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Written Question
Myanmar: Development Aid
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the funding his Department has provided to healthcare projects for Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in the Rakhine state.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has provided over £30 million in humanitarian and food security support for the Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Rakhine state since 2017, reaching over 160,000 Rohingya people, and is the largest donor of water, sanitation and hygiene services to Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons camps in central Rakhine. The UK also works to provide essential health services to approximately 3.3 million people in Myanmar, including in Rakhine, through a multilateral programme with the International Organisation for Migration. FCDO programmes undergo an annual review of effectiveness, using a results framework. These are published to the Development Tracker website [https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk].


Written Question
Myanmar: Rohingya
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the funding his Department provided to the International Organization for Migration for healthcare projects for the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has provided over £30 million in humanitarian and food security support for the Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Rakhine state since 2017, reaching over 160,000 Rohingya people, and is the largest donor of water, sanitation and hygiene services to Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons camps in central Rakhine. The UK also works to provide essential health services to approximately 3.3 million people in Myanmar, including in Rakhine, through a multilateral programme with the International Organisation for Migration. FCDO programmes undergo an annual review of effectiveness, using a results framework. These are published to the Development Tracker website [https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk].


Written Question
Myanmar: Rohingya
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the funding his Department has provided to NGOs to help support Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK has provided over £30 million in humanitarian and food security support for the Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Rakhine state since 2017, reaching over 160,000 Rohingya people, and is the largest donor of water, sanitation and hygiene services to Rohingya Internally Displaced Persons camps in central Rakhine. The UK also works to provide essential health services to approximately 3.3 million people in Myanmar, including in Rakhine, through a multilateral programme with the International Organisation for Migration. FCDO programmes undergo an annual review of effectiveness, using a results framework. These are published to the Development Tracker website [https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk].


Written Question
Myanmar: Bilateral Aid
Wednesday 28th February 2024

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using the bilateral aid allocated to the Myanmar-UK Health Partnership programme to (a) support and (b) protect (i) nurses and (ii) healthcare workers targeted by the Junta regime in Myanmar.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government remains committed to assisting nurses and healthcare workers in Myanmar. The Myanmar-UK Health Partnership has supported Myanmar health workers to establish pop-up clinics and provided crucial training to develop capacity in opposition-held areas. It supplies doctors and nurses in Myanmar with web-based learning materials and has provided more than 3,000 nurses with nursing training. The programme has also supported the provision of direct services through digital methods, such as telemedicine services. The programme is designed to ensure that Myanmar's population can access healthcare services despite access constraints, while reducing the risks to health workers.


Written Question
Sudan: Minority Groups
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impacts of actions of (a) Rapid Support Forces and (b) the Sudanese Armed Forces on religious minorities in Sudan's (i) Blue Nile and (ii) South Kordofan states.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK condemns the rising violence across Sudan. We note reports of heavy fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), as well as between SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The spread of violence to these states has brought with it the killing of civilians and sexual assault of women, amongst other human rights abuses. We continue to demand that the warring parties respect calls for a ceasefire, humanitarian access be granted and those responsible be held to account. We will support international efforts to secure a permanent cessation of hostilities and protection of civilians through statements and resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK and US) and European countries. We are also engaging with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union, where we are now working through a new Core Group to ensure inclusive regional and international action to secure a viable peace process. Following reports of attacks on churches and mosques since 15 April, we are monitoring growing infringements of religious freedom in Sudan and continue to promote freedom of religion or belief as a means of enhancing tolerance and inclusion.


Written Question
Transcaucasus: Roads
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to press for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor; and what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the reopening of the Lachin Corridor.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK Government has been vocal about the importance of re-opening the Lachin Corridor, including at the United Nations Security Council in New York on 20 December 2022 and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna on 17 January 2023. This message was also conveyed by the Minister for Europe during his visit to Azerbaijan in February 2023. The UK Government will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months.


Written Question
Transcaucasus: Roads
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to provide humanitarian support to people affected by shortages of food, medical and other supplies as a result of the closure of the Lachin Corridor in 2023.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK has a strong record of supporting humanitarian responses in this region and FCDO officials are in close contact with humanitarian agencies about the situation on the ground. Additionally the START FUND, a humanitarian response fund to whom the UK is a significant donor, has allocated £350,000 to the region to support those effected by the closure of the Lachin Corridor.


Written Question
Armenia: Azerbaijan
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of recent military tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan on civilian farmers in the village of Tegh.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

Although we have not made a specific assessment of the impact of military tensions on civilians in Tegh, the UK Government condemns in the strongest terms any military action that puts civilian lives at risk. We continue to urge both parties to refrain from further escalation and to abide by all existing commitments.


Written Question
Armenia: Azerbaijan
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to help promote peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK's longstanding position is that there is no military solution to this conflict and that Armenia and Azerbaijan must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable peaceful settlement. I underlined this message when I visited Baku in February, and the UK Government will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months. We continue to support internationally facilitated negotiations to settle all outstanding matters.


Written Question
Korea: BBC World Service
Tuesday 10th January 2023

Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will take steps to help ensure that the BBC World Service broadcasts into the Korea Peninsula.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The FCDO strongly values the BBC World Service's role in bringing high-quality and impartial broadcasting to audiences in need, particularly where free speech is limited.

The BBC has provided assurance that it will continue to serve audiences in countries lacking media freedom and a free press, such as North Korea. Through the World2020 programme, the FCDO provides support to the BBC Korean service which is aimed at audiences across the Korean Peninsula, including inside North Korea where access to international media sources is extremely limited.

The UK is committed to media freedom, and to championing democracy and human rights around the world.