Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the conflict in Myanmar; and whether he plans to take steps to oppose the coup authorities in that country.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the coup in Myanmar. In February, we announced our eighteenth round of sanctions, targeting the Myanmar Security Force's access to finance, arms and equipment. We consistently use our role as penholder at the United Nations Security Council to maintain pressure on the military, including leading the first ever Security Council Resolution on the Myanmar crisis in December 2022. Since the coup we have provided almost £150 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare, education and support to civil society and local communities.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent regional military action on the peace process in Yemen.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which remains dire. We are committed to provide continued humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the dire conditions faced by millions of Yemenis.
We have played a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis, committing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began in 2014.
In both 2022-23 and 2023-4 we committed £88 million in aid to Yemen, which has contributed to providing food to at least 100,000 people every month, delivering lifesaving health care through 400 facilities, and treating 22,000 severely malnourished children.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what the cost to the public purse was of providing humanitarian assistance in Yemen in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which remains dire. We are committed to provide continued humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the dire conditions faced by millions of Yemenis.
We have played a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis, committing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began in 2014.
In both 2022-23 and 2023-4 we committed £88 million in aid to Yemen, which has contributed to providing food to at least 100,000 people every month, delivering lifesaving health care through 400 facilities, and treating 22,000 severely malnourished children.
Asked by: Michael Shanks (Labour - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the oral contribution of 15 April 2024 by the Prime Minister, Official Report, column 37, whether he plans to publish the interim findings of the UN review into UNRWA .
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and Catherine Colonna have now provided their interim reports to the UN Secretary-General.
The UN Secretary-General has not published these interim reports.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of proscribing the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation in the context of the recent military actions by Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have condemned in the strongest terms Iran's direct attack against Israel, which was a dangerous escalation. We do not routinely comment on any potential proscription decisions. We are deeply concerned by the threat from Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and have taken significant measures to counter it at home and around the world. That includes sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in its entirety and more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, including dozens of IRGC commanders. We are confident that the police, security services and courts all have the tools they need to sanction, prosecute and mitigate the threats from Iran.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with Secretary of State for Defence on suspending arms exports to Israel.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary continues to discuss all aspects of the current conflict in Israel with the Secretary of State for Defence.
All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what proportion of aid entering Gaza by truck since 7 October 2023 has been delivered by UNRWA.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
18% of the trucks which have crossed into Gaza since 7 October have contained aid donated by UNRWA.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many UK nationals have requested consular assistance in Zimbabwe in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Following initial triage of inquiries, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance to the following number of British nationals in Zimbabwe:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to expand the consular mission in Harare.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
There are no plans to increase the number of consular staff in Harare. Staffing levels are regularly reviewed and a regional resilience model is in place to support surges in demand.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent steps he has taken to secure guarantees from participants in the Sudan conflict for the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK has pressed the warring parties to agree to a permanent ceasefire, to protect civilians and to allow unrestricted humanitarian access, both cross-line and cross-border, so that aid can reach people in desperate need. On 8 March, the UK-led UN Security Council Resolution 2724 called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access. We welcome unified international messaging at the Paris Pledging Conference on 15 April - at which the UK was represented by Lord Benyon - as well as plans to re-start Jeddah talks in the next weeks to maintain pressure on the warring parties to facilitate cross-line and cross-border humanitarian access and a permanent ceasefire.