Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of support among Arab residents of Jerusalem for Israeli control of the city; and to what extent this is a consideration for their policy towards Israel and Palestine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have not made a specific assessment of this.
We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. A political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution is one of the vital elements for a lasting peace, with Jerusalem as shared capital of both Israel and Palestine.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any role in selecting and overseeing those local partner organisations of the Norwegian Refugee Council that receive money donated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and, if so, what procedures are used.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a leading international NGO and a trusted aid partner to the FCDO providing life-saving support to vulnerable populations around the world. The FCDO has a longstanding relationship with NRC, which is headquartered and registered in Oslo. NRC has a UK presence and was registered as a UK charity in December 2023.
FCDO funds go directly to NRC, which in turn may provide funds to its local partner organisations. The exact selection process and any HMG involvement will vary according to the programme and context. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments of partners it funds directly, including the NRC. The FCDO's Programme Operating Framework and associated guidance enables staff to ensure that FCDO partners in receipt of aid funds are operating in compliance with sanctions and counter-terrorism legislation. The FCDO due diligence process should consider whether partners have procedures in place to manage the risk of aid diversion in their delivery chains, such as the risk of support to sanctioned entities or proscribed terrorist groups.
We are not aware of any funds provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Norwegian Refugee Council being transferred to local partner organisations that have been designated as terrorist organisations by the government of Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, before making donations to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), they carry out counter-terrorism vetting of the NRC and its local partner organisations; and whether they are aware of any counter-terrorism vetting by the NRC itself of its local partner organisations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a leading international NGO and a trusted aid partner to the FCDO providing life-saving support to vulnerable populations around the world. The FCDO has a longstanding relationship with NRC, which is headquartered and registered in Oslo. NRC has a UK presence and was registered as a UK charity in December 2023.
FCDO funds go directly to NRC, which in turn may provide funds to its local partner organisations. The exact selection process and any HMG involvement will vary according to the programme and context. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments of partners it funds directly, including the NRC. The FCDO's Programme Operating Framework and associated guidance enables staff to ensure that FCDO partners in receipt of aid funds are operating in compliance with sanctions and counter-terrorism legislation. The FCDO due diligence process should consider whether partners have procedures in place to manage the risk of aid diversion in their delivery chains, such as the risk of support to sanctioned entities or proscribed terrorist groups.
We are not aware of any funds provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Norwegian Refugee Council being transferred to local partner organisations that have been designated as terrorist organisations by the government of Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they fund directly any local partner organisations of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a leading international NGO and a trusted aid partner to the FCDO providing life-saving support to vulnerable populations around the world. The FCDO has a longstanding relationship with NRC, which is headquartered and registered in Oslo. NRC has a UK presence and was registered as a UK charity in December 2023.
FCDO funds go directly to NRC, which in turn may provide funds to its local partner organisations. The exact selection process and any HMG involvement will vary according to the programme and context. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments of partners it funds directly, including the NRC. The FCDO's Programme Operating Framework and associated guidance enables staff to ensure that FCDO partners in receipt of aid funds are operating in compliance with sanctions and counter-terrorism legislation. The FCDO due diligence process should consider whether partners have procedures in place to manage the risk of aid diversion in their delivery chains, such as the risk of support to sanctioned entities or proscribed terrorist groups.
We are not aware of any funds provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Norwegian Refugee Council being transferred to local partner organisations that have been designated as terrorist organisations by the government of Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any funds donated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Norwegian Refugee Council being transferred to local partner organisations that have been designated as terrorist organisations by the government of Israel.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a leading international NGO and a trusted aid partner to the FCDO providing life-saving support to vulnerable populations around the world. The FCDO has a longstanding relationship with NRC, which is headquartered and registered in Oslo. NRC has a UK presence and was registered as a UK charity in December 2023.
FCDO funds go directly to NRC, which in turn may provide funds to its local partner organisations. The exact selection process and any HMG involvement will vary according to the programme and context. The FCDO carries out due diligence assessments of partners it funds directly, including the NRC. The FCDO's Programme Operating Framework and associated guidance enables staff to ensure that FCDO partners in receipt of aid funds are operating in compliance with sanctions and counter-terrorism legislation. The FCDO due diligence process should consider whether partners have procedures in place to manage the risk of aid diversion in their delivery chains, such as the risk of support to sanctioned entities or proscribed terrorist groups.
We are not aware of any funds provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to the Norwegian Refugee Council being transferred to local partner organisations that have been designated as terrorist organisations by the government of Israel.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they donated to the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2022 and 2023, and how much they expect to provide to the Council in 2024, for its work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK currently provides funding to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) for projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including in the West Bank and East Jerusalem through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). The CSSF is a National Security Council led approach to UK effort in fragile and conflict-affected states. We are not currently supporting NRC work in Gaza.
The UK has committed the following funding to the NRC in the financial years below:
FY 22-23 - £3.07 million
FY 23-24 - £ 3.68 million
FY 24-25 - £ 2.7 million
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of South Africa regarding the increased levels of antisemitism in that country and their relation to the government of South Africa's recent policies and statements, including their position on the conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise that there are heightened tensions around the world due to the conflict in Gaza. Antisemitism has no place in our or any society and we strongly condemn it. We note that President Ramaphosa met with the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and emphasised his government's denunciation of anti-Semitic behaviour towards Jewish people in South Africa. In February, the Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad both engaged with Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor on the conflict in Gaza.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that perpetrators of the 7 October terrorist attacks on Israel will be financially rewarded via welfare payments funded by the Palestinian Authority, what steps they are taking to ensure that aid coming from the UK does not support any such arrangements.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following Official Development Assistance (ODA) prioritisation exercises undertaken in March 2021, the UK no longer provides direct financial aid to the Palestinian Authority. All UK support to the Palestinian Authority is provided through technical advice, procured through commercial suppliers. No UK aid is used for payments to Palestinian prisoners, or their families or the Martyrs Fund, nor has it ever been. We continue to deliver a clear and long-standing message to the highest levels of the Palestinian Authority that the prisoner payments system should be reformed so that it is needs-based, transparent and affordable. FCDO officials maintain a regular dialogue with international partners on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for religious freedom of the removal by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities of a geniza, a resting place for discarded documents containing the name of God, from a Jewish burial ground in Cairo without guarantee of access for the Jewish community.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make representations to the government of Egypt concerning the importance of including the Jewish community in official ceremonies related to the Ben Ezra synagogue and similar historical and cultural landmarks in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.