Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the situation in East Jerusalem.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. We call on all sides to reduce tensions, restore calm and avoid provocation. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered a message of de-escalation in his calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence.
As the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear, this cycle of violence must stop, and every effort must be made to avoid loss of life. We urge all sides to refrain from any kind of provocation so that calm is restored as quickly as possible. The UK will continue to support that goal.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) financial, (b) logistical and (c) medical support the Government is providing to assist the Indian Government’s covid-19 response.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner in the fight against Covid-19, and send our solidarity and condolences to the Indian people at this difficult time. Since 2015, the UK has not provided financial assistance to the Indian Government, and until recently, the Indian Government's official position has been to neither seek nor accept official international assistance from foreign governments for humanitarian assistance. Instead, the UK has put together a package focusing on India's most urgent needs, including oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and oxygen generating units. The first shipment was delivered on 27 April. On 2 May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would send a further 1,000 ventilators to support India's response, these arrived in Delhi on 9 May, bringing the total package of equipment to 495 oxygen concentrators, 1,200 ventilators and three oxygen generating units. Given the importance of effective coordination of the large quantities of assistance arriving in India, the UK is channelling its support through the Indian Government and Indian Red Cross, to ensure the transfer of medical equipment is as efficient as possible and reaches those who need it.
There is also extensive scientific and medical collaboration underway. Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance have spoken to their Indian counterparts to provide advice, insight and expertise to the Indian healthcare system as it deals with the surge in Covid-19 cases. NHS England and NHS Improvement are establishing a clinic advisory group, led by Chief People Officer Prerana Issar, to support India's Covid-19 response.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the situation in East Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. We call on all sides to reduce tensions, restore calm and avoid provocation. The Prime Minister has called for an urgent de-escalation of tensions. The Foreign Secretary delivered a message of de-escalation in his calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Ashkenazi on 16 May, and with Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh on 12 May. We have also engaged the UN Security Council, calling for measures to reduce further violence.
As the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear, this cycle of violence must stop, and every effort must be made to avoid loss of life. We urge all sides to refrain from any kind of provocation so that calm is restored as quickly as possible. The UK will continue to support that goal.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) financial, (b) logistical and (c) military support the Government is providing to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in response to the recent volcanic eruptions in that nation.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are monitoring the situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines closely and our thoughts are with those affected by the eruptions. Infrastructure and agriculture have been badly hit and ash fall is significant and causing problems with the movement of people, as well as impacting electricity and water supplies.
We will continue to work with CDEMA and other appropriate agencies to provide further support.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the concerns raised about the infringement of human rights on farmers protesting in India.
Answered by Nigel Adams
I am conscious of the level of concern from communities in the UK towards the farmers' protests in India. The right to gather lawfully and demonstrate a point of view is common to all democracies. Governments also have the power to enforce law and order if a protest crosses the line into illegality. The Foreign Secretary discussed the protests with External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar on his visit to India in December, while making it clear that this is an internal matter for the Indian authorities.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with members of the Punjabi diaspora living in the UK who have raised concerns about the ongoing protests in India.
Answered by Nigel Adams
I am conscious of the level of concern from communities in the UK towards the farmers' protests in India. The right to gather lawfully and demonstrate a point of view is common to all democracies. Governments also have the power to enforce law and order if a protest crosses the line into illegality. The Foreign Secretary discussed the protests with External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar on his visit to India in December, while making it clear that this is an internal matter for the Indian authorities.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
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 potential effect of the £2.9 billion reduction to the Official Development Assistance budget on faith organisations throughout the world.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Faith groups play an essential role in reaching the "bottom billion" around the world, and we continue to engage extensively with them on development issues as part of our relationship with wider civil society. This engagement has included understanding the problems organisations are facing as a result of COVID-19, including financial. Furthermore, Lord Ahmad hosted a "faith in development" roundtable in June which discussed how faith groups are contributing to the response to COVID-19; where those interventions have been most effective, and what the challenges are for faith groups. We continue to assess the impact of potential Official Development Assistance reductions in all areas, and all amended programmes and projects are uploaded on DevTracker in the normal way.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote the empowerment of girls and women around the world.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Promoting gender equality is a key priority of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) work. As I stated in my answer of 10 November to question 110267, the challenges of advancing girls' education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's political empowerment and participation, women's economic empowerment, and ending gender-based violence, including conflict related sexual violence, are more acute now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Government's commitment to the issue of empowerment for women and girls was reflected by the appointment of Baroness Sugg as the UK Special Envoy for Girls' Education in March 2020. She is committed to promoting every girl's right to attend and stay in school, and to receive 12 years of quality education by 2030, by working to accelerate progress towards getting marginalised girls into schools, staying there and staying safe.
The UK is proud to be a world leader on efforts to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), and Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI). We are co-lead of the new global Generation Equality Action Coalition on gender-based violence (established to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action on Gender Equality). We have increased our efforts to reach girls and women with life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, including with an additional £10m for UN Population Fund's COVID-19 response. And FCDO continues to deliver on its National Action Plan (NAP) on Women Peace and Security - focusing on elevating and legitimising the work of women peacebuilders. We will continue to engage virtually with our international partners and promote the empowerment of women and girls in multilateral fora including in the UN
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department will take to safeguard the human rights of Christians overseas made vulnerable by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK remains deeply concerned by the severity and scale of violations and abuses of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in many parts of the world. Defending the right to FoRB for all is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We continue to assess the impact of COVID-19 on human rights globally, including members of all minority religious and belief communities. We are concerned by the secondary effects of the pandemic, including incidents of hate speech. We are also concerned by the rise in conspiracy theories that certain faiths or beliefs are to blame for the pandemic, and reports that some Christian communities have been denied access to aid and information. The UK will continue to refute these divisive and harmful claims.
The UK has called for states to ensure that any restrictions put in place to protect public health, including the right to FoRB, are necessary, proportionate and time-limited. The Minister of State for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged states to take steps to mitigate the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society, including religious and belief minorities, during the UK's closing statement at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in July.