Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to paragraph 2.22 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Progress with the merger of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID), published on 25 March 2024, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conclusion that development capability has reduced since the merger.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The NAO report notes FCDO has made progress in key areas, including on development.
The White Paper on international development published in November set out UK ambition and commitment on this agenda. These commitments have begun to be implemented including through the appointment of a second permanent undersecretary focused on development and wider action on strengthening FCDO and HMG development capacity.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on increasing the amount of aid entering Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary visited Israel on 17 April and met with Israeli counterparts. During his visit he said to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Affairs Minister Katz that we must maintain focus on getting more aid into Gaza and getting hostages out.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made recent representations to his Ugandan counterpart on the (a) detention and (b) treatment of climate protesters in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through our High Commission in Kampala, we have previously raised concerns around detentions of climate protesters in Uganda; both I and the High Commission regularly engage with the Ugandan government on human rights, both bilaterally and with likeminded countries.
The UK continues to work with Ugandans to advocate for democratic freedoms and respect for human rights. We are also committed to working with partners in Uganda to address the effects of climate change.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will have discussions with his Israeli counterparts on ensuring that foreign humanitarian aid workers are granted visas to carry out humanitarian aid work in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis.
We need a humanitarian pause now to allow humanitarian actors and Gazans to operate and move safely and enable hostages to be released.
Among other things, we need Israel to ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of aid convoys, humanitarian operations and IDP returns, and facilitate access.
We also need Israel to ensure the UN has the people, vehicles, equipment and fuel to distribute aid safely across Gaza. This includes issuing visas.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on (a) the arbitrary detainment of prisoners and (b) alleged human rights abuses in prisons in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government raises human rights issues in Egypt with Egyptian counterparts in London and Cairo, privately and publicly. We want to see more political progress and better protection of human rights in Egypt, including implementation of the rights guaranteed by Egypt's constitution, which are essential for Egypt's long-term stability. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon most recently discussed both arbitrary detention of prisoners and alleged human rights abuses in prisons with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February. In March and September 2023, we raised human rights in Egypt through our Item 4 statements at the Human Rights Council. The FCDO has also raised concerns regarding inadequate prison conditions in our Annual Human Rights and Democracy Reports 2022 and 2023.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will resume the funding of UNRWA.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are appalled by allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned. We are pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.
As we have said, the pause will remain in place until we are able to review the allegations. Any future funding decisions will be taken after this point.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by Open Doors entitled World Watch List 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We note the launch of the report by Open Doors entitled World Watch List 2024.
Championing Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all remains a priority for the UK. We will continue to recognise, and seek to address, the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith, alongside the persecution of those of other religions or beliefs.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) his Israeli counterpart and (b) international agencies on taking steps to help ensure the (i) safe use and (ii) protection of medical facilities in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law (IHL); including the protection of hospitals, civilians, and medical staff. We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians. The Prime Minister has made this clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu and has been in close contact throughout. The UK trebled our aid commitment this financial year and is doing everything it can do to get more aid in and open more crossings. We are working closely with partners in international agencies and in the region to get aid to where it is desperately needed.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the persecution of Buddhists in Tibet.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We consistently raise human rights issues at senior levels with the Chinese authorities. The Foreign Secretary did so in his introductory call with China's Foreign Minister on 5 December. We continue to raise Tibet in multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council, in which last year we urged China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Tibet. Through these statements we have specifically highlighted UN reports that boarding schools are being used to assimilate Tibetan children into Han culture. In addition, we continue to coordinate with international partners to increase international attention on the human rights situation in Tibet, such as for the G7 Foreign Ministers' statement in November.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to increase the amount of Overseas Development Assistance that goes towards nutrition.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO is implementing our 2021 Nutrition for Growth commitment to spend at least £1.5 billion between 2022 and 2030 on addressing the nutrition needs of mothers, babies, and children, tackling malnutrition in humanitarian emergencies. The FCDO is also committed to integrating nutrition objectives into multiple sectors, including health, economic and agricultural development, humanitarian, climate, and education, tackling all forms of malnutrition, and to track and report on this. The UK does not have targets to reach vulnerable children, adolescents nor women with nutrition services.
The Government is committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI once the fiscal situation allows.