Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase multi-year funding to support the most food-insecure people in Sudan and Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to provide assistance to people in need in Sudan through our humanitarian aid package of £38 million for 2023-2024, The UK is providing more than £38 million in humanitarian funding in 2023-24, including £12.2 million to UNICEF for lifesaving nutrition activities. We are also helping those fleeing to neighbouring countries, with £7.75 million to support Sudanese refugees in South Sudan, including £3.5 million for food security in the Maban refugee camps and £15 million to Chad. In 2024/2025, the UK bilateral Official Development Assistance to Sudan will double to £89 million.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to secure guarantees from Sudan’s warring factions for the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK welcomes the UN Security Council passing Resolution 2724, which the UK had drafted. Our top humanitarian priority remains securing immediate humanitarian access and operational security guarantees for humanitarian agencies. We urge the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to honour their commitment to facilitate access to crossline and other cross-border routes for the delivery of life-saving assistance. The UK continues to work with regional and international partners to secure safe humanitarian access for at need communities.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made to Amnesty International’s claim that the Myanmar authorities’ treatment of Rohingya amounts to apartheid; and what steps they plan to take, if any, in response.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply concerned by ongoing discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar. We will continue to use our role at the UN Security Council to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar, including the treatment of the Rohingya, the need for unhindered humanitarian access and for the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine State to be addressed. The UK supports efforts to strengthen accountability in Myanmar. We have provided over £600,000 to the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, and established the Myanmar Witness project, in order to collect and preserve evidence of human rights violations, including against the Rohingya.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their funding announced on 5 February to end preventable deaths in Ethiopia, what consideration they have given to increasing investments to prevent malnutrition in Ethiopia and its long-term health and development impacts on women and children.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Further to the £100 million Ending Preventable Deaths funding announced in February, the UK will provide £74 million of bilateral humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia up from £44.9 million in 2022/23. We focus where needs are greatest, particularly women and children, by providing support for their health, nutrition, water & sanitation, protection, emergency education and humanitarian and social cash transfers. This financial year alone we have reached 950,000 with critical medical supplies, provided treatment for 80,000 malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women, supported over 200,000 people with cash assistance and supported education for 10,000 boys and girls. This work supports the effective delivery of basic services, reduces long term demand on the humanitarian system and ultimately saves lives.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to increase climate funding available to drought-affected and flood-prone communities in the Horn of Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Building climate resilience is central to the UK's work in the Horn of Africa where flooding and drought have impacted tens of millions of people. UK funded organisations are working to address the immediate effects of climate change providing life-saving aid to millions. We are doing all we can to promote long-term climate resilience and as part of this to scale-up the provision of climate finances to the Horn of Africa. Last year's White Paper set out a bold vision for the UK's work on this agenda including a commitment to spend at least £1.5 billion globally in 2025 on climate adaptation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diplomatic steps they are taking (1) to secure an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, and (2) to prevent (a) humanitarian, and (b) regional, ramifications.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 8 March the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2724, led by the UK, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the month of Ramadan. The resolution also called on the warring parties to ensure safe, unhindered humanitarian access, including cross-border and cross-line access and expressed support for the UN Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra. The UK continues to work with a wide range of countries and bodies, including traditional allies, Gulf and African partners, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN, to realise this Resolution and make progress towards a sustained and meaningful peace process.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 February (HL2046), how many civil servants completed the Religion for International Engagement training module in (1) 2022, and (2) 2023.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
222 FCDO officials are recorded as having completed the Religion for International Engagement online training in 2022, and 156 in 2023. The training is also available to other interested civil servants. In addition to this online training module, FoRB is incorporated within FCDO's broader human rights training programme, a 2-3 day course delivered in the UK and overseas. In 2023, with the support of the PM's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, two sessions on FoRB were delivered as part of a human rights seminar series open to all staff. We also provide several additional tools for staff, particularly those based overseas, to support work on FoRB, including a FoRB Toolkit, scale of persecution and framework for FoRB reporting.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the United Arab Emirates on the seizing of two ports the Sudanese Red Sea coast through proxy forces, and that they have plans to build a third port.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are not aware of the United Arab Emirates seizing any ports on the Red Sea coast.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Ukrainian special forces are combatting Russian mercenaries on Sudanese soil.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of external support to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces in the conflict in Sudan. The UK condemns any actions that further fuel the brutal conflict in Sudan. The UK strongly supports an immediate end to the hostilities in Sudan both for the sake of its own people and the wider region. We continue to place emphasis in all our international engagement on the importance of neutrality and of supporting a ceasefire and civilian political transition.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent increase in piracy off the Horn of Africa.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While the causes of recent maritime incidents in the Horn of Africa are unclear, the UK continues to monitor the situation in the region closely. We are committed to promoting peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, including the safe flow of maritime traffic. The UK works closely with allies and regional partners through the Djibouti code of conduct and bi-laterally to build capacity, strength and resilience to ensure maritime security and freedoms for all. The UK will continue to engage in maritime security operations, including through the Royal Navy's longstanding Operation Kipion.