Belarus: Presidential Elections

Debate between Lord Mann and Baroness Sugg

Friday 25th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

My Lords, of course we want regional stability, and we are working closely with all our partners. The Foreign Secretary recently spoke to the Foreign Secretary of Lithuania, and we will continue to support both Belarus and its neighbours to see the regional peace we all want.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

Forty years ago this month, the people of Poland were the first to break apart the Soviet communist empire, and Belarus remains one of the last vestiges remaining. When they did, the people of this country, the Government of this country and the TUC in this country led the way with practical and political support. Would it not be appropriate this time that the same organisations, and the Government backed by Parliament, led the way in the UN, the OSCE and elsewhere with practical, political and pragmatic support?

[Baroness Sugg (Con)]

I completely agree with the noble Lord, and I would argue that we are leading the way with practical and political support. We led the way at the OSCE, bringing together countries to invoke the Moscow mechanism. We are supporting practically, with civil society organisations, and we will absolutely continue to do so.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Water and Sanitation

Debate between Lord Mann and Baroness Sugg

Wednesday 10th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, as the noble Lord says, hygiene relies on access to adequate quantities of clean water, and that applies to both handwashing and surface hygiene. We will absolutely continue to support WASH projects. We need to make progress on sanitation, and progress to ensure that sufficient clean water is available for people to be able to keep safe.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl) [V]]

Can the Minister be absolutely clear: will we be spending more on this in sub-Saharan Africa in the next 12 months?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, I fear I am not in a position to answer that question. As the noble Lord will be aware, DfID funds a vast number of projects to tackle Covid. As I said, WASH projects will absolutely continue to be a key priority for DfID as we move forward.

Covid-19: Overseas Development Assistance

Debate between Lord Mann and Baroness Sugg

Wednesday 22nd April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, Covid-19 is a global challenge and it is essential that countries come together to tackle the shared threat. We will continue to fund the World Health Organization. We are a key donor to the WHO and have already contributed £75 million to help the organisation lead international efforts to stop the spread of the virus, find a vaccine and end this pandemic.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, considering the consequential hunger problems that have been identified, can the Minister guarantee that the UK’s support, including budgetary support, for the work of the UNFPA will be guaranteed throughout the next 12 months?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, we are a key donor to the UNFPA. We recently announced a £200 million humanitarian package that included an additional £10 million support to the UNFPA, and we will continue to support it in the vital work it does.