Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government and churches of South Sudan concerning the recent conflict in Abyei; and what steps they will be taking following those discussions.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are monitoring the ongoing violence in Abyei and urge for those responsible to be held accountable. The churches play a critical role in peace-making and building at the local and national level in South Sudan, including in Abyei. We are engaging with the churches to follow up on the messages delivered during the ecumenical visit to Juba from 3 to 5 February. The UK supports the calls of the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland on the Government of South Sudan to end violence and implement the peace agreement.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the latest agreement between the Army and civilian organisations in Sudan, and (2) whether this agreement will support the development of a democratic government in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Minister for Africa and Development joined the other members of the Quad (KSA, UAE and US) and the Troika (US and Norway), as well as the Friends of Sudan in welcoming the signing of an initial framework agreement on 5 December as an essential first step towards establishing a civilian-led government in Sudan. We urge all Sudanese actors to engage constructively in the ongoing dialogue to secure a democratic transition. The UK supports the role of the tripartite mechanism (UN-AU-IGAD) in facilitating negotiations and calls on parties to do the same. A concerted effort by all parties to reach a final political agreement is crucial to address Sudan's current economic, political and humanitarian challenges.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the international community, including the UK, retain any recognised role in Darfur, Sudan, as a humanitarian shield for the local population; and if not, what protection remains for non-governmental organisations in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK continues to provide support to those affected by the ongoing violence in Darfur and has provided over £250 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan over the past five years; much of which has been allocated to Darfur. The UK works closely with the UN mission in Sudan (UNITMAS) to support its mandated tasks. This includes assisting the Sudanese authorities to implement the Juba Peace Agreement and their National Plan for the Protection of Civilians to help establish a secure environment and address instability in regions such as Dafur. We have consistently sought to maintain attention on the humanitarian situation in Darfur; by raising this issue at the UN Security Council and advocating for the Sudanese military to allow unfettered humanitarian access to allow support to reach those in need.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are holding with (1) churches, and (2) non-governmental organisations, in South Africa in relation to any UK sponsored work to tackle rural poverty in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
President Ramaphosa's recent State Visit to the UK on 22-23 November highlighted the wide range of work the UK undertakes with South Africa's government to support sustainable economic growth, across both rural and urban communities. As part of the State Visit, we launched new Economic, Infrastructure, and Education and Skills Partnerships, to work with the government and other stakeholders to support South Africa's economic growth agenda. In taking forward all our work, we engage with a range of stakeholders including NGOs and religious leaders.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support new projects to address poverty in South Africa.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK and South Africa agreed new partnerships to support economic growth, education and skills and health system strengthening during President Ramaphosa's State Visit on 22-23 November. These partnerships, as well as ongoing co-operation e.g. through the Just Energy Transition Partnership, cover a range of collaborative activities, including programmes that will help South Africa reduce poverty.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have supported any land redistribution projects in South Africa since the 1994 general election in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
A broad process of land reform has been in progress in South African since Apartheid ended in 1994, and parliamentary processes are ongoing. We have no record of UK Government supporting the implementation of land redistribution projects in South Africa.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support interventions by non-governmental organisations to prevent famine in (1) Ethiopia, (2) Kenya, (3) Somalia, and (4) South Sudan.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play a central role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa. The Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund, which the UK supports, reached 3.2 million people in 2021 with life-saving aid with more than 30 national and international NGOs involved in delivery. In Somalia nine NGOs have responded to critical needs and have taken action to promote long-term resilience under the UK funded Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) consortium. In South Sudan, the UK has delivered financial support, life-saving nutrition supplies as well as activities to address gender-based violence through a consortium of five NGOs. In Kenya humanitarian support is delivered via UN agencies.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of a potential link between recent flooding in areas of South Asia to (1) illegal logging, and (2) deforestation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This flooding demonstrates how climate change is making extreme weather events both more intense and more frequent. It underlines why the UK has committed to double the amount of climate finance to support adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Between 2011 and 2021 UK International Climate Finance supported 88 million people to cope with the impacts of climate change, installed 2,400MW of clean energy which provided 41 million people with improved access, and helped mobilise £8 billion of public and private finance for climate change mitigation in developing countries.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will match funds for Pakistan raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee members; and how they will avoid duplication with that committee's members' current support for Pakistani charities.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has provided £16.5 million for the international relief effort, more than ten per cent of the UN appeal total of $160 million. Up to £5 million of the UK funds will go to the central Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. The UK continues to engage with the World Bank and other international organisations to ensure that the UK is supporting global coordination efforts.
Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent representations they have made to the government of Egypt over the continuing imprisonment of the British Citizen, Alaa Abd El-Fattah; which government officials they made such representations to; and with what success.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since Mr El-Fattah's sentencing in December 2021 there have been numerous representations made by the UK Government concerning his imprisonment, welfare and lack of consular access. These include, most recently, the Foreign Secretary raising his case with Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 September, the previous Prime Minister raising the case with President Sisi during a call on 25 August, and FCDO Minister for Africa, raising the case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 13 October 2022 and with Foreign Minister Shoukry during her visit to Cairo on 19 October 2022. We continue to support the family of Alaa Abd El-Fattah.