Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider teaching Ukrainian to GCSE and A-level standards in some schools and commit to overcoming any obstacles preventing this from happening.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by the four independent awarding organisations, AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC, rather than by central government. Awarding organisations are free to produce a GCSE in any modern language, including Ukrainian. This decision would be informed by several factors, including the level of demand from schools and the proportion of the population in the UK speaking the language.
The government stands steadfast behind the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government. The department is proud to support children and families from Ukraine during their transition to a new life and to do our part to support the Ukrainian people. The department launched the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships Programme in January, which supports UK-based Ukrainian students’ cultural ties to Ukraine and builds cross-cultural understanding among our pupils.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children in Sudan who are (1) affected by malnutrition, and (2) no longer in education, due to the war.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The conflict in Sudan is having a devastating impact on children. In 2024, admissions for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) rose by nearly 44% compared to 2023 with an unprecedented 431,000 children treated by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Actual numbers of SAM are likely to be higher, but access constraints and insecurity complicate the ability of relief organisations to assess needs and deliver aid. In late 2024 UNICEF assessed that nearly 90% of Sudan's school age children (17 million against a population of 19 million) were no longer in school with armed violence a key driver. Both malnutrition rates and the number of children out of education will continue to rise whilst the fighting continues.
This financial year (2024-2025), the UK will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. As part of this, we support UNICEF who are providing lifesaving nutrition programmes to some of the most vulnerable children in Sudan. The UK also supports Education Cannot Wait, providing safe learning spaces and psychological support to 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic and Uganda. We are also one of the largest donors to the Global Partnership for Education who are delivering urgent support to children across Sudan.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of UK aid to Sudan that (1) reaches recipients via emergency response rooms, and (2) supports emergency response rooms.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Sudan conflict has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world with over 30 million people in need of assistance. This financial year the UK will provide £226.5 million in life-saving aid towards the crisis. Since the conflict started more than 2.5 million people have received UK funded humanitarian aid. As part of this, we are one of the largest donors of the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF) which provides support to local and national responders, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and a consortium of international non-governmental organisations. Last year, we provided £23 million to the SHF. We continue to diversify our funding to ensure it reaches local responders such as the ERRs. We are unable to provide more detailed information around how many people the UK's aid reaches through the ERRs specifically.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following concerns raised at the UN Human Rights Council’s 58th regular session about the continued presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray, what steps they are taking to ensure that Eritrean and other non-Ethiopian federal forces honour the terms of the 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and fully withdraw.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the EU and 23 countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue. We regularly engage with all parties and the African Union guarantors, to reiterate the importance of implementation and encourage political dialogue to overcome obstacles on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues.
The UK provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process, funds international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring and supports investigatory capacity building across the country. The UK is aware of reports of illicit trade contributing to tensions in the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to ensure the Tigray peace process is not undermined by infighting between the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray and the Tigray People's Liberation Front; and whether they are monitoring the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and threats to political stability.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the EU and 23 countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue. We regularly engage with all parties and the African Union guarantors, to reiterate the importance of implementation and encourage political dialogue to overcome obstacles on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues.
The UK provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process, funds international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring and supports investigatory capacity building across the country. The UK is aware of reports of illicit trade contributing to tensions in the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of illegal gold mining and human trafficking in Tigray, and of the impact of divisions between the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray and the Tigray People's Liberation Front on law and order.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the EU and 23 countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue. We regularly engage with all parties and the African Union guarantors, to reiterate the importance of implementation and encourage political dialogue to overcome obstacles on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues.
The UK provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process, funds international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring and supports investigatory capacity building across the country. The UK is aware of reports of illicit trade contributing to tensions in the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure sustained medical and psychosocial support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Africa, particularly through the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative; and how they are working with international partners to strengthen long-term policy provisions for survivors in conflict-affected regions.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We put survivors at the heart of everything we do, including through regular collaboration with the Survivor Advisory Group and Survivor Champions. Since 2019, the UK has committed up to £7.85 million to the Global Survivors Fund (GSF) to support the delivery of interim reparative measure projects globally. Through this support, GSF has enhanced access to health and psychosocial care, education and financial support for over 1000 survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Sudan, we are working with United Nations and Non-Governmental Organisations partners to provide safe spaces, mobile clinic treatment, dignity kits and psycho-social services for survivors. We will continue to work with international partners, including through the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence and to provide the holistic support survivors need.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the implications for Tigray; and what diplomatic steps they are taking to prevent further escalation.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the EU and 23 countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue. We regularly engage with all parties and the African Union guarantors, to reiterate the importance of implementation and encourage political dialogue to overcome obstacles on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues.
The UK provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process, funds international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring and supports investigatory capacity building across the country. The UK is aware of reports of illicit trade contributing to tensions in the region.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether UK aid to Sudan will include support for refugees who flee Sudan into other countries in the region.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The conflict has created a displacement crisis with more than 3 million Sudanese refugees seeking safety in neighbouring countries, and a further 8.8 million people internally displaced within Sudan. In November 2024, the Foreign Secretary announced a £113 million aid package, which doubled the UK's aid commitment to £226.5 million. This package will assist over 600,000 people in Sudan and 700,000 people in neighbouring countries who had fled the conflict, including Chad and South Sudan. Education Cannot Wait will also receive UK support to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any organisations collecting and preserving evidence of atrocity crimes in Darfur.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), established following UK-led Security Council resolution, is the most effective mechanism to support accountability in Sudan. The FFM published its first report in September 2024 and concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both warring parties constituted war crimes and, in the case of the Rapid Support Forces, additionally crimes against humanity. The UK is also supporting the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a research body gathering open-source evidence about the conflict in Sudan with a view to supporting future accountability. The CIR has been able to assist the FFM in verifying reports of violations through its use of digital information. The UK also strongly supports the International Criminal Court's (ICC) active investigation into the situation in Darfur, including allegations of crimes committed since April 2023. We welcome the ongoing cooperation between the ICC and the FFM and the significant progress made by the ICC in investigating and prosecuting past and current crimes in Darfur. The conclusion of the Ali Kushayb trial in December 2024 marks a historic milestone as the first trial concluded based on a Security Council referral.