The 0.7% of GNI ODA Target: 2022

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Monday 17th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The Government took the difficult decision to reduce temporarily the official development assistance (ODA) budget from 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.5% from 2021, because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the economy and public finances. The Government will return to 0.7% when the fiscal situation allows.

The International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015 envisages situations in which a departure from meeting the target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA may be necessary—for example, in response to “fiscal circumstances and, in particular, the likely impact of meeting the target on taxation, public spending and public borrowing”.

The FCDO’s annual report and accounts for 2022-23, published today, reports that the 0.7% target was not met in 2022, on a provisional basis. As required by section 2 of the 2015 Act, an Un-numbered Act Paper has been laid before Parliament, in the same terms as this statement.

In a written ministerial statement on 12 July 2021, my right hon. Friend the former Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the decision to reduce the ODA budget is temporary and set out the conditions for returning to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA. The principles for a return will be met when, on a sustainable basis, the Government are not borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling. The House of Commons voted to approve this approach to returning to 0.7% on 13 July 2021. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed this in his 22 November 2022 written ministerial statement.

Each year the Government will review, in accordance with the 2015 Act, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The most recent assessment, set out in HM Treasury’s autumn statement 2022, showed that the principles for a return to 0.7% had not been met.

[HCWS961]

Afghanistan: Aid and Support

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Monday 17th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My Noble Friend, the Minister of State (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations) (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon), has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:

Today I am updating the House on UK efforts to support those most in need in Afghanistan. Afghanistan remains one of HM Government’s (HMG’s) largest bilateral aid allocations and we continue to be a major contributor to humanitarian, health and education support. Since April 2021, HMG has disbursed over £532 million in aid for Afghanistan while the country continues to experience one of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises. This financial year we have made a further commitment of £100 million and plan an additional £151 million for next financial year. HMG continues to influence international thinking on how to support basic services in Afghanistan, challenge the Taliban on human rights abuses, and build consensus on engaging with the Taliban to make progress on issues of mutual benefit. We remain committed that at least 50% of people reached with UK aid in Afghanistan will be women and girls, a commitment we met in 2021-22 and are on track to meet for 2022-23.

The scale of the need in Afghanistan is profound. Two thirds of the population are estimated to be in humanitarian need. We remain appalled at the continued erosion of the rights of women and girls, which has led to their almost total exclusion from political, educational and social spaces. On 23 March 2022, the Taliban banned girls’ access to secondary schools and closed universities to women in December 2022. On 5 April 2023, the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for the UN in Afghanistan, extending their 24 December 2022 directive banning Afghan women from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). HMG has strongly condemned the Taliban’s decisions through a range of international statements, including the UN Security Council Resolution 2681. Together with like-minded countries—including those in the organisation of Islamic co-operation—we continue to press the Taliban to reverse their prohibitive decrees.

Afghan women play a vital role in the delivery of aid operations, and the FCDO is supporting our international partners to adapt programmes and find solutions to include women and girls in the implementation of aid. Afghan women and girls must have safe and equitable access to aid. HMG continues to support girls’ education in Afghanistan through bilateral and multilateral contributions to NGOs, UN partners and multilateral funds. Educated, empowered women will contribute to Afghanistan’s economic development, as well as to its peace and stability.

The UN’s Humanitarian Appeal for Afghanistan this year is for $3.2 billion and is currently only 15% funded. We continue to press donors to meet their commitments to support the Afghan people. In 2022-2023, the UK disbursed £95 million to the UN’s World Food Programme, supporting 4.2 million people. Through UNICEF, HMG expects to reach an estimated 1.6 million people with nutrition, water and sanitation, and child and social protection services in 2022-23. £50 million was allocated to the UN Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund last year to provide support for health, water, protection, shelter, food, livelihoods, and education interventions.

As co-chair of the Afghanistan co-ordination group until recently, HMG has worked with international partners to deliver sustained essential services for the Afghan people. In 2022, HMG supported the Asian Development Bank to approve a $405 million package of support. This followed an approval in December 2021 to transfer $280 million of funds from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to UN agencies. This funding supports UN agencies to finance core public health services, education, and the provision of emergency food services.

We continue to engage pragmatically with the Taliban, primarily through the UK Mission to Afghanistan, based in Doha. FCDO ministers are in regular contact with their international counterparts on Afghanistan. In 2023 The Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP and I as Minister of State have met UN Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, Afghan women and civil society organisations to discuss the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls. The Foreign Secretary and his ministerial team regularly discuss Afghanistan during their international engagements. The Prime Minister's Special Representative to Afghanistan regularly engaged with international counterparts, including at a substantive meeting for special envoys hosted by the UN Secretary General in Doha in May 2023.

