Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much UK Official Development Assistance expenditure will be invested in development and humanitarian support in Iraq; and through which organisations that support will be directed.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID has committed £252.5 million in humanitarian support to Iraq since 2014, providing a vital lifeline to millions with shelter, medical care and clean water. The largest recipient of UK aid has been UN OCHA's Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHF), which distributes funding to downstream partners in line with the Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan 2019.
The UK has committed over £103 million towards stabilisation in Iraq since 2015, through the Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund. The largest recipient of this funding is the UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS), which helps stabilise areas liberated from Daesh by repairing infrastructure and reopening vital facilities such as hospitals and schools.
This year, £16 million has also been allocated from DFID's ODA budget to the Iraq Reform and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF), run by the World Bank. The IRRF will support Government of Iraq-led reconstruction efforts through the provision of technical assistance, and support the implementation of longer-term economic reform and development.
Plans for Official Development Aid expenditure in Iraq in the 2019/20 financial year are still to be confirmed.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much financial support, if any, they plan to provide for psychological services to those members of the Yazidi community captured by ISIS and now returned to Iraq.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK humanitarian support is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity. However, we remain concerned about appalling crimes committed against minorities in Syria and Iraq, including the Yezidi community. We expect our partners, including the UN and NGOs which implement our aid programmes, to ensure they are doing all they can to support the most vulnerable people, including those who have suffered religious persecution.
In Iraq, UK aid is primarily delivered through UN OCHA's Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHF), to which the UK was the largest donor in 2018. The IHF is the main international humanitarian mechanism in Iraq and health - including psychosocial support - is its largest component. Work to provide healthcare services to 1.2 million more people this year, including Yezidis, has already begun. UK aid has also enabled the UN Trust Fund to support the Free Yezidi Foundation which runs a centre in Northern Iraq providing access to a psychologist and a trauma programme for women and children who have suffered under Daesh. The UK is providing £75,000 in support to the SEED Foundation which delivers gender-focused mental health and psycho-social support training in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This work will benefit women from many communities across the Kurdistan Region, including Yezidis.
In Syria, UK aid has provided more than £40 million this financial year to support the most vulnerable people in areas liberated from Daesh. Across Northeast Syria, this includes mental health support, child protection and education, support to demining and assisting survivors of Gender-Based Violence.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much financial support, if any, they plan to provide for psychological services to those members of the Yazidi community captured by ISIS and now located in Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
UK humanitarian support is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion or ethnicity. However, we remain concerned about appalling crimes committed against minorities in Syria and Iraq, including the Yezidi community. We expect our partners, including the UN and NGOs which implement our aid programmes, to ensure they are doing all they can to support the most vulnerable people, including those who have suffered religious persecution.
In Iraq, UK aid is primarily delivered through UN OCHA's Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHF), to which the UK was the largest donor in 2018. The IHF is the main international humanitarian mechanism in Iraq and health - including psychosocial support - is its largest component. Work to provide healthcare services to 1.2 million more people this year, including Yezidis, has already begun. UK aid has also enabled the UN Trust Fund to support the Free Yezidi Foundation which runs a centre in Northern Iraq providing access to a psychologist and a trauma programme for women and children who have suffered under Daesh. The UK is providing £75,000 in support to the SEED Foundation which delivers gender-focused mental health and psycho-social support training in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This work will benefit women from many communities across the Kurdistan Region, including Yezidis.
In Syria, UK aid has provided more than £40 million this financial year to support the most vulnerable people in areas liberated from Daesh. Across Northeast Syria, this includes mental health support, child protection and education, support to demining and assisting survivors of Gender-Based Violence.
Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much UK Official Development Assistance expenditure will be invested in development and humanitarian support in Syria; and through which organisations that support will be directed.
Answered by Lord Bates
As one of the largest donors to the crisis since 2011, the UK remains at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Syria. Our support is focused on providing humanitarian assistance to those in most acute need. To date, we have pledged over £2.8 billion of Official Development Assistance to the Syria crisis – our largest response to a single humanitarian crisis – to alleviate the extreme suffering inside Syria and provide vital support to refugees and host communities in neighbouring countries. This includes our recent pledge at the third annual “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region Conference”, where we committed to provide at least £400 million towards the Syria crisis in 2019.
UK funding is currently implemented through 16 agencies, including the UN, international NGOs and some private sector companies, which deliver much needed food, clean water, shelter and healthcare. For security reasons, we do not publicly disclose the identity of our partners operating in Syria.