the progress we have seen since the PM co-hosted the Girl Summit. Across Africa, women, politicians, young people and religious leaders are campaigning for a change, and we stand strong in our support.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Since 1965, 24 of the 29 countries in which FGM practices are concentrated have enacted decrees or legislation related to outlawing them. Yet nearly 50 years later in Guinea, for example, 96% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 are still suffering FGM, while 80% are victims in a further eight countries. In all, some 125 million girls and women born since 1965 have been abused in this manner. Given the overwhelming case for the abandonment of these practices at all levels and recognising the legal, social and moral norms that control them, what specific action are the Government taking to support UNICEF and other in-country programmes with human and financial resources?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord will be aware that in 2014 we co-hosted the Girl Summit with UNICEF. At that summit we secured 500 signatories to a charter and more than 170 commitments from Governments, civil society and individuals. We are putting £35 million in place over the next five years, but this is a deeply bedded social norm. It has been there a long time. It will take time for people to come to terms with removing it. We have seen progress. Since our summit, there have been summits in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Uganda, and last year there was an African Union-led summit in Zambia.

Sustainable Development Goals: HIV

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, my noble friend raises a really important point. Stigma and discrimination drive key affected populations underground. At the recent CHOGM talks in Malta, we very much had that conversation. I reassure my noble friend that we spend £6 million a year on research programmes–including understanding how social drivers increase HIV infection—and on supporting people in those countries.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, 35 out of 121 low-income and middle-income countries have increased their spend on AIDS by more than 100%, with all domestic spending on AIDS amounting to some 60% of the total. Does the Minister agree that this confirms the long-standing role of communities in addressing the epidemic in the years ahead, and the critical importance of investing in a strong community health presence to broaden the reach of their services? Can she assure us that these vital services will not be threatened by DfID’s planned withdrawal of budget support?

[Baroness Verma]

I need to reassure noble Lords that there is no withdrawal of budget support. However, we do need to ensure that the support we are giving is to those people who are in most need and are unable to self-finance. The low-income, high-burden countries need our support the most but we continue to work in middle-income countries. So there is no withdrawal—just smarter, more focused delivery of services.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Human Rights

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the answer to my noble friend’s question is yes. I am pleased to confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is making contributions from programme funds to allow the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to take on its role as chair of the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions with an agreed fund.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, in December 2012, the Commonwealth charter was adopted. Under the heading “Human Rights”, it states:

“We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds”.

Yet almost three years later, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative report, Civil Society and the Commonwealth, found that the Commonwealth is not living up to its core values and is losing relevance to the international community. Will the Government therefore press at the Malta CHOGM for a Commonwealth ministerial action group on human rights abuses, particularly the use of obsolete 19th-century laws to prosecute homosexuality and other gender issues in this, the 21st century?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Lord is absolutely right in highlighting the charter. We agree with him that we must push hard for the Commonwealth to meet those commitments under the charter. All forms of discrimination are unacceptable and we will do our bit at CHOGM to raise those questions with the countries that continue to abuse the charter.

West Africa: Ebola

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Monday 19th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I join the noble Lord in wishing Pauline Cafferkey a speedy recovery. She is being remembered by all for the wonderful work she has done in Sierra Leone. On the noble Lord’s question about the pledge, it is right that we as a country should continue with our supportive work and urge other donors who have committed to the $5 billion to step up and deliver. But as the noble Lord is aware, this work is going to take time. The three countries involved have suffered quite badly, but we can rest assured that the work we are doing with the President of Sierra Leone and through our own programmes is not the short-term application of a plaster and will ensure a long and sustainable recovery.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, I share the concerns of the House regarding the hoped-for recovery of nurse Cafferkey; we recognise the sacrifice she has made in the interests of the communities we are trying to support. Following the Ebola health crisis, studies for the Africa All-Party Parliamentary Group, which I co-chair, confirm the importance of community ownership of health systems and local empowerment through the development of effective community health workforces, together with the resources they need to protect themselves. The letter I received from the Secretary of State this morning appears to confirm that, although the United Kingdom addressed the shortage of health workers and health resources in Sierra Leone during the crisis, a sustainable, localised solution is still needed for the future. What provision is DfID therefore actively making in its forward programming for the long-term health and development assistance at community level that is essential to stabilising and growing local economies?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right to say that we need to work at many levels. The noble Lord, Lord Giddens, asked about the work and the commitment of major investors such as the International Monetary Fund. While this work must be done at several levels, I agree that we need to work at local level with civil society and local communities to ensure that they can recognise the situation and respond. The work we have done to date shows the effort we have put in trying to reach a zero rate of Ebola cases. It is important to note that this will be an ongoing, long-term recovery. We are one of the partner countries, and we have led on this issue in Sierra Leone. We now need to ensure that, at all levels, we commit to and retain sustainable, long-term development.