Attachments:

1. ODA spend breakdown for Afghanistan for FY 2022-20 (ODA spend breakdown for Afghanistan for FY 2022-2023.docx.pdf)

Attachments can be viewed online at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2023-07-17/HCWS960/.

[HCWS960]

Human Rights and Democracy Report 2022

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 13th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

My noble Friend the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has made the following written ministerial statement:

I have today laid before Parliament a copy of the 2022 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office report on human rights and democracy (CP number 886).

The report monitors human rights developments overseas in 2022 and, 75 years on from the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, demonstrates the Government’s continuing commitment to promote and defend human rights and open societies. This includes our work to stop sexual violence against women and girls in conflict, and our actions to promote media freedom and freedom of religion or belief, all with a particular focus on the vulnerable. The report also highlights the UK’s work with the international community in 2022 to bring Russia to account for its atrocities in Ukraine.

The UK remains resolute in our commitment to protect and promote human rights and to use the international system to hold perpetrators to account for their human rights violations.

[HCWS944]

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: Overseas Aid

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2023 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

It is a tremendous pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies, and the first time that I have done so. This is a subject that you and I have discussed many times over the last 10 or 15 years, so I know that you take a great interest in it.

My pleasure in appearing before you, Mr Davies, is exceeded only by my pleasure in responding to the hon. Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), with whom I have had many interactions. As she knows well, I agree with a large amount of what she says, and never more so than in today’s debate. I pay tribute to her for securing the debate, and for the work she does on the International Development Committee, together with its members. It is widely regarded as being among the most expert Committees in the Houses of Parliament. I look forward to giving evidence to her Committee in September, in its inquiry on the important matters that we are discussing. If I do not answer her points in sufficient detail, I know perfectly well that she will pursue me on them.

I also thank the hon. Lady for what she said about the work of British diplomatic missions overseas; I will pass on to the missions her generous words, which I know they will appreciate. As a result of the reduction in the ODA budget from 0.7% to 0.5%, incredibly difficult decisions had to be made, and that imposed an enormous strain on those who are now, but were not then, my officials. Many extraordinarily difficult decisions were made, in furthering the will of Parliament that the budget should be cut, but we are in a better position than we were. I hope that that will become clear next week when we report back to Parliament.

Every woman and girl should have control over her own body and her own life. She should be able to make informed decisions about sex, and whether and when to have children. She should have access to good-quality sexual and reproductive health services and be able to realise her rights. That is far from the case for too many women in too many countries, which is why universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights forms an important part of the British Government’s approach to development and diplomacy. Our commitment to promoting those rights is set out in our strategies on international development, global health and women and girls, and is a central element of our approach to ending the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children.

We face many challenges in achieving our aims. Global progress on reducing maternal death rates had stagnated between 2016 and 2020, even before the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. That is why I am championing our efforts to help end the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children by 2030. The campaign joins up efforts right across the system, on issues including water, sanitation and hygiene, good nutrition, clean air, access to new health technologies, and a supportive environment for sexual and reproductive health and rights, which the hon. Member for Rotherham spoke about so clearly.

Let me turn to the worrying trends that are putting at risk the progress we have made on sexual and reproductive health and gender equality. Attempts to roll back the rights of women, girls and members of the LGBT+ community are increasingly well funded and well organised, and we are determined to confront them. Britain is a proud champion of these hard-won rights. We continue to promote and protect them around the world by working closely with our allies, including in the multilateral sphere. We must challenge the lies, polarisation and division that are undermining that progress. That is why the UK led a landmark joint statement at the UN Third Committee last October. Along with 71 global partners, we committed to working tirelessly to advance gender equality, and to supporting the rights of all women and girls. At this year’s Women Deliver conference in Kigali, the UK will help to catalyse united action against the roll-back of women and girls’ rights, and action to further gender equality. There is much to do, but there is cause for hope and the UK has a key role to play.

I turn to another challenge that we face, which is the reduced domestic Government funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights across the world, which was prompted by the covid pandemic and crises around the world. The UK’s official development assistance has also reduced. It remains the Government’s policy that we will get overseas spending back to 0.7% when the economy allows, but meanwhile we are doing as much as we can to find multipliers that can enhance and augment our taxpayers’ money. We have set out a strong pathway towards that through our strategies on women and girls and on ending preventable deaths.

