Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs what steps he has taken as part of the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (a) to help prevent the persecution of religious minorities and (b) to support progress in defeating Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Nigeria is facing rising conflict and insecurity. This includes terrorist groups in the North East such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa who target all those who do not subscribe to their extremist views. Through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), we are working with Nigeria's security forces to tackle insecurity and violence against civilian communities, including those of different religious backgrounds and belief systems. For example, in North-East Nigeria our partnership is delivering vital risk education around Improvised Explosive Devices and establishing civilian-military engagement to address local security needs. As part of the SDP, we have also committed to working with Nigeria to respond to the shared threat of terrorism and violent extremism. At the last UK-Nigeria SDP dialogue in February 2024 we welcomed a commitment from Nigeria on timely, effective and human rights compliant investigations of, and prosecutions for, terrorism crimes.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs how much and what proportion of the humanitarian aid budget has been allocated to preventing (a) maternal and (b) newborn deaths over the past three years; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in the humanitarian aid budget on future funding in this area.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure is reported via the Statistics on International Development publications (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development).
We report spending based on OECD Development and Assistance Committee sector codes. The UK takes a multisectoral approach to ending preventable maternal, child and newborn deaths. We do not hold data to accurately estimate the humanitarian aid budget specifically for preventing maternal and newborn deaths. The tables below show bilateral spending on sectors contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health but do not represent that the total of this funding was therefore used on it as it is not possible to disaggregate. Core funding was excluded from these estimates, as it is used flexibly by partners and its contribution to specific sectors cannot be tracked directly.
Table 1: UK humanitarian programme bilateral ODA on sector codes contributing to Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH), in £:
2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Humanitarian bilateral ODA on sector codes contributing to RMCNH | 44,100,000 | 45,200,000 | 31,000,000 |
Note: figures rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Based on OECD sector codes: 12110, 12220, 12240, 12250, 12261, 12262, 12263, 12281, 13020, 13040, 14030, 14031, 14032.
The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of GNI on ODA will require significant shifts, building on those already underway as the government implements its modernised approach to development. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through, based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of prioritising aid for Christians and ethnic faith groups in Myanmar following the recent earthquake.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the earthquake in Myanmar, including ethnic and religious minorities.
The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations and will prioritise the most in need.
The UK Government is committed to defending religious freedom for all in Myanmar. In April this year, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar, emphasising the importance of eliminating all forms of discrimination against ethnic and religious minority groups and stressing the importance of equal access to health services, education, livelihood opportunities, and basic services.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what types of humanitarian aid his Department is providing to Myanmar; and what assurance his Department has that the aid will reach those in need.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has announced up to £25 million in life-saving support for people affected by the recent earthquake in Myanmar. This includes up to £5 million to match the British public's generous donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal.
The UK's earthquake support is funding local actors on the ground who can directly access affected populations. UK-funded food, water, healthcare and shelter supplies are already reaching affected areas, helping over 86,000 people so far.
Since the 2021 coup the UK has provided more than £170 million in live-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare and education support, and work to support civil society and local communities in Myanmar.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of Government funding for the promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief was allocated to supporting persecuted religious communities globally in the each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK champions and remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all abroad. It is our firm opinion that no one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) John Bunyan Fund (JBF), the designated programme for FoRB-focused overseas projects has a budget allocation of £460,720 in the financial year 2024/25. In the financial year 2023/24 the JBF spent £170,000 and in financial year 2022/23, £70,000. The FCDO works to ensure that Official Development Assistance (ODA) is allocated to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion, or ethnicity. This includes minority religious or belief communities who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to hold discussions with his counterpart in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on (a) the recent killing of Christians and (b) other ongoing human rights violations in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recent attacks by IS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are alarming and we are deeply saddened by the loss of life. Protection of civilians, promotion of respect between different religious and non-religious groups, and human rights are priorities for the UK. The UK continues to work through UN bodies and other multilateral fora to promote and protect these rights in the DRC. Ministers and senior officials including our Ambassador in Kinshasa regularly raise the importance of civilian protection with the Government of DRC. The UK continues to remind all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law and make clear that all those who have committed human rights violations and abuses must be held accountable.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) scale and (b) nature of the persecution and murder of Christians in Nigeria.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa have sought to undermine the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) by attacking those who do not subscribe to their extremist views, including both Christians and Muslims. These incidents are distinct from the ongoing intercommunal violence across Nigeria. The root causes of this violence are complex, and whilst religious identity can play a role, so can loss of economic opportunity, competition over land and natural resources, disruption to traditional ways of life created by environmental degradation, and historical grievances. The precise scale of people killed in attacks in Nigeria recently remains uncertain, particularly as not all attacks are reported to local authorities.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the treatment of Uighur peoples in Xinjiang, China.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. These concerns were raised directly by the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to China. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on China's human rights situation at the UN Third Committee on 22 October.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Chinese government on the treatment of Uighur peoples in Xinjiang.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government stands firm on human rights, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. These concerns were raised directly by the Foreign Secretary on his recent visit to China. We continue to coordinate efforts with our international partners to hold China to account for human rights violations, for example, joining a statement led by Australia on China's human rights situation at the UN Third Committee on 22 October.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to support (a) human rights and (b) democracy in (i) sub-Saharan Africa and (ii) other countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is a long-standing supporter of an open international order based on respect for democracy and human rights. Globally, our work includes holding Russia to account over its actions in Ukraine and at home and China for its actions in Xinjiang province; and supporting the Human Rights Council and the Summits for Democracy. Across Africa, our human rights work has included support to media freedom in South Sudan, human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, and tackling child exploitation in DRC. We have also partnered to support democratic institutions: for example, the judiciary in Kenya, civil society in Nigeria, and the African Union (AU), through our £7 million AU Conflict and Governance programme.