Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What recent representations she has received on the future of UNRWA funding in Palestine.
Answered by Alistair Burt
In December, we received representations from Pierre Krähenbühl, UNRWA’s Commissioner General, and Jamie McGoldrick, the local UN Humanitarian Coordinator who thanked the UK for our support in reducing UNRWA’s unprecedented financial shortfall. We will continue working with UNRWA and other donors to help ensure its essential services are maintained.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support legislation in developing countries to help disabled people.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Global Disability Summit on 24th July was a landmark moment for disability inclusion with over 170 sets of ambitious commitments from governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations and civil society. Nine national governments committed to passing or formulating new or revised laws to give people with disabilities greater rights. Progress will be monitored and a one-year on progress report produced.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to assist countries with long coastlines such as Indonesia to tackle plastic pollution.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Prime Minister called for international action and committed UKAid to tackle the problem of marine plastic pollution. As part of the wider Government effort, DFID is developing programmes of up to £33 million to improve waste management and reduce plastic pollution from manufacturing in poor countries. In addition, DFID and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funds the Global Environment Facility, which is funding projects to address plastic pollution and improve marine management in Indonesia.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the promotion of democracy in developing countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Strengthening global peace, security and governance is one of the four pillars of the UK Aid Strategy. DFID champions democratic values at the international level. For example, the inclusion of a specific Goal 16 on inclusive, peaceful societies in the 2030 Agenda. We have scaled up our support to the Open Government Partnership’s global work and launched a new Transparency Agenda in 2018 promoting civic engagement in decision-making. And we have recently agreed a new centrally managed programme supporting the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to promote inclusive, democratic politics in a range of developing countries.
DFID promotes democratic institutions and politics in many of our focus countries, alongside the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, through support to build effective parliaments, and political parties; and empower civil society to hold governments to account. Between 2010 and 2015 we supported freer and fairer elections in 13 countries in which 162 million people voted. DFID’s recently launched UK Aid Connect programme will promote an independent, free media in developing countries as a fundamental pillar of democracy.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Prosperity Fund in the delivery of her Department's goals.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK ended its traditional bilateral aid programmes with China in 2011 and ended all financial aid to the Indian government in 2015. Instead the UK is now building relationships with these countries focused on trade and investment and on working together on global issues. We need to be clear that the Prosperity Fund is part of this new more mature partnership and allows us to share cutting edge UK expertise to support economic growth and development. This is good for these countries but is also strongly in our own national interest.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent progress has been made on the Energy Africa access campaign.
Answered by Lord Wharton of Yarm
Energy Africa aims to develop compacts with up to 14 African countries to remove policy and regulatory barriers to off-grid solar market expansion. Eleven countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uganda) have signed interim partnership agreements. The compact development process is well under way in these countries and one has been agreed with Sierra Leone. Several others are in final negotiations and are expected to be agreed in the coming months.
DFID is also providing technical assistance and other programmatic support to help with the implementation of the compacts.
Asked by: Richard Graham (Conservative - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to assist Yazidi women in Iraq and Syria who have been kidnapped by ISIS.
Answered by Justine Greening
The current security situation and the deliberate blocking of aid by ISIL have made it extremely difficult for us or our partners to access ISIL controlled areas.
We condemn the brutal human rights abuses perpetrated by ISIL, including reports of the trafficking and kidnapping of Yezidi women. The UK government is committed, as part of an international coalition, to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.
UK humanitarian aid has been helping many victims who have managed to escape ISIL’s atrocities, including through the protection of vulnerable groups and through meeting the specific needs of displaced women and girls. In Dahuk in Northern Iraq, where many Yezidi women have fled to, our partners are providing psychosocial and community outreach support for survivors of sexual and gender based violence.