We remain a key supporter of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and we have a significant portfolio of programmes and policies. For example, through FP2030—the global family planning partnership—the UK is helping partners around the world to advocate for better access to family planning. The global financing facility supports stronger, more sustainable access to health systems. The women’s integrated sexual health programme has enabled more than 9.5 million women and girls in Africa and Asia to use modern methods of contraception, and the UK remains a world leader in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic, including through our health system strengthening work, our work to end preventable deaths, and support for the World Health Organisation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We are pushing for equitable access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, dismantling barriers to access, targeting underserved groups and championing SRHR for all.

[Sarah Champion]

On FP2030 and the women’s integrated sexual health programme, can the Minister talk about the financial commitments that go alongside the commitment to leading on policy?

[Mr Mitchell]

I can certainly say to the hon. Lady that we will do everything we can. As she set out in her speech, this is a very high priority for the Government, and we will do everything we can to make sure that those efforts are adequately resourced.

The Foreign Office and other donors have to adapt our approaches to ensure that the work can be financed sustainably. That means placing accountable country leadership and investment at the heart of our development agenda. For example, the UK has provided more than £200 million to the UNFPA supplies partnership since 2019 to improve the availability, quality and supply of life-saving reproductive health products. That covers family planning, safe abortion, about which the hon. Lady spoke extremely eloquently, and maternal health medicines. Over the last two years, the UNFPA supplies partnership has successfully secured domestic financing commitments from 43 low and middle-income countries regarding their own reproductive health supplies, totalling $26.4 million, and many committed for the first time.

The final element of our approach is ensuring that our efforts on sexual and reproductive health are fully integrated into our broader work on strengthening health systems. That was set out in our G7 Health Ministers communiqué in May. We and the other member states have committed to universal access to comprehensive health services—which include maternal, sexual and reproductive health services—at every stage of life. In making that pledge, we recognise that those services are a vital part of achieving the UN sustainable development goals.

To conclude, we are acutely aware of the challenges that we face in advancing this work, many of which were set out so eloquently by the hon. Lady.

[Sarah Champion]

Will the Minister give way before he finishes?

[Mr Mitchell]

Yes. I am perorating rather than finishing, but of course I will give way.

[Sarah Champion]

I know the Minister well. If he cannot comment now, can he do some research when the RCOG report on benign gynaecological conditions comes out? I was genuinely shocked to discover that those conditions were killing more women than the other major diseases combined, and that we are not focused on that. I would be extremely grateful if the Minister made a commitment to look into that.

[Mr Mitchell]

I will certainly look into it. I was extremely struck by what the hon. Lady said about the scale of that issue, and by the comparison that she set out so clearly.

Despite the challenges, the UK continues to prioritise work on sexual and reproductive health and gender equality across the full span of our development and diplomatic work. That includes targeted support to reduce maternal mortality, determined efforts to reduce the roll-back of SRHR and women and girls’ rights, and work to secure sustainable financing. We will continue to advocate for the world’s most marginalised and underserved people so that we secure rights and choices for all.

When it comes to making progress on international development, Britain’s aims cannot be understood unless they are seen through the eyes of girls and women, who suffer the extremes of poverty first and hardest. In putting girls and women at the forefront of everything that we do, a particular aim of the Government’s is to get as many girls into school as we possibly can. As I told the House this morning, in the last five years for which figures are available, we were able to procure the education of more than 8 million girls.

We are also focusing on family planning; ensuring that women have the ability to decide for themselves whether and when they have children; and bearing down on all sexual violence against women, but particularly in the hideousness of conflict. Those three aspects of our policy drive us forward in what we believe is the critical battle of our times: the need to do something about the appalling discrepancies of opportunity and wealth that disfigure our world today.

Question put and agreed to.

Sudan: Sanctions on Entities Linked to SAF and RSF

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

On 12 July, in response to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the UK announced a package of six sanctions under the Sudan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. We are freezing the assets of three commercial entities linked to each party involved in the conflict: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by Al Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by Hemedti.

The SAF and RSF have dragged Sudan into a wholly unjustified war, which they are prosecuting with utter disregard for their people, and for which they should be accountable. UK sanctions on those entities which the SAF and RSF have used to finance their war effort are designed with a specific purpose: to press the parties to engage in sustained and meaningful progress to peace—including stepping aside from power—allow in humanitarian assistance, and end atrocities.

Both the SAF and the RSF own and control vast commercial empires which provide them with economic resources and weapons so they can keep fighting. We have imposed six asset freezes on commercial entities in total, three operating under the authority of each party.

