Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the shortage of oxygen supplies for COVID-19 patients in Gaza; and what steps they are taking, if any, to address any such shortage.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We remain concerned about the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, especially in Gaza. We welcome the recent 30% increase in hospital beds for patients suffering critical and severe cases and the recent procurement by World Health Organisation of two additional oxygen generators. The UK continues to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the signing of the Memoranda of Understanding by the Foreign Secretary and the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 6 November 2015, what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about its use of anti-terrorist charges against (1) Karim Ennarah, (2) Mohammed Basheer, and (3) Gasser Abdel Razeq; and what discussions they have had with that government about the evidence on which such charges are based.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We welcome the release of Gasser Abdel Razek, Karim Ennarah and Mohamed Basheer. The UK was clear from the outset that we had serious concerns about their arrest and detention, concerns shared by likeminded international partners. The Foreign Secretary raised the issue with his Egyptian counterpart on 19 November, the first Foreign Minister to do so. We continue to take a close interest in this case. We continue to have regular discussions with the Government of Egypt on human rights issues, raising concerns where we have them.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about the release of (1) Karim Ennarah, (2) Mohammed Basheer, and (3) Gasser Abdel Razeq; and what representations they have made to the government of Egypt about the importance of the work by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in upholding human rights.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We welcome the release of Gasser Abdel Razek, Karim Ennarah and Mohamed Basheer. The UK was clear from the outset that we had serious concerns about their arrest and detention, concerns shared by likeminded international partners. The Foreign Secretary raised the issue with his Egyptian counterpart on 19 November, the first Foreign Minister to do so. We continue to take a close interest in this case. We continue to have regular discussions with the Government of Egypt on human rights issues, raising concerns where we have them.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees cannot afford to pay the salaries of its staff, what steps they are taking to support that agency.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is a long-term supporter of UNRWA, and we recognise UNRWA's unique mandate from the UN General Assembly to protect and provide protection and core services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. We are providing £51m to UNRWA in 2020/2021. Reports that UNRWA may not be able to pay the salaries of its staff in full are very worrying. To that end, the UK is working with UNRWA and other donors to improve UNRWA's financial viability. This includes broadening UNRWA's donor base, and encouraging multi-year funding.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to secure the release of senior political detainees, including Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Turki bin Abdullah, in advance of the forthcoming G20 meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK will participate in the G20 Summit, which is likely to focus on health, the global economic recovery and wider global challenges (including climate change, trade and development). It is a key part of international planning for a sustainable recovery from coronavirus. As current G20 President, Saudi Arabia will play a vital role in coordinating the global health and economic response. We hope that the international platform provided by the G20 Presidency encourages continued progress on domestic reforms.
Our close relationship with Saudi Arabia allows us to raise our concerns about human rights, including on political detainees, in private and in public. We have expressed significant concerns about reports of continuing arrests and arbitrary detentions in Saudi Arabia. We raise concerns about individual cases regularly, using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels, including our Embassy in Riyadh. The UK signed a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September noting our human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia and calling for the release of all political detainees. We continue to raise concerns at all levels and are monitoring the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to their participation at the forthcoming G20 meeting in Saudi Arabia in view of the human rights record of Saudi Arabia and the detention of senior political prisoners including Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Turki bin Abdullah.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK will participate in the G20 Summit, which is likely to focus on health, the global economic recovery and wider global challenges (including climate change, trade and development). It is a key part of international planning for a sustainable recovery from coronavirus. As current G20 President, Saudi Arabia will play a vital role in coordinating the global health and economic response. We hope that the international platform provided by the G20 Presidency encourages continued progress on domestic reforms.
Our close relationship with Saudi Arabia allows us to raise our concerns about human rights, including on political detainees, in private and in public. We have expressed significant concerns about reports of continuing arrests and arbitrary detentions in Saudi Arabia. We raise concerns about individual cases regularly, using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels, including our Embassy in Riyadh. The UK signed a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September noting our human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia and calling for the release of all political detainees. We continue to raise concerns at all levels and are monitoring the situation closely.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has been invited to attend a session of the House of Commons International Development Committee; if so, whether any such invitation has been accepted; and if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs has been invited to attend a session of the House of Commons International Development Committee. He has informed the Committee of his intention to give evidence at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking (1) unilaterally, and (2) multilaterally, to protect lower and middle income countries from adverse impacts of COVID-19 on literacy rates.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Education is a top priority for this Government and FCDO is taking decisive steps internationally to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on learning. We have adapted our bilateral education programmes in 18 countries to provide child protection, continuity of learning (e.g. through radio and home learning kits) and are helping schools prepare to re-open safely. Improving foundational skills, especially getting more children reading by the age of ten, is central to our plan to ensure more girls benefit from 12 years of quality education.
Multilaterally, we are also leading efforts to build back better in education and protect learning. The UK is partnering with Kenya to co-host the 2021 Global Partnership for Education (GPE) financing summit, and as the largest donor, supported establishment of a dedicated $500 million COVID-19 accelerated funding window to maintain basic education. We topped up our contribution to the global fund Education Cannot Wait, to which we are the also the largest donor, and provided funding to support an additional 5,500 teachers in refugee camps via the UN refugee agency.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by Oxfam, published on 18 August, that on average one air raid has hit civilian infrastructure in Yemen every 10 days since March 2015; what action they have taken to curb such air raids; and what assessment they have made of the implications of those air raids on their policy towards Yemen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is deeply concerned by reports of damage to civilian infrastructure from airstrikes in Yemen. The FCDO has reviewed Oxfam's report as part of the export licensing process, which draws on wide range of information from NGOs, UN bodies and other sources. The Government takes its export responsibilities seriously and assesses all export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria. We will not issue any export licences where to do so would be inconsistent with these criteria.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that peace talks in Yemen are inclusive of women, youth and civil society.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK champions and supports the important role women, youth and civil society can play in ending the conflict in Yemen. We are a global leader on the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda and the penholder on UNSCR 1325 at the Security Council.
We continue to support the work of UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who is actively engaging women in the peace process. We also fund Senior Gender Advisor and Senior Inclusion Advisor positions in his office. Complementing the UN's efforts to deliver a durable and sustainable peace deal, the UK's Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) supports a range of Track II (Influential Figures) and Track III (Civil Society and Local Groups) initiatives which promote a more inclusive political dialogue. We also support the Yemeni Women's Pact for Peace and Security (through UN Women), which aims to increase female leadership and inclusion in the peace processes, as well as a variety of projects aimed at supporting the work of grassroots women leaders and civil society organisations in communities across Yemen.