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Written Question
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Monday 28th June 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessments his Department has made of the developing situation in Sudan; and what support the Government is providing to support civilians caught in conflict in that country.

Answered by James Duddridge

The UK welcomes the commitment of the Sudanese Government to secure a lasting end to conflict as part of the country's transition to democracy. This includes thorough implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement, signed with a number of opposition groups in October 2020. We also welcome the Sudanese Government's commitment that it will assume full responsibility for the protection of civilians, and their recent announcement of the formation of a joint security force to help provide such protection. We are however concerned by continued incidents of intercommunal violence in Sudan, including in Darfur. We continue to urge all parties to implement the Juba Peace Agreement in full and urge non-signatory groups to engage in dialogue. On 8 June, representatives of the UK, Norway and the US (the Troika) signed the Juba Peace Agreement as Witnesses, as a sign of support to the peace process.

The UK is taking a leading role in working with Sudan to help ensure the democratic transition and peace process is a success. On 21 January, the Foreign Secretary visited Sudan and reaffirmed this commitment. Most recently, on 21 June I spoke with Sudanese Foreign Minister Dr al-Sadiq al-Mahdi to discuss UK work with the Sudanese Government on their transitional priorities. Our support includes £80m to assist the Sudanese Government's economic reforms, which are vital to stability. It also includes a £148m bridging loan to clear arrears at the African Development Bank, to help Sudan achieve comprehensive debt relief. We have also worked to build international support for Sudan through the establishment of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) which is mandated to assist the Sudanese Government with peace agreement implementation and protection of civilians.


Written Question
Gaza and West Bank: Coronavirus
Wednesday 23rd June 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support covid-19 vaccination of civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The British Embassy Tel Aviv and the British Consulate-General Jerusalem are in regular contact with the relevant parties and continue to raise the issue of timely access to vaccines. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised this during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 26 May. The UK is committed to global equitable access to effective vaccines as demonstrated by our £548 million contribution to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) - the international initiative to support global equitable access to vaccines. We are pleased that the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) were among the first to benefit from the COVAX scheme with its first delivery on 17 March 2021. Since that initial shipment, we are pleased that several further deliveries have arrived in the OPTs, including most recently on 1 June 2021.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Disease Control
Tuesday 18th May 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to prevent the spread of covid-19 internationally; and for what reason owners of second homes abroad are permitted to travel to their overseas properties during the pandemic while restrictions are in place on international travel for other purposes.

Answered by Wendy Morton

The UK is at the forefront of the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, committing up to £1.3 billion of Overseas Development Assistance to counter the health, economic, and humanitarian impacts of the pandemic, and to support the global effort to distribute vaccines equitably. We have committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, contributing to the supply of at least 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 for up to 92 developing countries, with our overall support to COVAX reaching over 120 countries and economies. We have also committed £23 million to support the research and development of easily manufactured testing devices to allow for self-testing at home as well as community testing. We will use our G7 Presidency this year to take forward the Prime Minister's five-point plan for a new approach to global health security, announced at the United Nations General Assembly last year.

The Government has confirmed that international travel can resume from 17 May with the new traffic light system, and passengers will no longer need to prove they have a valid reason to leave England, thus permitting people to travel to different locations. The Government's priority remains to protect public health from COVID-19 through these new travel measures and regulations. Given that the virus is still spreading in many parts of the world, people should not be travelling to amber and red countries.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Aid
Monday 26th April 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) help end the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Tigray and (b) ensure that the Ethiopian Government re-opens the humanitarian corridor to allow support for Tigrayans.

Answered by James Duddridge

The UK has been consistent in calling for the protection of civilians in Ethiopia, unfettered humanitarian access, and respect for human rights. UK-funded aid agencies in Tigray are delivering support in challenging circumstances, including food, shelter, water and healthcare. A joint humanitarian and political team from the British Embassy in Addis Ababa visited Tigray 4-5 March and 4-7 April. They met with the provisional administration of Tigray, the Mayor of Mekelle, the Interim Head of Administration in Shire and with humanitarian agencies working in the region. They spoke directly to people displaced by violence and heard harrowing accounts of human rights violations. The team also saw UK Aid work in action and learned of the challenges across Tigray.