Rainforests

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 13th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. It is about working with other countries, which we are doing aggressively. We have worked very closely to get all our partner countries to sign off the new EU timber regulation that came into force last December. It is about being persistent in our argument. I agree with the noble Lord that it is really a devastation to all countries if we do not tackle this issue right now.

[Lord Chidgey]

Is my noble friend aware that the Democratic Republic of Congo officially produces more than half a million cubic metres of timber each year, and illegally produces about the same amount each year? Is she also aware that British technology is now available to the DRC that tracks the entire supply chain of timber from standing forest trees to the wholesale timber market? What action will the Government take, therefore, to help facilitate the DRC Government’s efforts to complete negotiations with the European Union to enter into traceability agreements?

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend is right about Congo. However, as with the previous question, it is about all partner countries being able to respond with severe penalties when they see illegal timber coming through their borders. Of course, the important thing is that these are conversations that continue. They are not had at one conference—it is a continuous conversation at many conferences, and it will arise again at the Durban conference in December.

Malawi

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

What element of general budget support was allocated to supporting good governance in Malawi? In DfID’s good governance fund for Malawi, what element will now be allocated to democracy and parliamentary strengthening, particularly scrutiny, monitoring and oversight of aid effectiveness by the Malawian Parliament?

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend raises a number of key issues here. The support that we were giving was in order to have oversight of good governance and to ensure that economically the country was following the right paths for the delivery of budget aid. However, I bring the noble Lord back to the original Question, the answer to which is that we are continuing to work with the Malawian Government but we will need to direct general budget aid through programmes that we can have oversight of.

International Widows Day

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Earl is absolutely right. Issues regarding gender will never be resolved unless we take on board the important work and commitment undertaken by both men and women. I completely accept what the noble Earl says. By and large, we are trying to work closely to ensure that the engagement is not just with women and girls but with boys and men too.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, I emphasise the point made by several other noble Lords, the importance of dealing with the needs of tens of thousands of widowed women as a result of decades of conflict in central Africa, in the Congo and elsewhere. What specifically are the Government doing in relation to the educational needs in the civic development of those women so that they can participate in the full life of their communities and protect the future of their children?

[Baroness Verma]

As my noble friend knows through our meetings with DfID, every programme we have in every country that we are supporting has mainstreaming of gender. I think he agrees that it will take time to see the results. We are very aware that we have an uphill struggle and that it will be hard, but we will persevere.

Abyei

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 25th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises some very serious concerns about yesterday’s incident, which, of course, was not helpful to the process of independence on 9 July, but we want to ensure that we do not lose sight of those negotiations. We will continue to urge both sides towards peaceful means. We have Chapter VII already in place and the noble Lord will be reassured that we are looking at the situation very carefully. It is on the Richter scale of the entire international community.

[Lord Chidgey]

Can my noble friend say when the referendum on Abyei joining the south, which has been postponed since January, is now expected to take place? In that regard, what steps have been taken to resolve the disputes between the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya on voter registration?

Burundi

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 5th April 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Lord is aware that our programme in Burundi was quite small, but we do support programmes through the EU and the World Bank. Through those programmes we feel that we are better placed to provide aid. We are also working very much with Trade Mark East Africa, which we have launched in the region, to ensure that Burundi is able to grow its private sector to develop economic growth.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, what progress are the Government making in helping Burundi strengthen its revenue collection authorities in comparison, for example, with Rwanda next door? What impact do the Government believe this will have in helping Burundi to meet its millennium development goals?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, Burundi has not met any of its MDGs at all. The president has promised universal education, which will go a long way to meeting the primary education goal. We feel that the rest of the goals will be achieved through strengthening Burundi’s infrastructure, which will come about through Burundi being a free access market to the countries in that region.

International Labour Organisation

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Tuesday 5th April 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the United Kingdom, led by the Department for Work and Pensions, remains a fully paid-up member of the ILO governing body. We will continue to engage proactively with the International Labour Organisation and we will pursue a range of reform-related issues, including the reform of the workings of the governing body and improving audit arrangements. All this will carry on, and the ILO, on a country-by-country, programme-by-programme, basis, is still able to apply to DfID for funding, as long as it has a provable business plan.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, what was the basis of the multilateral aid review’s findings on the effectiveness of the ILO as a development organisation, particularly as regards inputs to and impacts on the millennium development goals? What discussions are planned with the ILO in that regard on in-country funding and specific projects?

