Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to recognise the result of the upcoming general election in Myanmar; and whether they will raise the issue of that election at the United Nations General Assembly.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided on 3 November to Question HL11182.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the Arakan Army has committed human rights violations in northwestern Myanmar; and what steps they are taking bilaterally and through international mechanisms to ensure accountability for those abuses.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights violations in western Myanmar. We are aware of allegations involving armed actors in the region and continue to push for accountability for such abuses, wherever they occur.
As penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council, we convened six Council meetings in 2024 and three so far in 2025 to spotlight the crisis, including the first open meeting in five years focused on the Rohingya. We also co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution in April (2025) on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, condemning ongoing violations particularly against ethnic minorities.
The UK has provided £900,000 to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar since 2021 to support the collection, verification, and preservation of evidence for future prosecution, and established the Myanmar Witness programme to verify open-source evidence of human rights violations.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to persuade the government of Israel (1) to allow humanitarian access to Gaza, (2) to ensure the protection of civilian populations and humanitarian workers, and (3) to end settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK has repeatedly made representations to the Israeli government to ensure that humanitarian workers are protected, medical and aid workers can do their jobs safely and to clamp down on settler violence and expansion. Working with our Australian counterparts, we developed the political Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel which launched at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 and secured endorsement from 105 states. On 3 October, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar and pressed him on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, among other matters. We will continue our engagement and keep these issues under review.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the finding by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory that the government of Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, what steps they intend to take to ensure that potential perpetrators are held to account.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to my answer of 7 October to question HL10739.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the objectives of the G7 Kananaskis Wildfire Charter, what steps they are taking to ensure direct funding to indigenous peoples and forest peoples provides the flexibility needed to prevent and mitigate wildfires.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Wildfires drove record-breaking levels of forest loss globally in 2024 and overtook agriculture as the leading cause of tropical primary forest loss. The G7 Kananaskis Wildfire Charter recognised the scale of the challenge posed by wildfires and resolved to support efforts to prevent and mitigate their occurrence internationally. Effective responses will be grounded in a whole of society approach, which, depending on the local context, will include governments, civil society, academia, private sector and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).
The UK will engage with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Fire Management Hub working groups, including on Community-Based Fire Management, to support the wider understanding of the challenges and requirements of IPLCs in responding to wildfires globally. The UK is also working internationally to support efforts to strengthen land and forest tenure rights and forest governance systems, including direct support to IPLC groups. For example, the Amazon Catalyst for Forest Communities (AMCAT) programme supports IPLC-led solutions by providing direct, flexible funding, recognising that local knowledge and tenure rights are critical to effective forest management and wildfire prevention.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that the standards-based market detailed in the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan will consider legal rather than voluntary standards.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK is working with G7 partners to identify the outline of a proposed voluntary Standards Based Market to ensure the secure supply of responsibly produced critical minerals. We expect G7 Energy Ministers will discuss a clear articulation of this outline in late October. The UK's priority is to ensure that critical mineral markets operate in accordance with relevant international law and to standards that are rigorous and context sensitive.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024 regarding the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and when they expect to publish their analysis of that advisory opinion and its policy implications.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK respects the independence of the International Court of Justice, and we are considering its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 with the seriousness and rigour it deserves. We have been clear that many aspects of the Opinion are already government policy: Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and Israel should end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as swiftly as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what tangible steps they will take to fulfil their manifesto pledges on tackling unsustainable debt for developing nations and unlocking climate finance, following reductions made to Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. The Economic Secretary (EST) is co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.
The UK is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which department is responsible for policy on tackling (1) anti-Palestinian racism, and (2) the dehumanisation of Palestinians.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government strongly opposes all forms of racism and is committed to promoting tolerant society for people of all ethnicities, religions and nationalities. We recognise that dehumanising language and hate speech can lay the ground for and justify identity-based violence in conflict. The Government will challenge those who undermine the prospects of a two-state solution or use hateful rhetoric. The UK strongly condemns inciteful remarks, such as those made by Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich, which seek to inflame tensions and harm the viability of a two-state solution. In October, the Government introduced sanctions targeting 3 settler outposts and 4 organisations that have supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. The Government has been engaging with the British Palestinian community, including through a PM-led roundtable with members of the Palestinian community in the UK to mark the one-year anniversary of the conflict. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials work closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to understand the impact of international events domestically in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have raised any formal complaint with the government of Israel over the response on social media of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 April describing comments by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East about aid workers as a blood libel against Israel.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Gaza is the deadliest place to be a humanitarian in the world and it is appalling that over 400 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. Israel's admission of responsibility for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) strike on 19 March is an important step. As I said on social media, Israel must thoroughly investigate all attacks that have harmed aid workers, and we expect that those responsible are held to account in a meaningful way.
Steps must be taken to ensure this stops happening. The UK expects accountability when aid workers are killed, wherever it happens.
We will continue to make both private and public representations to the Government of Israel to ensure that humanitarian workers are protected and able to do their jobs safely.