Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of using Official Development Assistance funding for programmes by the Home Department on his international development priorities.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Under the OECD rules, some support provided to asylum seekers or refugees is ODA-eligible for their first year in the UK if they came from ODA-eligible countries.
The UK uses internationally agreed OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rules to determine what spending is classified as ODA.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 1253, Eritrea and the UN Human Rights Council, tabled on 5 June 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We continue to take an active interest in the human rights situation in Eritrea and particularly press for national service reform and the end of arbitrary detentions, including for those detentions based on religion or belief. All of those who have been unfairly and unjustly incarcerated must be released. We urge implementation of the recommendations from the last Universal Periodic Review for Eritrea in 2019, and respect for the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Eritrea. We will be making a statement to this effect at the UN Human Rights Council's 53rd Session during an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Pakistani counterparts on allegations of (a) arbitrary detentions, (b) violent human rights violations, (c) torture of political prisoners and (d) targeting of journalists committed by Pakistani security forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are aware of reports of detainments and human rights violations in Pakistan and continue to monitor the situation closely. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia, spoke to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, on 9 May and to Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, on 10 and 13 May, where he emphasised the importance of peaceful democratic rights, including the right to protest, adherence to the rule of law, and transparency in legal processes. Where there are allegations of human rights violations, we expect these to be fully investigated in line with international human rights law.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of legislating to incentivise private creditors to participate in debt relief for low-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK, alongside the G20 and Paris Club, expect private creditors to participate in debt restructurings on terms at least as favourably as bilateral (i.e. country) creditors.
The Government is focused on delivering a market-based (contractual) approach to private sector participation, for example recently developing Majority Voting Provisions for private loans.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 restore access to immunisation services around the world.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted global health and immunisation. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts to get routine immunisation back on track and has committed £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance from 2021-2025 to support their mission to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases over this period.
Alongside our Gavi investment, we are committed to working with countries and with the wider international community to focus efforts on building stronger primary health systems for the future as a core part of restoring immunisation services around the world.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) whereabouts and (b) wellbeing of the Nigerian women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from Chibok in 2014.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government condemns the abduction and continued captivity of children by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) in North East Nigeria. This includes the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, around 100 of whom are understood still to be missing. I [Andrew Mitchell] raised this case specifically with incoming Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, in December 2022. Through the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, we have also provided mentoring and capacity building for the Nigerian Police Force to improve their response to kidnappings. We remain committed to supporting the Nigerian Government to secure the release of all those held captive.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to attend the United Nations Horn of Africa Conference 2023: High-level pledging event for the humanitarian response in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia on 24 May 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Alongside Italy, Qatar, the USA and UN the UK will co-host a humanitarian pledging conference for the Horn of Africa on 24 May in New York. We will share details about Ministerial involvement at this event in due course.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made changes to its advice on the eligibility of British citizens who hold dual nationality for evacuation from Sudan since 18 April 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Our priority has always been the safe evacuation of British Nationals, including dual nationals, and their eligible dependents. The UK has conducted the largest evacuation of any Western country from Sudan. As of 2 May the UK has facilitated the departure of over 2300 people, of which over half were British nationals or dual nationals.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 1064, 20th anniversary of shooting of Tom Hurndall, tabled on 17 April 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly believes that journalists and international aid workers should be able to conduct their work without obstructions. We recognise the Government of Israel's need to deploy security forces in order to defend itself but encourage Israel to deploy these in a way which minimises tension and to use appropriate force. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we have advocated swift, transparent investigations.
The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We want to see a contiguous West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as part of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, based on 1967 lines. We urge Israel to halt its settlement expansion.
The UK is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court and we respect the independence of the Court. We do not consider that the ICC has jurisdiction in this instance as the UK does not currently recognise Palestinian statehood.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Somalia on reports of the use of the death penalty, including for teenagers, in the Puntland state of that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country. Somalia is party to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids executions of minors, including those who were minors at the time of their alleged crimes. We continue to lobby Somali authorities to uphold their commitments under the Convention and withhold from dispensing the death penalty to those underage. This includes Puntland, where we raised this issue with the Minister of Interior on 19 February. Children remain under threat across Somalia, including from recruitment into armed conflict, and we continue to lobby the Government to pass the Child Rights Bill to provide a foundation for children's rights in Somalia and encourage accountability.