Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Zimbabwe about the continued detention of Jacob Ngarivhume and Job Sikhala MP in Chikurubi maximum security prison and what assessment it has made of reports that Job Sikhala is now seriously ill.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to monitor the ongoing detention of former MP Job Sikhala, and notes the conviction of Jacob Ngarivhume on 27 April for inciting the public to commit violence. The Minister of State for Africa and Development raised the trend of lengthy pre-trial detention of government critics in Zimbabwe- and the case of Job Sikhala specifically - with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa when they met in the margins of His Majesty the King's Coronation in May. Mr Sikhala received medical attention for his recent illness on 9 October.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are giving to the World Food Programme and other humanitarian agencies operating in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recent violent conflict in DRC and a protracted humanitarian crisis have led to record levels of displacement, food insecurity and suffering. In addition, climate shocks are impacting agriculture, livelihoods, and fishing, increasing food prices (which on average have increased by 11.6 per cent), poverty levels and resulting in a deterioration of basic infrastructure. In response to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, the UN's System Wide Scale Up has been extended for another 3 months. The UK welcomes the scale up and urges for more resources and action from the DRC Government and other international partners. A 3-year £98 million UK funded humanitarian and resilience programme for crisis affected communities in eastern DRC where the food security needs are the highest has recently been improved. This will be implemented by a range of partners including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and SAFER (an INGO consortium), to address the immediate needs and build the resilience of conflict affected communities.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the food security situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recent violent conflict in DRC and a protracted humanitarian crisis have led to record levels of displacement, food insecurity and suffering. In addition, climate shocks are impacting agriculture, livelihoods, and fishing, increasing food prices (which on average have increased by 11.6 per cent), poverty levels and resulting in a deterioration of basic infrastructure. In response to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, the UN's System Wide Scale Up has been extended for another 3 months. The UK welcomes the scale up and urges for more resources and action from the DRC Government and other international partners. A 3-year £98 million UK funded humanitarian and resilience programme for crisis affected communities in eastern DRC where the food security needs are the highest has recently been improved. This will be implemented by a range of partners including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and SAFER (an INGO consortium), to address the immediate needs and build the resilience of conflict affected communities.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had at ministerial level with Southern African Development Community (SADC) counterparts regarding the recall of a number of opposition members of the Zimbabwe parliament and senators, following the August Harmonised Elections, which were judged by the SADC Election Observer Mission to have fallen "short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021)".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are in regular ministerial level discussions with our Southern African Development Community (SADC) counterparts on a range of issues, in Harare and across the region. We have not discussed the issue the Noble Lord raises with SADC counterparts.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sources of funding and support for the M23 armed group and its role in the displacement of approximately one million people in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to monitor the security situation in eastern DRC. The consequences of the conflict are immediate and severe and are resulting in large scale human displacement and humanitarian suffering. We welcome the comprehensive reports issued by the UN Group of Experts (GoE) on the DRC - we stand behind the GoE and the critical work they do. We note the human rights abuses and the violations of international humanitarian law by armed groups, including M23, as documented in the report and we call for an end to all external support to armed groups. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to honour commitments made during regional peace process meetings, including the cessation of hostilities and agreed withdrawal by M23. We are fully supportive of the work carried out by the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO and note their vital work in providing protection for many of those displaced. The UK firmly believes the regional Nairobi and Luanda diplomatic peace processes provide the best means by which to achieve a lasting peace in eastern DRC and offer them our full support.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to strengthen (1) support, and (2) protection, for (a) human rights defenders, and (b) civil society, in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Zimbabwe is one of the UK's 32 Human Rights Priority Countries. As the Minister of State for Africa and Development said to President Mnangagwa in May, the UK would like to see the Government of Zimbabwe meet its international and domestic obligations by respecting the rule of law and safeguarding human rights.
The UK has engaged with the Government of Zimbabwe on draft legislation including the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill and amendments to the criminal code that, if passed into law, could be used to undermine the operating capacity of civil society, and to silence and penalise critics of the state.
The UK continues to support the most vulnerable people in Zimbabwe. This financial year, we are providing £74 million in official development assistance, focused on education and livelihoods, promoting health, supporting governance and human rights as well as climate resilience.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether British citizen Uebert Angel should retain diplomatic status as Zimbabwe’s Ambassador at Large.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
We are aware of an Al Jazeera documentary investigating cases of alleged smuggling and fraud involving Uebert Angel, a dual British-Zimbabwean national and Presidential Envoy and Ambassador At Large for the country of Zimbabwe to Europe and the Americas. Whilst Mr Angel holds a diplomatic passport he is not diplomatically accredited to the UK - countries are free to determine for themselves who they grant these passports to, but the passport itself does not confer any diplomatic status on the holder. We cannot comment further on specific cases at this stage. The UK sees corruption as an important barrier to economic reform and inclusive growth in Zimbabwe. We engage with the Government of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, civil society and other actors in the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, together with partners in Zimbabwe, to help reduce the maternal mortality rate in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK has supported and will continue to support essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health and nutrition services in Zimbabwe. Alongside international partners, our 'Supporting a Resilient Health System' programme (£130 million, 2017-22) has benefitted 5.4 million women and children in Zimbabwe through delivering essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health and nutrition services.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Zimbabwe regarding the continued detention of opposition Members of Parliament (1) Job Sikhala, and (2) Godfrey Sithole.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is monitoring the ongoing detention of opposition Members of Parliament Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole in Zimbabwe. The former Minister for Africa met with the Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe on 30 June and reiterated the importance of all political parties respecting the rule of law, refraining from violence and respecting the right of others to campaign freely ahead of upcoming elections in 2023.
Asked by: Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regarding the continued detention of Zimbabwe opposition Members of Parliament (1) Job Sikhala, and (2) Godfrey Sithole.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is monitoring the ongoing detention of opposition Members of Parliament Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole in Zimbabwe. The former Minister for Africa met with the Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe on 30 June and reiterated the importance of all political parties respecting the rule of law, refraining from violence and respecting the right of others' to campaign freely ahead of upcoming elections in 2023.