Oral Answers to Questions

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Wednesday 16th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

2. What recent representations she has made to the Israeli government on the effect of home demolitions in the west bank on the humanitarian situation in that region.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Desmond Swayne)]

Their increase adds to the sum of human misery, undermines any prospect of a peace process and is contrary to international law. I have left the Israeli Government in no doubt about the strength of our disapproval; our embassy continues to do so.

[Ruth Cadbury]

I thank the Minister for his response. The latest figures from the UN, from early this month, show that there have been 400 demolitions since the start of the year, more than four times the rate of demolitions last year. The wave of demolitions is depriving Palestinians of their homes and their livelihoods and preventing European taxpayer-funded organisations from providing essential humanitarian support. As the British Government made representations when demolitions trebled, what more effective action or sanction will the Minister impose now that demolitions have quadrupled?

[Mr Swayne]

The hon. Lady is right that the rate of increase is now faster than at any time since calculations began to be made, and it is essential that the occupied territories, and in particular Area C, are governed in accordance with the fourth Geneva protocol. We will continue to make these representations to the Government. I know the hon. Lady wants to push me further, and I entirely understand the strength of her frustration and anger, but jaw jaw is better than war war.

[Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)]

Will the Minister join me in condemning incitement to violence or glorification of violence on either side?

[Mr Swayne]

Absolutely. We are wholly opposed to incitement, and when instances of incitement are brought to my attention, I go straight to the telephone to raise the matter with the chief executives of those organisations and make absolutely clear our fundamental disapproval, and our requirement that things are put right.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

With any prospect of a two-state solution fast disappearing, it is of course right that we recognise Israel’s right to self-defence, but is it not also time that we recognised Palestine as a sovereign state?

[Mr Swayne]

We can only recognise Palestine once. It is essential, therefore, that we do so at a moment where we will have maximum impact on any peace process. That is a fine judgment.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

What recent checks have the Government made in relation to support offered in the west bank to moneys that end up in the coffers of terrorist-supporting groups on the west bank?

[Mr Swayne]

Absolutely none of UK British aid, multilateral or bilateral, ends up in the hands of terrorists.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

3. What assessment she has made of the potential effect on the disbursement of UK aid of changes to the definition of overseas development assistance made by the OECD.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow North East) (SNP)]

5. What support her Department is providing to Yazidi communities in Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Desmond Swayne)]

Our response to the Syria crisis is a commitment of more than £2.3 billion, with an additional £79.5 million to Iraq. All our aid is distributed according to need, irrespective of creed or ethnicity.

[Anne McLaughlin]

Daesh is systematically targeting Yazidi children, forcing little girls into sexual slavery and conscripting young boys as child soldiers, yet there are reports from Turkey that support is not reaching some of the Yazidi refugee camps near the Syrian border. What steps is the Department taking to help ensure that children rescued from Daesh receive the support they need and that support reaches survivors in those camps?

[Mr Swayne]

The first thing is that we have gone to war with Daesh, and that is a very significant contributor. Equally, we are supporting the UNHCR and a number of organisations that are principally funded through the Iraqi national action plan and the Iraq pooled fund, to which we are the largest contributor.

[Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

Some of us met a delegation of Yazidis yesterday who explained the plight of almost 2,000 women still held captive. Would the Minister be willing to meet that delegation to hear at first hand of the difficulty they have in reaching help?

[Mr Swayne]

I have met a number of Yazidi delegations and, indeed, a number of representatives of other religions. I would be delighted to meet my right hon. Friend and her delegation.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (SNP)]

I do not think we have actually had an answer from the Minister. Reports of thousands of Yazidi women being captured by Daesh and sold as slaves, many suffering serious sexual abuse, are harrowing. What measures are the UK Government taking to address that slave trade?

[Mr Swayne]

We are fighting Daesh. We are providing large sums of money to organisations that are delivering aid directly to Yazidi women and to children. I know it is frustrating—terrible things happen—but the hon. Lady cannot always blame Ministers.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What medical and psychological services are the Government able to provide to the women referred to in the previous question, who have been held as sex slaves?

[Mr Swayne]

We have sent a number of experts to the region specifically to deal with violence against women. The pooled fund, to which we are the largest contributor, provides maternal and child healthcare services, protection for women and girls, and livelihoods for female heads of households. The Iraqi national action plan delivers similar services, and we are dealing specifically with the needs of women in Dohuk, Kirkuk and the northern areas through the human rights and democracy fund.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Would the Minister describe what is happening to the Yazidis as genocide?

[Mr Swayne]

I believe that the decision as to what constitutes genocide is properly a judicial one. The International Criminal Court correspondent, Fatou Bensouda, has decided that, as Daesh is not a state party, this does not yet constitute genocide.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.