Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 support women and girls in Afghanistan with (a) education, (b) hunger and nutrition and (c) tackling gender violence.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government has repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls. We have disbursed £229 million in aid for Afghanistan since April 2022, and are committed to at that at least 50 per cent of those we reach with our aid, should be reaching women and girls. UK aid delivers life-saving support for women and girls by providing emergency food, shelter, nutrition, primary healthcare and support to tackle gender-based violence. We continue to support the delivery of education, including through the UN and other delivery partners. On 19 January, the Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, met Afghan women to ensure we were responding to their needs.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps his Department has taken to promote peace in Somalia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK works closely with the Somali Government to support its programme for a more peaceful Somalia. This includes the provision of humanitarian relief, support for political reform and backing for the fight against al-Shabaab and transition to Somali-led security. We coordinate closely with international partners, including in our role as penholder on Somalia in the UN. The UK also supports stabilisation efforts in Somalia through our Early Recovery Initiative, which supports local political reconciliation and the immediate needs of vulnerable communities. During my visit last November, I [Minister Mitchell] pursued these issues with the Federal Government of Somalia.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help support developing countries (a) affected by and (b) tackle climate change.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As COP President, the UK worked with all Parties towards delivering on the Glasgow Climate Pact and raising the highest possible ambition to keep 1.5 in reach. Our Presidency year drove action and ambition with our global partners with over 90% of world GDP now covered by net zero commitments. In addition, the UK's International Climate Finance (ICF) supports developing countries to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. The UK is delivering on our commitment to double ICF to £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26, seeking balance between adaptation and mitigation funding. ICF Results Publication 2022 [DRAFT] - Official Sensitive (publishing.service.gov.uk); helping over 95 million people cope with the effects of climate change, providing 58 million people with improved access to clean energy and reducing or avoiding 68 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to support protestors in Iran at risk of execution.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The use of the death penalty against protestors standing up for their basic human rights is abhorrent. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. On 9 January the Foreign Secretary summoned Iran's most senior diplomat in the UK to condemn these executions in the strongest terms. We have repeatedly delivered the same message to the regime through our ambassador in Tehran, and in London - including when Lord Ahmad spoke to the Chargé d'Affaires on 20 December to protest against the death sentences. On 9 December we sanctioned 10 officials connected to Iran's judicial and prison systems, including six linked to the Revolutionary Courts responsible for protesters' egregious sentences. We will continue to press Iranian regime to end its appalling use of the death penalty as a tool to stifle dissent.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the Iranian Government respects the right to peaceful assembly and releases unfairly detained protesters.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Iran to account on a wide range of human rights issues, including the appalling treatment of children and women throughout Iran's brutal crackdown of protests. The UK supported the 24 November Human Rights Council resolution establishing a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations. We worked closely with partners to successfully remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The FCDO has called on Iranian authorities in multiple international fora to abide by its obligations under international law to release unfairly detained protesters.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 help reduce the Russian military’s access to drones.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The UK, along with its allies, has introduced severe sanctions against Russia's defence industry. This includes prohibitions on the export, supply, delivery and making available of unmanned aircraft to Russia.
Russia's procurement of Iranian drones corroborates our assessment that Russia is struggling militarily and isolated internationally. The UK has sanctioned Iranian individuals and businesses responsible for supplying Russia with drones. We are working with France and Germany to support a UN investigation into Iran's transfers and will continue to work with the international community to hold Russia and Iran to account and deter other countries from supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and what is his Department's policy on the Sustainable Development Goal targets to end the Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria epidemics by 2030.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is a long-standing supporter of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the third largest historic donor. The UK has pledged £1 billion to the Global Fund's seventh replenishment (2023-2025), which will help save over 1 million lives and avert over 28 million new infections across the three diseases. The FCDO supports the Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 targets to end the epidemics of malaria, TB, and HIV by 2030 and is working to achieve these through our support to the Global Fund and other global health investments.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) identify and (b) prevent human rights violations of the Baluch people in Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We condemn the killing and detention of Baluchi leaders calling for equal rights and an end to repression in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. We continue to raise human rights with the regime at every appropriate opportunity, both directly and in multilateral fora. On 14 November, the UK sanctioned 24 individuals for violations of human rights in the repression of protests. This is on top of sanctions on 10 October against Iran's so called 'morality police'. At a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on 24 November, the UK and our partners secured the establishment of an investigative mechanism into the regime's response to protests and their subsequent continued human rights abuses. The UK will work with our partners to ensure this delivers for the people of Iran.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 help support the human rights of people in Russia opposing the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We continue to call on the Russian Government to comply with its international commitments on respecting human rights.
With international partners, the UK has invoked the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Moscow Mechanism. At the OSCE ministerial on 1 December, the Foreign Secretary referred to the reports of the Moscow Mechanism, which have detailed the atrocities of Russia's armed forces in Ukraine, including torture, executing civilians, unlawful detention, enforced disappearances and countless other breaches of international humanitarian law. We are taking forward the Moscow Mechanism's recommendations: we have helped to secure a UNHRC special rapporteur and we stand in solidarity with human rights defenders.
We continue to attend the trials of human rights defenders in Russia, whilst holding human rights violators to account through sanctions regimes.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans his Department has to support peace talks between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian Government.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is urging all parties to the conflict to reinstate the truce, join African Union-led peace talks to negotiate a ceasefire, restore humanitarian access and banking and communications services to Tigray and prioritise the protection of civilians and uphold international humanitarian law. The Minister for Development met Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke on 22 September to deliver these messages. The Minister for Development also travelled to Ethiopia on 19 October and met the Deputy Prime Minister and the President, to press these points. Our Embassy in Addis Ababa is in regular touch with Ethiopian and Tigrayan leaders. We are supporting the African Union led mediation efforts.