Anum Qaisar

The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. Most recently, on 7 May, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to express the government's opposition to the demolition of Jubbet Adh Dhib school. Lord Ahmad has also visited a school under threat of demolition in Masafer Yatta during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in January.

We have long supported resolutions consistent with our policy, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. The UK's position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution and indeed contribute to the negative trends that imperil the two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately and we continue to monitor the changes to the settlement approval process instituted by the Government of Israel on June 18, which facilitate swifter approval of construction in settlements.

While the seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, the UK remains a longstanding supporter to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) and values its importance as a vital humanitarian and stabilising force in the region. In the financial year 2022/2023, the UK provided UNRWA with £18.7 million and in 2023/4 our funding is approximately £10 million. Our annual contribution to their programme budget helps UNRWA provide education to over 533,000 children a year (half of them girls), and access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees. We are aware of UNRWA's financial challenges and frequently raise this with MENA regional partners at ministerial level, most recently with the government of the United Arab Emirates. To that end, the UK Government is working with UNRWA and other international donors to help ensure its sustainability.

Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

Approximately 120 - 150 permanent members of staff at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, based in the UK and at the British Embassy in Yangon, work on policies relating to, or support our embassy in Myanmar.

It has long been the government's view that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is as an occupying power and therefore is governed by the provisions of the Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and we have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. We stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. It is vital that Israeli security operations all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law and calibrated to avoid civilian casualties. The Foreign Secretary along with the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon frequently engages with Israelis and Palestinians on issues relating to the occupation. The Foreign Secretary most recently spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen on 26 June.

The compounding pressures of conflict and cyclical climate disasters are driving unprecedented humanitarian needs, across the Horn of Africa. It is clear that humanitarian funding must complement and work alongside longer-term climate finances to help break the cycle of crisis and to build resilience. To support these efforts, in July the UK will host a conference at Wilton Park to agree concrete actions on how vulnerable countries can secure a proportionate share of climate finance which can be used to promote adaptation and resilient development.

The £143 million is part of a wider bilateral Official Development Assistance allocation for East and Central Africa of £389.8 million as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30th March 2023.

Local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an important role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa and beyond. We work and consult closely with local NGOs to aid their planning, delivery and ability to access funding.

In Ethiopia in 2022 the UK provided £7.6 million to the UN's Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) which supported a range of international and national NGOs. Similarly, the UK-funded 'Building Resilient Communities in Somalia' programme has supported a number of local NGOs alongside international civil society organisations. More broadly, the UK funds a number of Country based Pooled Funds (CBPF) and in 2022, nearly 22 percent of funding allocated by CBPFs went directly to national NGOs.

In the course of its illegal invasion, Russia has shown a total disregard for its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and is responsible for numerous violations and abuses of human rights. Russia continues to deny full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to territory under its temporary control, where millions of people are in acute need of humanitarian assistance. Reporting from the UN and OSCE concludes that Russia's treatment of civilians, including killings, torture and forced transfers, may amount to war crimes. The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine, including by supporting the International Criminal Court and Ukrainian domestic investigations.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises. In East Africa there is significant evidence to show the gendered impacts of drought, conflict and other humanitarian pressures.

Across East Africa UK humanitarian programmes support women and girls with access to nutrition services, maternal healthcare, access to education and gender-based violence prevention and support services. This is aligned with our commitments in the International Development Strategy on both women and girls and humanitarian action.

Afghanistan is one of FCDO's largest bilateral aid programmes. Since April 2021, the UK has spent £532 million on aid for Afghanistan. We continually monitor the situation in Afghanistan and support the UN led humanitarian response which prioritises according to need. The UK's development partnership with Pakistan focuses on underlying structural issues including population dynamics, climate vulnerability, protecting the rights of women and minorities and macroeconomic stabilisation. Within this partnership the UK has pledged a total of £36 million for flood relief efforts in Pakistan since 2022, of which over £25 million has been disbursed to date.

