Asked by: Lord St John of Bletso (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in conjunction with international partners to address the influence of the ISIS caliphate in northern Mozambique.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned by the deteriorating security situation in northern Mozambique, and the increasing attacks by groups with links to Islamic extremism. On 10 November, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Africa publicly condemned the recent attacks in which over 50 people were beheaded.
We are working with the Government of Mozambique to address the root drivers of conflict and instability in northern Mozambique, including through engagement with the Government of Mozambique's regional development authority in Cabo Delgado, and by providing targeted technical assistance under the framework of a Defence Memorandum of Understanding. To date, the UK has provided £14.5 million of support to internally-displaced people in northern Mozambique through the UN and its partners. We also regularly engage with our international partners, including the US, France, Portugal and South Africa, to discuss a shared approach to the situation in Cabo Delgado.
Asked by: Lord St John of Bletso (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the publication on 15 November of the Interim Report of the UN panel of experts on South Sudan, what measures are being taken to avert the threat of genocide in South Sudan.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in South Sudan and agree with the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide that the international community needs to act fast before genocide becomes a reality. Together with our regional and international partners, we continue to press both the government of South Sudan and the Opposition to show restraint and work to build peace through an inclusive political process. In parallel, as we have consistently made clear, we fully support a United Nations arms embargo on South Sudan and will continue to push for this in Security Council discussions in New York.