Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh in response to its statement on 7 February that it will not allow any more Rohingya refugees to enter the country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned about the escalation of fighting in Rakhine state, Myanmar, and the impact on civilians on both sides of the border with Bangladesh. We are monitoring the situation closely. UK officials in Dhaka continue to engage with the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations on this issue. We will continue to support affected Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response. Since 2017, we have provided over £373 million to Bangladesh and over £30 million for the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Myanmar.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many professionals the Forced Marriage Unit delivered training to in 2023; and how many people took the Forced Marriage Unit’s “Awareness of Forced Marriage” free online course in 2023.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In 2023, the Forced Marriage Unit delivered training to a total of 3657 professionals through their bespoke training and workshops.
We currently do not have the figure for how many people took the free online course in 2023 - these will be released in due course. In 2022, 5,029 people from a wide range of professions took the Government's "Awareness of Forced Marriage" free online course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any UK aid to Pakistan is directed specifically towards supporting persecuted religious minorities; and if so, how much.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We prioritise our aid to achieve maximum impact for the people of Pakistan in line with our strategic priorities, including promoting the rights of religious minorities. Examples include our Aawaz II programme, which is allocated £39.5 million (2018-2024) and brings together community leaders and minority representatives to promote tolerance; and our Hate Speech and Disinformation programme, which works to protect marginalised communities from hate speech online.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money was allocated to tackling humanitarian crises in Ethiopia in (1) 2019–20, (2) 2020–21, (3) 2021–22, and (4) 2022–23.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has been an overseas development assistance (ODA) donor to Ethiopia over the last four years. Our overall ODA allocations have been: £300 million in 2019-20, £254 million in 2020-21, £134 million in 2021-22 and £90 million in 2022-23. Since 2019, the UK has allocated over £400 million to tackle humanitarian crises in Ethiopia. UK funding has provided 950,000 Ethiopians with medical supplies and is delivering lifesaving nutrition, health, water and sanitation and protection support to the most vulnerable. In February 2024, Minister Mitchell announced an extra £100 million in humanitarian aid during his visit to Ethiopia in response to the worsening humanitarian situation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put in place mandatory training for diplomats on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In July 2021, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), Fiona Bruce, MP, and I, launched the FCDO International Academy's training module "Religion for International Engagement," delivering recommendation 11 of the Bishop of Truro's review of FCDO support for persecuted Christians. The training is essential for FCDO diplomats, and highly recommended for all FCDO staff. The training is also available to all civil servants.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the governments of (1) India, and (2) Pakistan, to ensure that religious minorities are not denied their right to vote in upcoming elections in those countries.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We regularly engage with the Government of Pakistan to advance our key priorities and interests, including upholding democracy through inclusive elections. On 19 January, I raised the need for inclusivity in the upcoming elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. On 25 September 2023, the former Foreign Secretary raised the importance of credible, inclusive and timely elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar. On 21 August, I wrote to Foreign Minister Jilani to raise concerns about the treatment of minority religious communities and underline the need to ensure all Pakistan's citizens are able to exercise their democratic rights. The British High Commission in New Delhi continues to monitor the rights of religious minorities across India, including in the context of elections.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the joint report by the UN World Food Programme and Famine Early Warning Systems Network Ethiopia - Food Security Outlook 2023-24: Food assistance needs remain high amid slow recovery of livelihoods in 2024, published in October 2023, which found that "Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes are expected in northern, southern, and southeastern Ethiopia through at least early 2024", and (2) the risk of famine in Tigray.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Across northern Ethiopia, millions of people are facing hunger. War and climate change have crippled crop production and driven people off their lands. The conflict in Tigray has left more than 1 million people displaced. The combination of conflict and failed harvests in northern Ethiopia have plunged over 3 million into a state of critical food security and hunger. Millions more people are in need, with women and young children in particular, severely affected. During his recent visit, Minister Mitchell announced £100 million of new aid for over three million vulnerable people in Ethiopia as humanitarian crisis deepens.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of forced evictions by the government of Tanzania of indigenous peoples living in Ngorongoro Conservation Area and in the vicinity of Ruaha National Park.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British High Commission continues to meet with the Government of Tanzania, Maasai community leaders and non-government organisation (NGO) representatives to better understand the challenges faced by all parties and to support an open and constructive dialogue. Those discussions have made clear the complexities of meeting the needs of growing numbers of pastoralists and livestock in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. An investigation conducted by the World Bank into events in Ruaha is ongoing. We continue to monitor the situation closely and support engagement by the parties involved, including to address any humanitarian issues.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider increasing their funding for the World Food Programme to enable the Programme to restore its monthly food vouchers for Rohingya refugees to the full value of 12.50 US dollars.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK prioritised food provision in its Rohingya response programme in 2023, providing £14.8m of food support in Cox's Bazar delivered by the World Food Programme and other UN agencies. Food rations were increased in January 2024. The UK was the second largest bilateral donor to the food response in Cox's Bazar in 2023. We will continue to prioritise food support in our future response.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, in their capacity as penholder for Myanmar at the UN Security Council, to help find solutions to the Rohingya refugee crisis, and particularly to create the conditions necessary for safe, dignified, and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to use our UN Security Council (UNSC) penholder role to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar, including the Rohingya. In December 2022, the UNSC passed a landmark resolution on Myanmar, led by the UK, which stressed the need to address the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine State and create the conditions for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingya refugees. In December, at the Global Refugee Forum, the Minister for the Indo-Pacific reiterated this commitment. We will continue to use our platform in multilateral fora to reiterate UK support for sustainable solutions to improve the conditions in Myanmar's Rakhine State.