Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on preventing sexual violence in conflict since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2012.

I am unable to comment on the progress made by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under previous administrations, or on their responses to the recommendations of select committees ten years ago.

However, I can assure the Noble Lord that this current Government takes issues around conflict-related sexual violence extremely seriously, and - for the first time, under the current Foreign Secretary - the FCDO has made protecting the rights and safety of women and girls one of the six priorities that is driving work across the Department.

Alongside our continuing work to prevent sexual violence in conflict and support survivors, including as penholder of the UN's Women, Peace and Security agenda, the Foreign Secretary has recently launched the International Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls, and will be hosting a global summit on the issue in the UK next year.

We also continue to work through the UK-founded International Alliance for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, of which the UK is vice-chair this year, to rally further support for tackling the silence and stigma faced by survivors of sexual violence, including the women and girls in Sudan, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere who have faced the use of rape as a weapon of war.