Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Government closely monitors the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and continues to engage actively to encourage much-needed progress and reform, through political, diplomatic and programme support (worth approximately £7.6m in FY 2017-18). As part of that engagement, the Foreign Secretary visited BiH in April 2017. Some progress has been made, but much political discussion remains divisive and nationalist, and serious challenges to the rule of law have contributed to concerns over political stability.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 2035, what recent representations he has made to his US counterpart on bringing forward the refurbishment of Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Ministry of Defence leads on the refurbishment of the Wideawake runway and as such I refer to the answer of 4 July 2017 provided by the Minister for the armed forces. I have made no representations to the US Secretary of State.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from the European Space Agency on the suspension of Voyager flights to and from Ascension Island and the re-routing of the South Atlantic airbridge.
Answered by Alan Duncan
None.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his Swedish counterpart on the UK's participation in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.
Answered by Alan Duncan
No representations have been received regarding participation in the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora 17 military exercise.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to host another Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This year marks five years since the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative was founded. The 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was the biggest Summit of its kind. Significant progress has been made since 2012, including through:
The British Government will host an international meeting in 2019 to review commitments made at the 2014 Summit and galvanise further international action and commitment. The 2019 meeting will focus on what further action is needed to end sexual violence in conflict, including how we can further support survivors and tackle the stigma and negative attitudes associated with sexual violence.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding Women's security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan received from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in each year between 2008 and 2015.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) only started in April 2015. The table attached gives a breakdown of Women, Peace and Security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan including their funding allocations by financial year.
The CSSF recognises at its core the importance of mainstreaming gender in all CSSF funded interventions. We do this, for example, by ensuring all programmes are compliant with the Gender Equality Act through requiring the design of all programmes to pay due consideration to the impact on gender equality . Examples of such projects include "Increasing access and participation of Women in the political process in Bosnia" and "Afghanistan, the Security Sector and Peace Building Programme" which supports the participation of women in the Afghan national police force.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which Women, Peace and Security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan have received funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund since 2008.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) only started in April 2015. The table attached gives a breakdown of Women, Peace and Security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan including their funding allocations by financial year.
The CSSF recognises at its core the importance of mainstreaming gender in all CSSF funded interventions. We do this, for example, by ensuring all programmes are compliant with the Gender Equality Act through requiring the design of all programmes to pay due consideration to the impact on gender equality . Examples of such projects include "Increasing access and participation of Women in the political process in Bosnia" and "Afghanistan, the Security Sector and Peace Building Programme" which supports the participation of women in the Afghan national police force.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding Women, Peace and Security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan received from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) only started in April 2015. The table attached gives a breakdown of Women, Peace and Security-related projects in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Bosnia, (c) Kosovo, (d) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (e) Somalia and (f) South Sudan including their funding allocations by financial year.
The CSSF recognises at its core the importance of mainstreaming gender in all CSSF funded interventions. We do this, for example, by ensuring all programmes are compliant with the Gender Equality Act through requiring the design of all programmes to pay due consideration to the impact on gender equality . Examples of such projects include "Increasing access and participation of Women in the political process in Bosnia" and "Afghanistan, the Security Sector and Peace Building Programme" which supports the participation of women in the Afghan national police force.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to commit new research funding to the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security to support the Government's commitment to the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to producing the next UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, in a focused, consultative and inclusive way. While HMG funding on Women, Peace and Security is focused on the implementation rather than the production of the UK National Action Plan, we have provided funding to enable civil society consultations in four focus countries and we are working with partners to ensure UK civil society and academic views are taken into account in the revision of the UK National Action Plan. The Government has funded an external, independent evaluation of the current UK National Action Plan, which will make recommendations for the next iteration of the plan for the next financial year to include research on stigma and preventing sexual violence against men and boys. This is part of our on-going efforts to produce an evidence base to inform and shape our Women, Peace and Security policy and more broadly on Gender Equality/Women and Girls, where there is a wide volume of funding for research, including through DFID funding.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of Conflict Stability and Security funding in Israel supports Israel-Palestinian coexistence work.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 27 October 2016 (PQ 49938).