Acting with partners including the US, which designated four of the same entities on 1 June, the sanctions will send a strong message of international condemnation to both parties to the conflict,

As there is a humanitarian exemption in our Sudan sanctions regulations, exempting funds destined for humanitarian aid from an asset freeze, we do not anticipate that the sanctions will impact humanitarian assistance in the region. We will monitor this closely.

The full list of designations is as follows:

Al-Junaid, large RSF-owned conglomerate set up by Hemedti which made him the richest man in Sudan. Provides financial backing for the militia, enabling it to continue the conflict.

GSK Advance Company Ltd—a key front company owned by RSF funding the militia and enabling it to purchase material.

Tradive General Trading co—a company associated with the RSF, supplying it with funds and matériel such as vehicles retrofitted with machine guns for the RSF to patrol the streets.

Defense Industries Systems (DIS)—the large SAF-owned conglomerate, which provides the finances for Al Burhan to continue fighting.

Sudan Master Technology—a Sudanese company involved in the sale of arms with close commercial ties to Defense Industries System, the economic and manufacturing arm of the SAF which supplies it with funds and equipment.

Zadna International Company for Investment Limited—a subsidiary of SAF-owned DIS, reported to be one of its top three “major earners”.

[HCWS931]

NATO Summit: Vilnius

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2023 Westminster Hall

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. You and I more usually come across each other in the International Development Committee, of which you are one of the most experienced members; it is very nice not to be under your forensic interrogation today but to have you as the Chair of this debate.

I am most grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke) for securing this debate and for leading the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Luxembourg in May. As I think he and others pointed out, we approach the 75th anniversary of NATO at a time when we are also commemorating the 75th anniversary of the NHS. Both organisations protect and look after us, and both are hugely respected and valued.

The assembly plays a vital role in strengthening the transatlantic alliance and the values that underpin it; it is also a crucial link with the democracies that comprise it. At the outset of this debate, I express on behalf of the Government, and indeed the House, our gratitude and admiration for the hard work, vigour, intellect, skill and experience that those Members who serve on the assembly so self-evidently bring to their work.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Europe wanted to take part in this debate, but he is currently travelling on ministerial duties, so he has kindly delegated responsibility upwards to me. It is therefore my pleasure to respond on behalf of the Government. I am grateful for the contributions of all hon. Members, and I will try to respond throughout my speech to the points that have been made.

At this early point, however, perhaps I could just acknowledge the brilliant speeches that have been made. After my right hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell, we had the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones), who explained why NATO is such an important organisation. He underlined the importance of parliamentarians being involved with NATO. He asked about the proscribing of the Wagner Group—a point that my right hon. Friend also made. I should perhaps explain that the Wagner Group is directly connected to the Russian state, and we have designated both the Wagner Group and its leader under our sanctions regime. I assure the right hon. Member for North Durham and other hon. Members that we keep the list of proscribed organisations under review. The right hon. Gentleman will, I know, accept that it is not Government policy to comment on whether a group is under consideration for sanctions, but he and other right hon. and hon. Members may rest assured that his points have been carefully noted today.

The right hon. Gentleman also raised the question of the Defence Command Paper refresh, and the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who leads for the Opposition on these matters, similarly raised the issue. Without getting into the details, which are probably not for me to talk about today, I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that it will be published before the summer recess, and I very much hope that he will approve of what it says.

My hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) also underlined the importance of NATO and expressed the enormous regard in which we hold for our armed forces for their great skill. He mentioned the work in Estonia, where my old regiment—the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, which is now the only royal tank regiment—has served with such great distinction. He was also eloquent in his condemnation of Russia.

The right hon. Member for Warley (John Spellar), who is my near parliamentary neighbour, spoke a lot of sense today, as he nearly always does. I will ensure that the kind comments of the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes) about the Defence Secretary are brought to his attention.

[Valerie Vaz]

The Minister has been an excellent exponent of soft power during his ministerial career. Does he agree that it is good news that the Secretary-General of NATO has had his mandate extended for a further year?

[Mr Mitchell]

In all these situations, we always want a seamless and effective arrangement for any transfers of chairmanships, and I obviously understand the point the right hon. Lady makes.

Turning to the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth, who speaks for the Opposition, I want to acknowledge, at this critical moment, the rock-solid unity of view that he expressed on behalf of the Opposition. It is important, particularly now, that our absolute identity of interest in the current situation in Ukraine is so clearly expressed, and he did that with great eloquence.

