Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to reply to submissions made by hon. Members on behalf of constituents regarding their families in Afghanistan.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa said in the House on 15 September, during the evacuation operation alone the FCDO received over 200,000 emails. Approximately 30,000 of these emails were from MPs. Hundreds of civil servants are being assigned to work through that case load, working in multiple shifts through the day, seven days a week. The FCDO aimed to complete the triage of cases to the Ministry of Defence or the Home Office, and notify Hon. Members by 16 September. It has become increasingly clear, as we work through cases, that both the volume and their complexity mean that we will have to take longer than we had originally hoped.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps are being taken to evacuate the Hazara minority community who face persecution and threats to their safety from the Taliban.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Minister for Human Rights Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon addressed the UN Human Rights Council on 24 August to underscore the UK's commitment to protecting the human rights of all Afghan people. This commitment extends to all ethnic and religious groups, including individuals from the Hazara community. The UK is formally launching a resettlement programme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, providing a safe and legal route for up to 20,000 Afghans in the region over the coming years, with 5,000 in the first year. This scheme will include Afghans who face a particular risk from the Taliban, for example because of their role in standing up for democracy and human rights or because of their gender, sexuality or religion.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2021 to Question 517 on Western Sahara: Politics and Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential (a) risks and (b) merits of the UN’s designation of the status of Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory; and whether he has plans to review the UK's position that the status of Western Sahara is undetermined.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As the Foreign Secretary stated on 11 December 2020, [and as referenced in previous answers] the UK's position remains unchanged.
We note the UN's position on the status of Western Sahara, which is set out on its website: https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt/western-sahara
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support communities facing acute food insecurity in West Africa.
Answered by James Duddridge
In September 2020, the Foreign Secretary launched a Call to Action to Prevent Famine. The UK Government has since pledged £180 million to tackle food insecurity and famine risk, providing aid to more than seven million vulnerable people in some of the world's most dangerous places, including in West Africa. As the Integrated Review makes clear, the UK will continue to prioritise humanitarian preparedness and response, especially food security and famine prevention.
The UK Government is providing a substantial package of assistance to North East Nigeria, worth £400 million over five years (2017-2022), including food assistance for up to 1.5 million people. In the Sahel, we are spending up to £163 million between 2019-21 to respond to food insecurity and other acute humanitarian needs. This support targets the G5 Sahel countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. It includes support to over 640,000 people with food assistance through our support to the International Committee of the Red Cross and to the World Food Programme.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 food and nutrition insecurity situation in West Africa.
Answered by James Duddridge
According to Integrated Phase Classification Food Security data, there are over 22.2 million people in West Africa and the Sahel who are experiencing a crisis level of food insecurity or worse. This includes 1.3 million people living at an emergency level of food insecurity, the majority of whom are in North East Nigeria. In November 2020, the UK's Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, Nick Dyer, visited North East Nigeria where there is a risk of famine in some areas. In April 2021, I visited Nigeria and discussed the situation in the North East with humanitarian agencies and international organisations and partners. The UK Government is providing a substantial package of assistance to the North East, worth £400 million over five years (2017-2022), including food assistance for up to 1.5 million people
This year, the Sahel is facing the greatest number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in a decade. Recent food insecurity projections for the Sahel G5 countries, that is Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania, are that between January and May 2021 some 6 million people will be in severe food insecurity. This is likely to increase to 8.7 million between June and August this year. We are spending up to £163 million between 2019-21 to respond to food insecurity and other acute humanitarian needs across the Sahel.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2021 to Question 155452 on Western Sahara: Politics and Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the United Nation's designation of Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
e note the UN's position on the status of Western Sahara, which is set out on its website: https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt/western-sahara. As the Foreign Secretary stated on 11 December 2020, the UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/israel-and-morocco-uk-responds-to-announcement-of-normalisation.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will (a) hold discussions with the Moroccan Ambassador and (b) instruct HM Ambassador to Morocco to raise with the Moroccan authorities the arrest of the Saharawi activists (i) Khaled Boufraya, (ii) Salek Baber and (iii) Babuizid Muhammed Saaed Labhi; and determine where they are being held.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of reports concerning Sultana Khaya, as well as the arrests of Khaled Boufraya, Salek Baber and Babuizid Muhammed Saaed Labhi. We are monitoring these cases. Support for human rights and human rights defenders is a UK priority around the world, and we continue to raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will (a) hold discussions with the Moroccan Ambassador and (b) instruct HM Ambassador to Morocco to raise with the Moroccan authorities the reported raid and assault of the home of the Saharawi human rights activist Sultana Khaya on 10 May 2021.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of reports concerning Sultana Khaya, as well as the arrests of Khaled Boufraya, Salek Baber and Babuizid Muhammed Saaed Labhi. We are monitoring these cases. Support for human rights and human rights defenders is a UK priority around the world, and we continue to raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will ask the UN Secretary General (a) how many allegations of human rights abuses have been made to the Moroccan National Human Rights Council in Western Sahara, (b) whether those allegations have been investigated and (c) what the results of those investigations are.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Support for human rights is a priority around the world. We continue to stress the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps and to encourage the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant obligations under international law. UN Security Council Resolution 2548 welcomes the steps and initiatives taken by Morocco, and the role played by the National Council on Human Rights Commissions operating in Dakhla and Laayoune, and Morocco's interaction with Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Further information about the work of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council is available at www.cndh.org.ma/an/about-cndh/about-us.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2021 to Question 144869, on Western Sahara: Politics and Government, and the Answer of 29 January 2021 to Question 141623, on Western Sahara: Sovereignty, what the status of Morocco is in Western Sahara.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
As stated in response to Question 144869, the UN position on the status of Western Sahara is set out on its website at www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt/western-sahara.
The UK regards the status of Western Sahara as undetermined.