Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to assist women and girls subjected to sexual violence in Darfur in Sudan.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, there has been a significant escalation of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sudan. The UK has pivoted our programme delivery to focus on GBV prevention, and protection and care for rape survivors. We have also integrated consideration of conflict-related sexual violence into the humanitarian system, making use of Women's Centres, mobile clinics and internally displaced persons' gathering points, for community engagement and service provision. In 2023, UK support provided for the delivery of 83,399 consultations offering sexual and reproductive health services, and delivered mental health and psychological support to over 104,225 people.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their priorities ahead of this year's United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The High-level Meeting (HLM) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) offers an excellent opportunity to catalyse global progress. The UK's priority is a political declaration that sets a high level of ambition across human health, animal health and environmental sectors. The UK is particularly keen to promote more equitable global access to antimicrobials and their appropriate stewardship.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure preventative measures such as enabling access to clean water and basic toilets, and promoting good hygiene practices are central to their work on combatting antimicrobial resistance globally.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in communities and health care settings helps prevent the threat of antimicrobial resistance. The UK's "WASH Systems for Health" programme is working in six lower-middle-income countries to strengthen the systems that deliver sustainable WASH services. The UK-funded Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition supported 14,800 facilities with WASH supplies and trained 460,000 health workers on hygiene. We also focus on achieving universal WASH in health care facilities to combat antimicrobial resistance through partners the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Hand Hygiene for All Partnership.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that their approach to tackling antimicrobial resistance across the world also works to end preventable deaths linked to unclean birth environments.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's Ending Preventable Deaths campaign takes a multisectoral approach which includes tackling antimicrobial resistance, alongside strengthening health systems, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and broader determinants like nutrition, climate and water, sanitation and hygiene. Neonatal sepsis is a particular concern in the context of antimicrobial resistance and as such is where the UK will look to particularly align our work on water sanitation and hygiene, with our work on antimicrobial resistance and the health of mothers and newborns.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton on 13 February (HL Deb col 140), what assessment they have made of the events surrounding the death of Hind Rajab, fellow family members and Red Crescent rescuers; and what steps they plan to take in response.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This is a horrific incident. It must be fully and transparently investigated by the Israeli authorities. We have consistently stressed the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and to take all possible measures to limit its operations to military targets, avoid harming civilians and ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities. We continue to engage with the Government of Israel at the most senior levels. The most important step in protecting civilians and particularly children will be securing a sustainable ceasefire. That is why the UK has been consistent in calling for an immediate pause, that then progresses towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ratify the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions; when they expect to be able to ratify the Agreement; and what discussions they have had with international partners to encourage other countries to ratify it.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is in hand on the legislation and other measures needed to translate the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) into UK law before we can ratify the Agreement. Legislation will be taken forward when parliamentary time allows.
The UK continues to be proactive in supporting other, particularly developing, countries to implement and ratify the BBNJ Agreement. This includes contributing to the BBNJ Voluntary Trust Fund to enable participation by developing countries in UN discussions on preparatory work, and supporting the BBNJ Informal Dialogues, discussions that bring together participants from a wide range of countries online to discuss implementation. The UK also co-funded and organised a workshop for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to share best practice and support the implementation and ratification of the BBNJ Agreement in the Philippines in November 2023. The UK is supporting a Commonwealth Secretariat project to provide technical assistance on implementation and ratification to smaller Commonwealth countries.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of caste-based discrimination in Nepal; what part of the Overseas Development Assistance is being used to support Dalit women across South Asia and specifically in Nepal; and what resources they have made available for grassroots organisations supporting Dalit women’s rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Gender inequality and social exclusion are significant challenges in Nepal. Whilst Nepal has a progressive constitution and many progressive laws and policies, implementation issues remain. The rights of women and girls is one of FCDO's core goals in Nepal. We fund grassroot organisations which work with the most vulnerable including Dalit communities and regularly engage with Dalit organisations to inform our existing and future programming. The UK is invested in shifting negative norms in society and institutions, improving processes and strengthening systems. Full information on our programmes can be found on DevTracker.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan on ensuring the availability of thalassaemia treatment and awareness; and what allocations of the Official Development Aid is being put towards this.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK uses Official Development Assistance (ODA) to support Pakistan in realising its ambition of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and ending preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children. We take a systems approach to this, providing technical assistance to strengthen decision making on health policy and financing. We also build the evidence base on effective sub-system interventions for UHC. No specific investments are made in Thalassaemia treatment or awareness raising in Pakistan. However, our support will strengthen core components of Pakistan's health system and increase coverage and service offers that should be of benefit to those with Thalassaemia.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the White Paper on International Development published on 20 November 2023 (CP 975), when they expect to publish the FCDO Strategy on Open Societies and Human Rights; and what they anticipate the impact of the Strategy will be on (1) developing protection mechanisms, respite schemes and rapid response support for human rights defenders, and (2) supporting local networks that emphasise the protection of such defenders.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO acknowledges the commitment made in the International Development White Paper to publish an Open Societies and Human Rights Strategy. The Strategy is in draft, and it will be published in due course. In line with commitments made in the International Development White Paper, the Strategy will signal our intent to provide additional support to human rights defenders. This is in line with the recent announcement that the UK will provide £1 million in funding over the next two years to the Lifeline Embattled Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Assistance Fund to provide much needed support to civic actors facing reprisals for their important work.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Egypt regarding the release of the British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, and whether they have an expectation of the date on which he is likely to be released.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government and have been consistently clear in our calls for his release, while continuing to press the need for urgent consular access. The Foreign Secretary and I raised his case with President Sisi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry on 21 December 2023. The Prime Minister also recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 1 December 2023.