Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 ensure that Afghan citizens who (a) worked for and (b) were affiliated with the UK government are (i) accepted for settlement in the UK and (ii) evacuated from Afghanistan in a timely manner.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), up to 1500 eligible at-risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni will be offered resettlement in the first year. FCDO received over 11,400 Expressions of Interest; we are processing these and notifying eligible people with advice on next steps. We are doing everything we can to bring the first Pathway 3 arrivals to the UK as soon as possible. Over 6,300 people have already been relocated under the ACRS, in addition to those brought to safety under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme, led by the UK's Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support the United Nation’s appeal for $51.5 billion in aid funds for 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO remains committed to prioritising and protecting funding for humanitarian crises, at a time when global need is escalating rapidly. This includes ongoing support for the United Nations and its global appeals. For example in 2022-23, we were one of the biggest donors to UN global appeals in Afghanistan and Somalia and made a significant contribution to the Yemen appeal. Beyond funding, the FCDO recently published its Humanitarian Framework which sets out how we will work to address and reduce humanitarian need, including by building partnerships to protect those most vulnerable, ensure those most in need receive assistance, and act early to anticipate and prevent crises.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Iranian counterparts on the importance of upholding international human rights standards.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK raises Iran's human rights record at all appropriate opportunities, both directly with Iranian authorities in London and via His Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran. On 3 October, the Foreign Secretary summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We outlined our condemnation of the Iranian government's repression of human rights during protests and urged restraint. This message was reiterated again in a meeting on 26 October. We continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account, through multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken to help promote the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We have reached the end of talks in Vienna to restore the nuclear deal. There is a deal on the table that would return Iran to its JCPoA commitments, and return the US to the deal. Iran is currently preventing conclusion of the deal with demands beyond the JCPoA. If Iran does not take the deal in front of them, its continued nuclear escalation will bring about the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario, we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts regarding North Korea and that country's potential preparations to carry out a nuclear weapons test.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK is deeply concerned by reports that the DPRK may be planning to conduct a nuclear test, its first since 2017. We are working closely with our allies and partners to strongly urge the North Korean regime to return to talks and take credible steps towards denuclearisation. The Foreign Secretary discussed DPRK with her G7 counterparts on 13 May. I have raised concerns about DPRK testing with countries in the region, including with Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and China. Most recently, I raised DPRK with the Chinese Ambassador on 16 June. The UK has also made our concerns about the DPRK's increased ballistic missile testing clear in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) Finland and (b) Sweden on those countries' applications for NATO membership.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK Government engages regularly with Finland and Sweden and has welcomed their applications for NATO membership. The UK will continue to work with all parties in support of this.
The Prime Minister has underlined the UK's support for the rapid accession of both countries, who will add to the collective security of the Alliance. The UK has deepened our defence and security relationship with both countries through mutual security declarations signed on 11 May.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to the International Criminal Court on conflict-related sexual violence during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We welcome the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor to open an investigation and to include allegations of sexual violence. We stand ready to provide the necessary technical assistance to the ICC to support successful convictions. In coordination with the ICC, The Attorney General led a scoping mission to the region from 8 - 11 May to identify options for further UK support. The team included war crimes and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) experts and Sir Howard Morrison QC, who was appointed by the Attorney General to help advise the Ukrainian Prosecutor General with her investigations, and cooperation with the ICC. The UK is collaborating closely with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General (UPG) to ensure an effective and coordinated response. We are taking steps to ensure the Murad Code, a UK-funded tool on best practice for documenting CRSV survivors' experiences, is widely adopted.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in Belarus on that country’s relationship with Russia.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK condemns the role the Belarusian regime is playing in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and we have made this clear repeatedly in both bilateral and multilateral settings, including when I [Minister Cleverly] summoned the Belarusian Ambassador to the FCDO after the invasion began. We also continue to make clear our condemnation of Lukashenko's actions through statements at the OSCE in Vienna and in partnership with the G7. The Belarusian regime must cease their support for Russia's illegal invasion immediately and respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, in line with their international obligations.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UN's prediction of extreme hunger in Sudan in the remaining months of 2022, what assessment she has made of the need to provide aid to that country.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are concerned at the food insecurity situation in Sudan as highlighted by the 21 March Food and Agriculture Organization report. The World Food Programme (WFP) has subsequently estimated that up to 20 million people will face "emergency" or "crisis" levels of acute food insecurity in 2022. The UK continues to provide humanitarian support to those most in need in Sudan. In 2021, we contributed £27 million to humanitarian assistance, via partners including the WFP, the UN-led Sudan Humanitarian Fund, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations. This 2021 funding provided approximately 1.2 million people with lifesaving assistance (such as food, cash and voucher support, safe drinking water, shelter and sanitation), including providing over 500,000 vulnerable children with free school meals.
The overwhelming driver of current food insecurity in Sudan is the political and economic crisis. Since the military coup in October 2021, we have encouraged all Sudanese political actors to engage in the talks facilitated by the UN, African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to resolve the political crisis. Most recently, our Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea delivered this message directly to Sudan's military leadership on 28 April in Khartoum.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle global hunger and food inflation linked to the conflict in Ukraine.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are working with the international community including our G7 and humanitarian partners to track the impact of food insecurity in the most affected countries, scale up efforts to prevent famine and enhance global production. This includes support for Ukrainian farmers to enable them to continue to produce food, and advocacy for the protection of food supplies to the World Food Programme against export barriers. The UK supports the Central Emergency Response Fund and welcomes the recent announcement to allocate $100 million to counter disruption to global food markets. The UK succeeded in securing agreement at the Spring Meetings last week that the World Bank Group would commit $50 billion over the next three months, which will include support to countries most vulnerable to food insecurity. The UK has also allocated £10 million to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) for rapid agriculture investments in countries vulnerable to food insecurity.