Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what barriers exist to the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and what steps they are taking to remove those barriers.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have set out five steps that Israel needs to take, including:
The Foreign Secretary has appointed a Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Mark Bryson-Richardson. He is based in the region and is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the humanitarian relief effort in Gaza and the West Bank of the decision to suspend aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has no impact on the UK's contribution to the humanitarian response. We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities. We trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, World Food Programme, UNICEF and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to deliver vital supplies.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the livelihoods of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon of the decision to suspend aid to the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK provided £35 million to UNRWA this financial year, including an uplift of £16 million for the Gaza humanitarian response, all of which was disbursed before the recent allegations came to light. No more British funding is due this financial year and we have paused any future funding of UNRWA..
Indeed, we are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion. I have discussed this with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini on several occasions, most recently on 4 April.
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to secure a ceasefire, and (2) to press for an investigation by the International Criminal Court of violations of international humanitarian law, in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK wants to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to get aid in and hostages out, and as a vital first step towards building a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life. But to achieve that:
Regarding the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the UK is a strong supporter of ICC and we respect its independence.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the war in Gaza might affect respect for international humanitarian law in other conflicts.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We recognise that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in accordance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). As the Foreign Secretary has outlined, we assess that Israel has the capability and commitment to comply with IHL, but we are also deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population in Gaza. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) international humanitarian law is upheld in Gaza, and (2) civilians are protected there.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether international humanitarian law is being respected in the war in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to assess the lessons of the Oslo peace process, especially in relation to the inclusion of regional actors, and (2) to apply those lessons in their response to current calls from regional players for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK-manufactured weapons sold under export licences are not being used to commit or facilitate violations of international humanitarian law, as required by the Arms Trade Treaty.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK export licensing system is based on a thorough risk-assessment for the original export licence before the goods leave the UK.
We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC), which is one of the means by which we implement a range of international legal commitments including the Arms Trade Treaty.
The SELC provide a robust framework for export licence applications and require us to think hard about the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC. These are not decisions we take lightly.
The Business and Trade Secretary is ultimately responsible for the decision to grant or refuse an export licence in any individual case. In exercising these powers, the Business and Trade Secretary always seeks and takes into account advice from other Government Departments (OGDs), including from the FCDO.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Worcester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what reassurances they have sought from, and (2) what reassurances have been given by, the Taliban that future aid to Afghanistan will be used for its intended purposes.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
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.