The G7, under the UK Presidency, issued a statement on 2 April urging parties to the conflict to provide immediate, unhindered humanitarian access. The statement also highlighted our concern for worsening food insecurity, with emergency conditions prevailing across extensive areas of central and eastern Tigray.

Currently 4.5 million are in need of food aid. I [Minister Duddridge] shared the UK's concerns on food security with the International Development Committee on 18 March. To date the UK has provided £19 million of badly needed support to people in Tigray - to deliver critical food aid, safe drinking water, sanitation and nutritional supplies and medical care. The British Ambassador continues to make clear our concerns, most recently with the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister in March.


Written Question
International Decade for People of African Descent
Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to mark the remainder of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, both and home and abroad. The United Kingdom ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1969, and we believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage states to uphold their human rights obligations, particularly through international institutions such as the United Nations. We have participated in and joined consensus on the key 21st century UN events and instruments on racism. We have not yet made any specific plans for marking the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2021.


Written Question
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Monday 1st March 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to mark United Nations International Day for the elimination of racial discrimination in 2021.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The United Kingdom is committed to combatting all forms of racism, both and home and abroad. The United Kingdom ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1969, and we believe that one of the most effective ways to tackle injustices and advocate respect among different religious and racial groups is to encourage states to uphold their human rights obligations, particularly through international institutions such as the United Nations. We have participated in and joined consensus on the key 21st century UN events and instruments on racism. We have not yet made any specific plans for marking the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2021.


Written Question
Overseas Aid
Friday 26th February 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral aid is disbursed (i) directly to local organisations in developing countries and (ii) to UK firms that score very highly in respect of their diversity.

Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary

The FCDO is committed to working in partnership with a diverse range of civil society organisations and recognises the unique role of in-country local organisations. A key aim of our funding for civil society is to support the capacity of local civil society organisations in developing countries so they can become strong, self-reliant and powerful development actors.

All FCDO's contracts are tendered in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations, which ensures open, transparent and fair competition between bidders. This means our contracts are competitively tendered following a set of standard processes. The Public Contracts Regulations provide a legal framework of procurement rules which ensure application of best practice including transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality and reasonableness.


Written Question
Human Rights
Wednesday 24th February 2021

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to improve support and protection for human rights defenders throughout the world.

Answered by Nigel Adams

The UK supports Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) through bilateral engagement via our global network of Embassies and High Commissions and through multilateral organisations. Colleagues in our diplomatic network monitor cases, observe trials, and raise issues with host governments relating to HRDs. In 2019, we launched the document 'UK support for Human Rights Defenders', drawn up with significant and important input from relevant stakeholders, including Amnesty International. It set out in detail how we would work and engage with HRDs to promote and protect human rights throughout the world. Just over a year ago, the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, issued a statement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, voicing concern about the harassment and all too often imprisonment of HRDs. On International Human Rights Defenders Day on 9 December 2020, he also issued a message to all HRDs thanking them for their courageous work and their unwavering determination in fighting for human rights. When he visits countries in his capacity as Minister for Human Rights, he makes a point of talking directly to HRDs. Listening to them helps inform the decisions we make and inspires us to do more. In the context of the establishment of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we shall consider what more the UK can do to support HRDs.


Written Question
Sayed Alwadaei
Friday 22nd March 2019

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Bahrain on the case of the family members Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei.

Answered by Alistair Burt

We continue to raise the cases of Bahraini nationals Hajer Mansoor Hassan, Sayed Nazar Al Wadaei and Mahmood Marzooq Mansoor at senior levels with the Bahraini Government.


Written Question
Sayed Alwadaei
Friday 22nd March 2019

Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent Central)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether officials from his Department attended the proceedings in Bahrain on 25 February 2019 in which the three-year prison sentences against family members of Sayed Alwadaei were upheld.

Answered by Alistair Burt

Officials from our Embassy in Manama attended the court session for the individuals in question. We continue to monitor the cases of these individuals.