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend is aware that the ILO has published a review of our decision. It found that while the multilateral aid review recognised the value of standard-setting and policy-making, unfortunately, it found no evidence that a difference was being made to poor people in developing countries.

St Lucia: Hurricane Tomas

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Thursday 20th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the Government cannot change the rules for Caribbean countries without objective justification. The APD on a return economy ticket typically represents a small percentage of the price. However, we are exploring changes to the aviation tax system, including a per-plane tax. Of course, any major changes will be subject to consultation.

[Lord Chidgey]

Is my noble friend aware that, as a result of World Trade Organisation restrictions on EU trade preferences, St Lucia and Windward Island farmers can no longer compete with the industrial-scale banana production of Latin America? What measures are the Government taking to assist the Windward Isles to diversify and revitalise their fragile and struggling economies?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as my noble friend is aware, we do not give bilateral aid to St Lucia. All aid and help is provided through multilateral organisations. I will take back the point that he raised and hope to provide him with a Written Answer.

Gaza

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Monday 13th December 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I very much take on board what the right reverend Prelate says. We know that the situation in Gaza is a tragedy, but we do not believe that isolation of Israel through means of economic sanctions or embargos is the right approach. We will continue to press Israel robustly to make the concrete changes needed to improve the lives and futures of the people of Gaza.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, can my noble friend give the House an update on the progress of the talks between Israel and Turkey in Geneva in trying to resolve the crisis created by the killings of Turkish citizens attempting to break the Gaza blockade aboard the “Mavi Marmara”? What actions are our Government taking to try to help resolve the strained relationship between those two countries, particularly given the importance of the strategic relationship between those countries and our own interests in the wider scenario?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that question. All dialogue and all conversations are very welcome if they encourage peace.

Zimbabwe

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 10th November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, rather than answer now I shall write to the noble Baroness with a fuller answer.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Verma]

Yes, my Lords, I can confirm that all funds go through the UN or respected NGOs.

[Lord Chidgey]

Can my noble friend confirm that SADC has still been unable to get ZANU-PF to honour the commitments that it made in the global political agreement? Can she also reassure noble Lords that the ban on ZANU-PF Ministers travelling to the EU will remain in place and will not be lifted until those agreements are honoured—and not “honoured” by easy promises that are so readily dismissed and broken?

[Baroness Verma]

My noble friend can feel reassured that we will be working very closely with SADC and South Africa to ensure that the reforms we want to see in Zimbabwe are happening. On his final point: yes, of course, we will make sure.

Pakistan: Child Welfare

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Thursday 14th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the UN is responsible for co-ordinating the international humanitarian response. All of DfID’s humanitarian aid is directed through UN agencies or established NGOs, in line with standard humanitarian practice. Each key area—health, water, sanitation, shelter and food—has a separate cluster, with members including the Government of Pakistan, various UN agencies, NGOs, DfID and other donors. Members, including officials from the Department for International Development, meet regularly to share information within and across clusters to ensure a co-ordinated and efficient response. The Secretary of State said in his ministerial Statement on 12 October that the “scale and shifting patterns” of the crisis make it a challenging situation.

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, although I thank my noble friend for that response, is she aware that in the 12 months before the flooding in Pakistan, the infant mortality rate rose for the first time for seven years, by 7 per cent? Are the Government’s plans for child welfare aimed at reversing that trend, which is obviously alarming, as well as coping with the additional challenges caused by the recent flooding?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that important question. DfID is supporting female health workers in Pakistan. We have supported health workers through the national health facility, providing nutritional advice and distributing supplements to pregnant women, adolescent girls and children. At the UN summit, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State made a further commitment to ensuring that the lives of 50,000 more women are helped to be saved by providing additional nutrients and nourishing meals, as well as making sure that facilities are in place in the health service.

Afghanistan

Debate between Baroness Verma and Lord Chidgey

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

Can my noble friend the Minister please elaborate on where the proposed 40 per cent increase in DfID aid to Afghanistan is to be utilised? Does she agree that without a strategic plan across all the government departments involved, the extra funding could well be wasted, not assisting our troops or the people of Afghanistan? How will development progress be monitored? How will outcomes be measured? Most of all, who will be mutually accountable for the results?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, using the UK aid budget to secure progress in Afghanistan is the number one priority for the Secretary of State. The additional £200 million will be focused on creating jobs, providing vocational training, improving policing and strengthening the capacity of the Afghan Government. As with all funds to Afghanistan, these extra funds will go through the World Bank, where we reimburse after we have received receipts.