Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what projects her Department is funding through its Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund to work on remedy procedures for human rights abuses by businesses operating in African countries as of 28 February 2022.

Through International Programme funding (formerly the Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund) the FCDO is supporting the Security and Human Rights Implementation Mechanism (SHRIM), a multi-donor fund committed to improving business, security and human rights through the implementation of international initiatives in fragile contexts. In financial year 2021/22, UK funding to the SHRIM supported projects focussed on the extractives and private security sectors. In the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya this focused on private security sector governance. In Nigeria, the project supported government engagement with communities and established dialogue with companies. In Mozambique, the project supported the creation of a National Working Group on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights to provide a forum for dialogue and joint resolution of business, security, and human rights concerns. The projects have helped strengthen multi-stakeholder capacities to monitor and promote the respect for human rights.

In addition, the Rule of Law Expertise UK (ROLE UK) programme, working in partnership with the East Africa Law Society (EALS) is promoting sustainable, inclusive and responsible business practices across the region.