Asked by: Lord Monks (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they take (1) human, and (2) trade union rights violations into account when making aid available to Somalia.
Answered by Lord Bates
In determining UK aid funding to governments DFID assesses their commitment to each of four Partnership Principles. One of the Principles is commitment to human rights. Evidence of lack of commitment to the Principles would influence choices on the level and the manner of aid provision, for example by providing aid through civil society organisations rather than through government bodies. DFID Somalia works through a range of implementing partners in Somalia and has put robust safeguards in place to ensure all our programmes meet the highest standards of conduct and risk management. Although trade union rights are not explicitly listed in our Partnership Principles, egregious violations of workers’ rights would fall under our wider provision for human rights.