Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to deal with the humanitarian situation in Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan States, Burma.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan. We continue to raise our concerns with both military and civilian Ministers in the Government of Burma as a matter of urgency.
The UK has long been one of the biggest humanitarian donors in Burma and in Rakhine State, providing over £23 million in humanitarian assistance in Rakhine since 2012. No financial aid is provided to the Government of Burma. The UK currently provides humanitarian support to around 100,000 people in the state including to people in internally displaced people camps outside of northern Rakhine and some limited support in northern Rakhine. The UK has provided over £18.1 million in essential humanitarian and health assistance in Kachin and Northern Shan states from 2012 until the end of last financial year, and will provide a further £5 million approximately this year.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle child trafficking in Nepal; what assessment she has made of (a) the role of Childreach's Taught Not Trafficked and (b) other preventative education programmes in such work; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Our Work in Freedom programme tackles human trafficking and promotes safe migration in Nepal and across the region, providing community training, support to victims in destinations and helping to improve laws and policies. In 2015, the programme reached more than 54,000 people in Nepal, including about 40,000 women and children through door to door visits.
Following the devastating earthquake last year, DFID Nepal supported work with the Nepal Police, Women and Children Service Directorate and Ministry of Women and Social Welfare to create women and children safe spaces, and stop trafficking of women and children. We also support wider work that contributes to helping children avoid the risk of being trafficked, including improving livelihoods, providing skills training and helping families to better withstand natural disasters.
DFID is not currently engaged in work directly with Childreach.