Lord Bishop of Worcester

Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism , but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We keep under continuous review whether they are abiding by their obligations. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.

Our position is that for a peaceful solution, four things must happen - there must be a Palestinian-led government in Gaza and the West Bank, a concrete plan to help reform and support the Palestinian Authority, a massive reconstruction plan for Gaza and a political horizon towards a two-state solution. The UK worked extensively with regional partners, notably the UAE, in the adoption of UNSCR 2720, which set out the urgent demand for expanded humanitarian access and the steps towards a sustainable ceasefire. The Foreign Secretary and Minister of State for the Middle East continue to discuss and press for the action that needs to be taken to increase aid to Gaza in their regular calls with their Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese, US and Palestinian Authority counterparts.

UK overseas development and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan has been subject to many forms of oversight and scrutiny since 2001 including internal assurance reviews, National Audit Office country office reviews and Independent Commission for Aid (ICAI) impact reviews. The International Development Committee has recently approved the future ICAI work programme that includes a country portfolio review of Afghanistan. Publication of the review is due in summer 2022.

We stand with the people of Afghanistan to support a more stable, peaceful future for the country. Total UK aid to Afghanistan this year is now £286 million, one of our largest bilateral programmes.

As part of this £286m, £30m has been allocated for life-saving aid to Afghanistan's neighbouring countries to help those who choose to leave Afghanistan. Of this £30m, £10 million will be made available immediately to humanitarian partners, such as the UNHCR, to enable essential supplies such as shelters to be despatched to the Afghan borders as well as to set up sanitation and hygiene facilities. The remaining £20 million will be allocated to countries that experience a significant increase in refugees to support reception and registration facilities and provide essential services and supplies. As with all the FCDO's programming, when delivering the funding we will be guided by our Programme Operating Framework, which supports high standards of programme delivery, risk management and due diligence in the wide range of difficult places we work.

All aid that was being channelled through the Afghan government has stopped. We are only supporting life-saving humanitarian assistance through the UN and other trusted organisations on the ground, who are continuing to ensure vital aid reaches those who need it most. All UK aid is subject to strict monitoring and verification to ensure it is only used to help the vulnerable people it is intended for. As the Prime Minister has set out, we will continue to judge the Taliban on their actions not their words. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has secured a number of assurances from the Taliban in writing about the distribution of aid which he described at the UN flash appeal. We support the UN's important work in this area.

NGOs estimate that nearly 400,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2021, in addition to the 2.9 million already displaced by the end of 2020. FCDO Ministers have been, and continue to be, in regular contact with our counterparts in Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, including most recently on 14 September when Lord Ahmad visited Uzbekistan.

The Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and combatants, including Eritrean armed forces, denying access to humanitarian agencies. Over 350,000 people are assessed to be in famine-like conditions - more than anywhere else in the world. The UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer visited Tigray in May and concluded that region-wide famine in Tigray is now likely if conflict intensifies and impediments to the delivery of humanitarian aid continue. The head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, has said that the humanitarian disaster is due in part to the presence of Eritrean forces. He says they are using hunger as a weapon of war and their continued presence is fuelling insecurity. Intentional use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

We need to see the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces. The Government of Ethiopia has said this will happen, but it has not. We continue to press hard for this commitment to be delivered. The Minister for Africa made this clear when he met with the Eritrean Ambassador on 16 March.

The Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and we have been consistent in calling for unfettered humanitarian access and continue to do so. We are deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on food security and nutrition in Tigray, including for young children. Over 350,000 people are assessed to be in famine-like conditions - more than anywhere else in the world. We have raised these points with the Government in Addis Ababa consistently and at the highest levels, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, in May.

On 14 June the Minister for Africa announced the UK will allocate £16.7m to the crisis in Tigray. This will support civil-military coordination to help aid get to those in need and address famine risk through the provision of healthcare, sanitation, and nutrition. This allocation is on top of the existing £27m in 2020-21 already directed to the response, and an additional £4m allocated to support nutrition and vaccinations in Tigray. This brings UK total funding to support response to the crisis to £47.7m. As the Minister for Africa said in his recent statement of 23 June, we urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, respect international humanitarian law and agree an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and we have been consistent in calling for unfettered humanitarian access and continue to do so. We are deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on food security and nutrition in Tigray, including for young children. Over 350,000 people are assessed to be in famine-like conditions - more than anywhere else in the world. We have raised these points with the Government in Addis Ababa consistently and at the highest levels, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, in May.

On 14 June the Minister for Africa announced the UK will allocate £16.7m to the crisis in Tigray. This will support civil-military coordination to help aid get to those in need and address famine risk through the provision of healthcare, sanitation, and nutrition. This allocation is on top of the existing £27m in 2020-21 already directed to the response, and an additional £4m allocated to support nutrition and vaccinations in Tigray. This brings UK total funding to support response to the crisis to £47.7m. As the Minister for Africa said in his recent statement of 23 June, we urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, respect international humanitarian law and agree an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

The UK is a longstanding supporter of an arms embargo on Myanmar.  We are clear that no one should sell arms to Myanmar.  The UK autonomous Myanmar sanctions regulations prohibit the provision of military related services, including the provision of technical assistance, to or for the benefit of the Myanmar Security Forces.  The UK as chair of the G7, demonstrating its leadership worked to secure a strong G7 Foreign & Development Ministers communique 5 May urging countries to prevent the sale of arms and technical assistance to the Tatmadaw. We will continue to work closely with partners and through multilateral institutions, such as the UN Security Council, to apply pressure on those who sell arms to the military.

