Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy will be allocated in 2017–18 to projects on freedom of religion or belief.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Projects that directly support freedom of religion or belief remain an important element of the Magna Carta Fund programme. In 2017/18 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will spend £758,717 across six freedom of religion or belief projects. This equates to 7.2 percent of next year's Magna Carta Fund allocation and represents an increase on the funding awarded in 2016/17. This demonstrates Her Majesty's Government's continued commitment to supporting freedom of religion or belief worldwide.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of a new armed militia group, 3R, operating in Cameroon and the Central African Republic border region; and of the capacity of that group, the weapons they possess, the impact on the distribution of aid in that region, and whether they control any territory in that border region.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the emergence of a new armed militia group called "Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation," or "3R" which operates in the north of the Central African Republic (CAR). This group, and other militias operating in the transhumance corridors in the Ouham prefecture in northern CAR, are responsible for some of the most violent incidents reported in the country in the last 12 months.
We are also aware of recent claims that 3R is responsible for sexual violence, burning villages and displacing vulnerable people, with some reports listing the number of those displaced at 17,000. However, we do not hold information on the capacity of 3R or the weapons they possess.
We support President Touadera's efforts to implement disarmament, demobilization, repatriation and reintegration and call on all armed groups in the CAR to engage in the government's dialogue.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current security situation in the Central African Republic.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Despite encouraging political advances in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2016, the security situation remains of grave concern. It is particularly bad outside the capital Bangui, where violence, looting and human rights abuses continue to occur with impunity with recent reports indicating that the violence has grown more severe since September 2016. We continue to advise against all travel to CAR.
Asked by: Baroness Berridge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff members in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in the top five civil service grades; and how many of those are from a black or minority ethnic background.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As of the 30 November the total number of staff in the top five civil service grades and those that were from a black or minority ethnic (BME) background were:
Grade | Total | Total number of staff who have reported an ethnicity | Those that reported they were BME |
D7 | 430 | 368 | 22 |
SMS1 | 263 | 230 | 11 |
SMS2 | 102 | 92 | 6 |
SMS3 | 27 | 24 | 1 |
SMS4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |