Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent reports they have received about unrest in the Sahel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned at the scale of terrorist and inter-community violence in the Sahel. In recent weeks, we have seen a number of horrific attacks with tragic consequences for people in the region. The UK condemns these attacks, including, most recently, those conducted against the Malian and French armed forces on 1-2 November, and offers its deepest condolences to those affected.
As part of the UK's new strategic approach to Africa we are increasing our support to the Sahel, bringing together our development, diplomacy and defence expertise to help address instability and poverty in the region. Our increased engagement includes the deployment of 250 personnel to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali next year and the expansion of our work to address the long-term drivers of conflict.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what contributions they are making to the proposed Multi-National Joint Task Force and the G5 Sahel Joint Force in the Sahel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2016, the UK has contributed £5 million to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), on top of our assessed contributions through the EU’s Africa Peace Facility. We also support through the deployment of UK personnel, who provide technical and strategic support, to the MNJTF headquarters in N’Djamena. The UK has supported the G5 Sahel Joint Force (G5SJF) bilaterally and through the EU. We contributed £2 million of bilateral support in 2018/19 and are continuing to support this year. We are also providing technical support to cooperation between the G5SJF and the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, they are providing to Eritrea and Ethiopia in ratifying a trade agreement.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to engage with Eritrea and Ethiopia as well as our regional and international partners to facilitate further progress of the peace deal they signed, including by seeking to identify practical ways to support improved ties and trade. We are encouraged that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia met with the Eritrean Prime Minister on 18 July in Asmara on the anniversary of the resumption of flights between the two countries. We remain hopeful that this will lead to further progress in implementation of their peace agreement.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent border closure between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports that the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia remains closed and are concerned of the impact this has on the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship deal between Eritrea and Ethiopia that was signed last year. We urge the two countries to ensure the agreement is fully implemented in order to bring stability and prosperity to their countries and the Horn of Africa region. We welcome the visit of Prime Minister Abiy to Eritrea on 18-19 July and both sides re-commitment towards this.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current status of indefinite conscription in Eritrea.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to be deeply concerned by reports that indefinite conscription is ongoing in Eritrea. We raise concerns about human rights in Eritrea regularly, both directly with the Government, as the former Minister for Africa did with the Eritrean Foreign Minister in September 2018, and in international fora. In a statement at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights council on 12 July the UK welcomed the renewal of the Special Rapporteur's mandate, which we co-sponsored. The UK also urged Eritrea to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea and to reform national service.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the peace deal brokered in 2018 between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In a statement by the former Minister for Africa, we welcomed the Eritrea/Ethiopia peace agreement, signed on 9 July 2018. At the UN Human Rights Council on 12 July the UK reiterated its strong support for the peace deal and remains hopeful that it will contribute to stability and prosperity in the two countries. We welcome the visit of Prime Minister Abiy to Eritrea on 18-19 July and the re-commitment of both sides to further progress in their bilateral relationship.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current humanitarian situation in Eritrea.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Eritrea’s location in the Horn of Africa makes it susceptible to extreme weather events such as droughts and flooding. We are concerned by deteriorating levels of food security in the Horn of Africa as a result of poor rainfall across much of the region. Slower economic growth and the residual effects of war also perpetuate the vulnerability of Eritrea’s population.
DFID has funded life-saving activity in Eritrea for several years, including providing £3.24m to UNICEF in 2018-19 to help treat malnutrition in under-fives and provide access to safe hygiene and sanitation services. DFID has recently agreed to extend funding to UNICEF Eritrea until March 2021.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UN report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published on 15 July, which suggests an increase in food insecurity in the developing world.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report shows that progress without significantly increased efforts, the world will fall far short of achieving the target of eradicating hunger by 2030. The UK is playing its part to ending hunger and undernutrition through its substantial portfolio of humanitarian support and longer-term responses to tackling chronic hunger and supporting food security by transforming agriculture. We are aware that the international community needs to do more. We are discussing opportunities for scaled-up and improved global interventions, including the German-initiated proposal for a major SDG2 event in 2020, bringing together world leaders to agree commitments to reverse the negative trend on hunger and progress SDG2 on the road to 2030, and are supporting the Government of Japan in its preparations for the 2020 Nutrition for Growth Summit.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they will put in place to aid progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to delivering the Goals at home and around the world. The UK’s first Voluntary National Review shows some of the actions we are taking on all 17 Goals, and the progress we are making. For example, our pioneering Modern Slavery Act is supporting our delivery of Goals 8 and 16, to tackle injustices and exploitation in the UK and internationally.
The Goals are embedded in departments’ single departmental plans – this remains the most effective mechanism for monitoring their delivery.
Following the Voluntary National Review, we are reviewing existing mechanisms that oversee Government’s contribution to domestic delivery of the Goals, building on the Single Departmental Plan process. This will strengthen accountability and cross-government work on the Goals.
Asked by: Lord Sheikh (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to the developing countries which are most vulnerable to water scarcity.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
One-third of the world’s people live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the year and global demand is now expected to outstrip supply by 40% in 2030, based on current trends.
Our focus has been on access to water and sanitation, and since 2015 DFID has helped more than 51 million people in Africa and Asia gain access to a drinking water supply or toilet facilities. We have recognised the need to invest more in addressing water scarcity, and we are funding a £52m Water Security programme to look at how best to integrate water resource management into development programmes, particularly in cities and agriculture. New programming being developed on water will have a focus on water scarcity.