We welcome the Five Point Consensus on Myanmar and ASEAN's unique role in addressing the crisis and supported ASEAN's call for an end to violence, for restraint, and for a peaceful resolution, in line with the purpose and principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. As was made clear in the communique after the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on 5 May the military must implement this plan without delay. The Foreign Secretary discussed ASEAN's approach with the Chair in Office Brunei's Foreign Minister II Dato Erywan also on 5 May.

The UK is looking at a range of measures to ensure the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar are respected. On 25 February, we announced sanctions against six members of the military responsible for their role in serious human rights violations during the coup. This is in addition to the action taken with Canada on 18 February to impose asset freezes and travel bans against three members of the Myanmar military regime. Prior to this, the UK had already imposed targeted sanctions on 16 individuals responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. This includes the Commander-in-Chief and his Deputy.

The military's influence is pervasive across Myanmar's economy and we have long been clear that Myanmar needs responsible investors. Her Majesty's Government works closely with UK businesses to ensure that they conduct thorough due diligence to try and avoid exposure to military businesses. We will continue to work closely with international partners on next steps, this includes exploring further sanctions.

There are three categories of participation in the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (Alliance): Members, Observers, and Friends. Members are states which have joined the Alliance and are invited to participate at Ministerial level during the annual Ministers' Forum; Observers are organisations, institutions, or entities which actively advance freedom of religion or belief globally: and, Friends are states or organisations that are considering joining or becoming observers.

The current Members are Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, The Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the current Friends are Canada, Japan, Norway, South Korea, and Sweden; the current Observers are the Sovereign Order of Malta and the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

We recognise the security threat against Western interests posed by militia groups seeking to sow instability across Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan. Although a militia group claimed responsibility for the attack, we have committed to supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Iraq in investigating the attack and holding accountable those responsible.

The UK is a founder and active member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance ('Alliance'), which was established in February 2020.

The Alliance is a network of countries committed to the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). As the Minister of State response for Human Rights, I represented the UK at the first Ministers' Forum of the Alliance in November 2020. Following her appointment in December 2020, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, represents the UK at meetings of the Alliance. We use our membership to coordinate advocacy with other states to raise awareness of cases of particular concern and advocate for the rights of individuals being discriminated against or persecuted for their faith or belief. Since its launch, the Alliance has increased its membership from 27 to 32 countries. In August 2020, the UK joined a statement (https://www.state.gov/covid-19-and-religious-minorities-pandemic-statement/) by the Alliance which recognised the impact of Covid-19 on minority and religious belief communities and called for the full respect for FoRB during the pandemic.

The UK worked quickly after the coup, in conjunction with the EU, to convene a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 12 February. We secured a resolution, agreed by consensus, which called for the immediate and unconditional release of all persons arbitrarily detained in Myanmar, and the lifting of the state of emergency. During this session, the UK read a statement submitted by elected Myanmar MPs, calling for support and an investigation into human rights violations.

As a champion of the rules based international order, and democratic government, we are driving the international response, including in our role as President of both the G7 and UNSC, urging the military to immediately hand back power to the Government that was democratically elected in November 2020.

In light of economic and fiscal circumstances the Government has taken the difficult but temporary decision to spend 0.5 per cent of our national income next year on official development assistance, rather than the usual 0.7 per cent.

The Government will continue to monitor the fiscal circumstances in order to plan accordingly. We are working closely and consulting with our partners on the on impacts and priorities of our ODA spend, including through roundtables with Civil Society Organisations such as one recently chaired by Lord Ahmad. Further similar meetings are planned in early 2021.

The seismic impact of the pandemic has forced us to take tough decisions, including temporarily reducing our aid budget to 0.5 percent of our national income. Our intention is to return to this level as soon as the fiscal situation allows.

The Foreign Secretary has been clear that we remain committed to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) rules set by the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

The UK has led the way in working with others to modernise the rules where they are out of step with modern development challenges. We continue to review priorities for further reform and maintain active engagement with the DAC and DAC members.

The Government is introducing a new strategic approach which will allow us to drive greater impact from our ODA spending around a set of strategic objectives - even if the budget is reduced. The Government will continue to robustly monitor the impact of our aid programmes through annual reviews of our programmes, independent evaluations and input from assessments made by Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) which are all routinely published.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing threats to free and independent media around the world, which were already very alarming. Media freedom is vital to functioning democracies and journalists must be able to investigate and report without undue interference. We must oppose all attempts by any state to use the pandemic to adopt restrictions on press freedom, silence debate, abuse journalists or spread misinformation.

