Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the internally displaced persons' camps in Syria in which British children reside are under the control of the government of Syria or the Kurdish authorities.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation throughout Syria, which is why DFID is working closely with the UN and our INGO partners to maintain an up to date picture of conditions and humanitarian needs, including within Syria’s Internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps. These assessments help us to better understand the conditions inside these camps and support the people in most desperate need. Our aid inside Syria helps people regardless of their country of origin and is driven by these assessments by the UN and INGO partners, to make sure food, medical care and shelter reaches the people who need it most.
IDP camps in Syria are overseen by the organisation which governs the area where a camp is located. Across Syria this includes, but is not limited to, the Assad Regime and Kurdish authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what attempts they have made directly, or through, the UN or relief agencies, to assess the conditions in which British children are living in internally displaced persons’ camps in Syria.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation throughout Syria, which is why DFID is working closely with the UN and our INGO partners to maintain an up to date picture of conditions and humanitarian needs, including within Syria’s Internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps. These assessments help us to better understand the conditions inside these camps and support the people in most desperate need. Our aid inside Syria helps people regardless of their country of origin and is driven by these assessments by the UN and INGO partners, to make sure food, medical care and shelter reaches the people who need it most.
IDP camps in Syria are overseen by the organisation which governs the area where a camp is located. Across Syria this includes, but is not limited to, the Assad Regime and Kurdish authorities.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian conditions for British children living in refugee camps in Syria or in territory that was formerly part of the sovereign states of Syria or Iraq.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation throughout the region, including for vulnerable groups such as women and children. We are aware of a significant number of minors residing in refugee and internally displaced persons camps in former Daesh held areas.
Limited access and harsh winter conditions continue to exacerbate humanitarian need. Access to food, sanitation, healthcare, shelter and education remain core concerns in the international response. In 2018/19, we provided over £40 million to address basic-life saving needs in North East Syria. Since 2014, DFID has committed over £250 million in humanitarian support to Iraq, providing a vital lifeline of emergency food, shelter, medical care and clean water.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much United Kingdom financial aid has been distributed to meet the needs of displaced Iraqis, broken down by ethnicity of beneficiary.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UN estimates that 1.9 million people in Iraq have been displaced by the humanitarian emergency in total. DFID has allocated £23 million to the crisis since June and we continue to monitor the evolving humanitarian situation. All UK funded aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will review the level of humanitarian aid given bilaterally to the Central African Republic.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK has been closely monitoring the situation in CAR and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). DFID officials conduct quarterly visits to CAR in order to meet with partners and review the response.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current commitment, bilaterally and multilaterally, to the United Nations Level 3 Emergency Situation in Central African Republic.
Answered by Baroness Northover
In December 2013 the UN declared a Level 3 crisis in CAR which is in effect until December 2014. The UK welcomed the UN declaration which more accurately reflected the severity of the situation on the ground and brought much needed attention and resources from across the UN system to respond to the crisis.
The UK has been closely monitoring the situation and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. The funds are going towards the protection of civilians, urgent medical assistance, and to food security and livelihoods assistance through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). The UK’s combined bilateral and multilateral contributions (through the EU and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund) to the CAR crisis total £27 million in 2014.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what projects they fund within the educational services in Pakistan that promote religious tolerance.
Answered by Baroness Northover
DFID’s provincial education programmes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which includes teaching on religious tolerance and respect for diversity. In 2014 DFID support will benefit some 6.3 million children in school in Pakistan.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds they have allocated for reconciliation work in Iraq in the current financial year.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The joint DFID/FCO/MOD Conflict Pool is used for reconciliation work, amongst other themes. The total Conflict Pool budget for Iraq in this financial year is £2.5 million and £0.3m of this is supporting reconciliation projects.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £3 million of emergency aid to Iraq will be allocated to United Kingdom charities, and in particular to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, operated by Canon Andrew White.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK has allocated £2m to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with UK operations who were already operating in Iraq.
DFID has not received a request for funding in response to the current situation in Iraq from the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. For the financial year 2014/15 they will receive £8,070 from the MENA Conflict Pool. This is a project which has been running for a number of years and is not connected to our emergency response.