Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether UK official development assistance supports the work of agencies cited for human rights abuses in the October 2018 Human Rights Watch report Two authorities, one way, zero dissent.

UK Official Development Assistance does not provide financial assistance or assets to support the Palestinian Authority (PA) agencies implicated in the Human Rights Watch report and continues to have a no contact policy with Hamas in its entirety. The report has made some serious and concerning allegations about human rights violations by the PA and we have immediately raised our concerns with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior. We continue to urge the PA to respect human rights, to ensure complaints of mistreatment or arbitrary detention are properly investigated and to continue to improve the performance of the security sector.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) currently delivers training courses and supports the development of training institutions across the Palestinian Authority security sector. Participants from two agencies referenced in the report, the Preventative Security Organisation and General Intelligence Service, have attended courses delivered by the MOD and by training institutions that are supported by the MOD. These courses serve to reinforce accountability, responsible governance and a common approach to the upholding of human rights and human rights law.