Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Ferrier

Tuesday 2nd May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right; the situation is simply appalling. The head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is expecting to be in the region within the next day or so. The essential fact that is required is a ceasefire. Without a ceasefire, the consequences— particularly the humanitarian consequences—are unconscionable.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

T2. Following the adoption of the global women and girls strategy, how is it being promoted and operationalised in Saudi Arabia, particular in terms of advocating for women’s and girls’ rights and amplifying the work of local women’s organisations in the region?

[Mr Mitchell]

Progress is being made on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, with 37% of all those employed now women, which is a higher level than in Morocco, which was the outlier in all this. I can tell her that our excellent embassy team in Riyadh is running leadership and skills development programmes to help women, particularly those in the cyber sector and those who engage in sport.

Sudan

Debate between Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Ferrier

Monday 17th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend puts his finger on a most important point. It was alluded to earlier that these events will engender the fragility and vulnerability of the whole region, with an impact on starvation and malnutrition. All I can say to him is that we are watching the situation—in particular the humanitarian situation—with our partners with the greatest possible care. When I was in Somalia before Christmas we did a small co-financing deal with another country. I hope that we will do more of those deals, specifically targeted at the humanitarian situation in that part of Africa and elsewhere.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

Concerns are being raised that during this ongoing conflict young women and girls in the region are at higher risk of being forced into child marriages, either through abduction or due to financial insecurity and food scarcity among families. What discussions have there been around providing specific support to young women and girls who find themselves in danger of involuntary marriage?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is entirely right to say that in disorder and chaos those sorts of arrangements follow. Women and girls are among the most vulnerable parts of the community. We put them at the centre of everything we do because the impact and effect of deep poverty, which international development seeks to tackle, cannot be understood unless it is seen through the eyes of girls and women. The hon. Lady may rest assured that the issue that she raises is right at the front of our priorities in these sorts of situations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Ferrier

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My right hon. Friend knows a great deal about this subject, and has done an enormous amount. The Prime Minister announced at COP that Britain would stand by the commitment to spend £11,600 million on climate finance through the ICF, and yesterday there was a cross-Whitehall meeting with Ministers involved in the programme to discuss how that would be done. I will try to establish how much we can put into the public domain about those plans, as my right hon. Friend suggests, but I should emphasise that the pipeline of high-quality eligible projects is extremely important.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

T6. Thousands remain unjustly imprisoned in Egypt, including many lawyers. As well as doing all that it can to secure the release of the British-Egyptian dual national Alaa Abd el-Fattah, will the FCDO ensure that it continues to make representations for the release of Alaa’s lawyer and human rights defender, Mohamed el-Baqer?

Afghanistan: Ban on Women Aid Workers

Debate between Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Ferrier

Thursday 19th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

Within the parameters of proper and orderly governance, we do precisely that, as the hon. Gentleman would expect. To the first part of his question, we are working with all like-minded countries and regional powers in so far as we can to make that point through the United Nations. I will draw his specific comments to the attention of Martin Griffiths, the UN OCHA co-ordinator, who is going there shortly, as I said.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

In June 2022, a team of female doctors and nurses drove for six hours across treacherous terrain to reach victims of a massive earthquake that had killed more than 1,000 people. On arrival, all the men had received treatment while the women waited for female assistance to arrive. In light of the ban, what plans do the Government have to provide aid to women and girls in the region following natural disasters?

[Mr Mitchell]

I pay tribute to the women doctors who carried out that brave task in June 2022. I am appalled to hear what the hon. Lady said about the unequal treatment of men and women. We will continue to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that aid is targeted, as best it can be, at those who need it most throughout Afghanistan.