The FCDO supports a variety of initiatives to build political, cultural and religious understanding between Pakistan and its neighbours. These initiatives support wider regional stability and prosperity, whilst also reducing the risks of uncontrolled escalation towards violence.

The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.

The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.

The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure operational security guarantees and workable humanitarian access. There can be no international aid without safe and reliable access. As part of our engagement as the Quad (KSA, US, UK, UAE) we have pushed both for the extension of the ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.

The UK will support a well-coordinated and prioritised regional response. We will coordinate with the international humanitarian system (including INGOs, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations) to support the UN to be able to scale-up delivery within Sudan so they can move quickly to respond if and when the access situation improves.

As the Minister for Development, I set out FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 30th March 2023. The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, due to be published later this year, will include full breakdowns of financial years 2022/2023 spend and 2023-2024 plans.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub is in the early stages of its work. We continue to engage and support constructive dialogue with all involved stakeholders and assess over time its effectiveness.

The UK Government is not providing direct, earmarked funding to the Hub. However, the UK is the largest provider of flexible funding to the WHO and is the second largest funder of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The UK supports the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and is working with international and regional partners to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle- income countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub is in the early stages of its work. We continue to engage and support constructive dialogue with all involved stakeholders and assess over time its effectiveness.

The UK Government is not providing direct, earmarked funding to the Hub. However, the UK is the largest provider of flexible funding to the WHO and is the second largest funder of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The UK supports the expansion of vaccine manufacturing and is working with international and regional partners to catalyse strategic investments for vaccine manufacturing in low- and middle- income countries.

The UK plays a leadership role in international discussions on developing country debt. The Government will continue to work with its international partners to urgently address debt vulnerabilities in low-income countries.

FCDO considers debt as part of its approach to international development. The Government will be responding to the International Development Committee's recent inquiry into debt relief in low-income countries in the usual manner, including their recommendation for a strategy.

As the Minister for Development, I set out FCDO Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for financial years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 30th March 2023. The FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, due to be published later this year, will include full breakdowns of financial years 2022/2023 spend and 2023-2024 plans.

The UK Government has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict women and girls' access to education, including through UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements, most recently on 13 January 2023. The Government continues to support the delivery of education, including through bilateral and multilateral contributions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Ministers and officials are engaging regularly with Afghan women, including those working on education and we are considering remote learning interventions, including online platforms.

The UK Government has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict women and girls' access to education, including through UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements, most recently on 13 January 2023. The Government continues to support the delivery of education, including through bilateral and multilateral contributions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Ministers and officials are engaging regularly with Afghan women, including those working on education and we are considering remote learning interventions, including online platforms.

Comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), girls' education, and women's empowerment are all central commitments in the International Women and Girls Strategy.

Menstrual health and hygiene are a critical component of SRHR, and fundamental to women and girls' health, education and dignity. The FCDO already works to respond to this pressing need, through water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, as well as some focused on SRHR. For example, since 2019, the FCDO has supported the Government of Mozambique to deliver 28 inclusive, resilient school sanitation blocks that include integrated menstrual hygiene management facilities.

The FCDO provides consular support to the families of dual British nationals detained in Iran when they request our support. It remains in Iran's gift to release any British National who has been unfairly detained and we urge the Government of Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals. We will continue to work with like-minded partners to that end.

Since the beginning of the conflict on 4 November 2020, we have advised British Nationals to leave Tigray. There have been opportunities to leave during that time including four convoys organised by the UN during the initial stages of the conflict which we supported. In the period from January to June 2021, Ethiopian Airlines flights were operating between Mekele and Addis Ababa. We are aware of several British Nationals who chose not leave at that time. Those flights and routes out were curtailed when the conflict escalated in the summer of 2021. We have not been able to secure a safe route out of Tigray since that time. We are currently working with partners to explore possible routes out. We will also continue to be at the forefront of the international effort to de-escalate the conflict and alleviate suffering, and welcome the humanitarian ceasefire announced by both sides on 24 March.