We are also deeply concerned to see that across the world, publications are contracting and closing, and journalists being made redundant because of falling revenues. The UK, as part of the Executive Group of the Media Freedom Coalition, issued a statement on 6 April reaffirming the fundamental importance of media freedom and calling on all states to protect access to free media during the COVID-19 pandemic. And in the UK statement at the UN Human Rights Council's virtual conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 9 April, we stressed the important role of the media, alongside parliaments and civil society, in scrutinising the actions of governments and international agencies during this crisis.

We are supporting Prime Minister Abadi in his efforts to rebuild public trust in the Iraqi state, deliver the services and opportunities which all Iraqis want and deserve, and unite Iraq’s communities against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and extremism. We welcome the commitments that he has made to inclusivity, to protecting Iraqi citizens, and addressing human rights abuses and holding those responsible to account.

We have contributed £2million to the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation, to help the Iraqi government stabilise areas recently liberated from ISIL and re-establish security, basic services and inclusive local governance. In 2015/16 we will provide funding for a number of projects designed to support community cohesion and encourage reconciliation, acceptance and tolerance between communities at a grass roots level. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has deployed or reassigned 20 officers to strengthen our efforts in helping the Government of Iraq defeat ISIL. 11 of these officers are in Iraq, to better understand and support the political process, including efforts to reach out to members of the Sunni community.

At the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Wales Summit, the Alliance launched the “Readiness Action Plan” (RAP). This included an increase to the package of assurance measures for Eastern Allies in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and aggressive actions in Eastern Ukraine. All 28 Allies are supporting the effort. As in 2014, this year the UK will contribute four Royal Air Force Typhoons to Baltic Air Policing from May and deploy over 3000 troops to exercises in Eastern Europe.

As part of the RAP, Allies also agreed to establish a new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), able to deploy at very short notice in response to a range of threats faced by the Alliance. At the NATO Defence Ministers meeting on 5 February the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon), confirmed that the UK will lead the VJTF in 2017 and also contribute to new forward integration units in the three Baltic States, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, and to the regional headquarters in Poland and Romania.

At the NATO Summit, the Alliance also agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen her defence capabilities, and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia and Moldova. The UK will contribute £250,000 to a new Trust Fund to facilitate this and manpower to the Georgian DCB Mission.

Georgia and Moldova have chosen to pursue closer ties with the EU. These countries have decided of their own free will to sign Association Agreements in order to support their own reform programmes and to seek closer political association and economic integration with the EU. We fully support the sovereign choices of Georgia and Moldova and strongly believe that no third country should have a veto over their decisions.

The EU provides continuing financial and technical support to the implementation of these reform programmes. Under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, the European Commission currently plans to allocate a minimum of €610 million for each country, with up to €746 million of funding available depending on the pace of reform. On 6 May 2014, the European Commission announced an additional support package for Georgia and Moldova, worth €60 million. The UK is providing technical assistance, in areas such as trade and human rights, to both Georgia and Moldova in their implementation of the Association Agreement reform programmes. In Georgia, the UK Regional Conflict Advisor for the South Caucasus continues to engage in dialogue with the conflict-affected communities. We also fund secondees to the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. We have a number of projects in Moldova (including in the Transnistrian region) that work to increase engagement and build confidence between the sides of the Nistru (Moldova and the Transnistrian region).

The UK plans to complete the ratification process for both Association Agreements with Georgia and Moldova before the General Election.

The members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have played an important role in the mediation efforts and have consistently called for both parties to respect the cessation of hostilities to solve the ongoing crisis in South Sudan and commit fully to the mediation process. Although South Sudan is not subject to an UN Arms Embargo, we have been clear that the actions of its neighbours should not in any way exacerbate the conflict. South Sudan has been subject to an EU Arms Embargo since its independence.

We welcome the decision by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to deploy troops to provide protection to the IGAD Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (MVM) in South Sudan. The protection force will be integrated into the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) structure, and under UN command, to ensure impartiality and alignment with UN Security Council Resolution 2155.

UN Security Council Resolution 2155 of 26 May 2014 renewed the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) mandate and acknowledged that the situation has changed in South Sudan. The new mandate enables UNMISS to focus on its core priorities: to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian assistance and investigate human rights violations and abuses. We will continue to do all we can to ensure that UNMISS remains focused on these priorities, with the right personnel and resources in place.

We are deeply concerned by reports of human rights violations and abuses in South Sudan, including the widespread use of sexual violence. We fully support the work of the Africa Union Commission of Inquiry and echo the call in the recent UN Human Rights Council resolution for thorough and genuine investigations into all human rights violations and abuses and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The UK is funding a project with non-governmental organisation Non Violent Peaceforce to establish women's protection teams in Northern Bahr El Ghazal. This project aims to tackle sexual violence in communities affected by insecurity around the border with Sudan by establishing and training women's peacekeeping teams to work within communities. We continue to raise the issue of human rights, and of sexual violence specifically, with South Sudanese Ministers. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), discussed the issue with the Foreign Minister of South Sudan at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on 11 June. Our Ambassador also raises these issues regularly with the Government of South Sudan.

There are currently no plans to send additional experts from the Stabilisation Unit to South Sudan. However, we keep all such plans under constant review.