Sudan

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Jim Shannon

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. As I mentioned, we have already seen in South Sudan and other neighbouring countries extreme humanitarian need. Clearly, the conflict in Sudan is making the situation even worse in many of those nations. I am grateful to those nations that have opened their borders so that those fleeing conflict are able to move out of the conflict situation, but clearly that is coming at significant cost in situations where there is already considerable humanitarian need. South Sudan, for example, already has the worst maternal mortality in the entire world. It has statistics that place it right at the bottom of the human development index of all countries. This is only making the situation worse, I regret to say.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister very much for her reassuring words about how to help those in Sudan, but given that some 10 million people are displaced there and 25 million are suffering from food insecurity, it is clear that a humanitarian crisis of gigantic proportions is unfolding. In particular—and here I declare an interest, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief—9,000 Christians have been killed, 6 million Christians have been displaced, and 165 churches have been destroyed and closed. There have been human rights violations in the form of rape, kidnapping and looting. Sudan is the eighth worst place in the world to be a Christian. It is clear that much more must be done. May I ask the Minister, very respectfully, what steps she is taking to work with non-governmental organisations on the ground to get support to the people who need it the most: the vulnerable, the ill, women and children?

[Anneliese Dodds]

The hon. Gentleman is right, sadly, about the scale of the humanitarian disaster we see unfolding and about the human rights abuses. He mentioned religious minorities, and also the impact on women and girls, which was mentioned earlier. We are seeing an extremely disturbing situation in Sudan. We will continue to do all we can to raise the profile of this issue. The humanitarian situation in Sudan was a priority for me as soon as I became the new Development Minister—I was determined that I should be briefed on it. It is an enormous crisis, and we in the UK must do all we can to ensure that we play our part politically, diplomatically, economically and in humanitarian terms.

Ukraine

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Jim Shannon

Monday 2nd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

That leaves us with just Jim Shannon.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister very much for her confident answers. They will encourage us all in this House and indeed our constituents back home as well, and I thank her for that. As she stated, as all our children—and in my case, my six grandchildren—make their way back into their classrooms in safety and security today, our minds are with those children in Ukraine who are unable to access an education, a hope or even a future. Can she outline what discussions have taken place to ensure that those children remaining in Ukraine have access to their education, to vocational training and indeed to a future?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for that important point. I thank him for his kind words and I congratulate him on his six grandchildren. I am sure I have heard that before, but it is quite an achievement. [Interruption.] It may not be entirely down to him, of course.

The hon. Member raises a very sad issue, as we see children being put in a very difficult position. Appalling numbers of children have been killed due to Russian aggression, and there is also the impact on essential children’s services, including education and healthcare. We have not managed to cover this in this urgent question, but I assure him that, when it comes to humanitarian support, the UK is absolutely committed to supporting Ukraine. As he would expect, as Minister for Development, I have been working very hard on this across a range of services, but particularly humanitarian matters and energy as we go into the winter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anneliese Dodds and Jim Shannon

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. The Foreign Secretary has been crystal clear that he will be as transparent as he possibly can. He will ensure that Parliament is fully updated on these matters.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Minister for that response. If we want to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it is quite clear what the free world has to do: get rid of Hamas, who are murderers and terrorists. They hide in schools and hospitals, and they hide among civilians. They are the people who are bringing death to Palestine. If we want to give Palestinians the humanitarian aid that we should give them, we have to get rid of Hamas.

[Anneliese Dodds]

Of course, this Government recognise that Hamas have used civilians as human shields. We are deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation, and I set out our response to that a few moments ago. We need to ensure that civilians are protected, and we will continue to press for that as a matter of absolute urgency.