There were a number of comments about what the Defence Secretary might say about the armed forces as they stand today, and I did take the trouble to find out what he would say in these circumstances. His past response was:

“The Government have injected more than £29 billion of additional funding into defence since 2020, investing in Army modernisation, major platforms such as Type 26, Type 31, Challenger 3 and F-35, and restocking of ammunition”—[Official Report, 26 June 2023; Vol. 735, c. 4.]

to ensure that we have some of the finest armed forces in the world. I would echo my right hon. Friend’s comments in that respect.

NATO remains the cornerstone of the United Kingdom’s defence and security policy. Our unwavering commitment to the alliance was confirmed in the “Integrated Review Refresh”, which we published earlier this year. NATO leaders, at their summit in Vilnius next week, will be ensuring that it is a key and important moment as the alliance transforms to meet the changing threat from Russia.

Putin’s illegal war poses an historic challenge to Euro-Atlantic security. It is also doing huge damage to many of the nations in the global south, which are seeing a deterioration in food supplies and nutritional support, as well as rising inflation at a time when 70 million people are being pushed back into extreme poverty and 50 million are in serious danger of entering famine crisis conditions.

NATO is responding with iron-clad unity in support of Ukraine and by bolstering every flank of its operations. At last year’s NATO summit in Madrid, alliance members coalesced around the need to stand with Ukraine and to stand up to Russian aggression. We also agreed to accelerate work to transform the ability of the alliance to meet evolving threats.

The Vilnius summit will further bolster NATO’s support for Ukraine and will mark a major milestone for the alliance’s once-in-a-generation enhancement of its war-fighting plans and capabilities. Putin’s illegal war will, of course, naturally dominate talks in Vilnius, and, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in his speech at the Munich security conference, our priority is to ensure that NATO shows Russia and the Ukrainian people that it will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in the short, medium and long term.

Alliance members will demonstrate that commitment in Vilnius by convening the first NATO-Ukraine council, which will provide an ongoing mechanism to strengthen political and military ties with Ukraine. We will increase NATO’s practical support through the comprehensive assistance package for Ukraine, which will continue to meet Ukraine’s urgent needs, in addition to facilitating longer-term interoperability with NATO, with projects including medical rehabilitation and military interoperability. We will also send a clear political signal that Ukraine has a future place in the alliance.

NATO has undertaken a once-in-a-generation military transformation to enhance its deterrence and defence. It has transformed itself in response to the evolving threats across the Euro-Atlantic, meaning that we are better prepared for the security challenges of today and tomorrow. The alliance has developed a new generation of war-fighting plans, supported by more high-readiness forces, more pre-positioned equipment and upgraded systems, which will allow us to respond faster to all threats.

I was asked about the number of British troops who may form part of that newly announced force. We do not comment on numbers, but hon. and right hon. Members may rest assured that Britain will be fully playing its role at this vital time. Political leaders will sign off on those new plans in Vilnius and make a new defence investment pledge to make spending 2% of GDP on defence an immediate and hard floor, rather than a ceiling. Members will also agree a defence production action plan, which will increase industrial co-operation between allies and reduce barriers to interoperability in key munitions.

NATO allies will also use the summit to address NATO’s wider transformation. Allies will agree new resilience objectives, which will strengthen national military and defence capabilities across the membership. We will recommit to the cyber-defence pledge that is raising cyber-security standards across the membership. We will also agree to enhance our co-operation to secure our undersea infrastructure, including through the new maritime security centre for critical undersea infrastructure, which NATO recently agreed to establish at Northwood in the UK.

[Stephen Doughty]

I was glad to hear the Minister mention cyber and other related capabilities. We obviously have leading capability in that area and work closely with our allies. Will he be able to say a little about what we will do with our allies on artificial intelligence, in terms of both the potential benefits and our resilience and defence? If he cannot say anything today, perhaps he could write to us.

[Mr Mitchell]

I will come to that in a moment, because I am conscious of time.

Although Russia is the most significant and direct threat to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, it is one of myriad evolving threats on the horizon, which is partly why the hon. Gentleman just made those comments. In response to those threats, NATO has committed to a joined-up, 360-degree approach, building on the combined strength of alliance members. We remain fully committed to supporting Sweden’s NATO accession. While we may not get it over the line in the very near future, its membership will make allies safer, NATO stronger and the Euro-Atlantic more secure.

On NATO’s eastern flank, we are working to enhance support to Moldova, Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to equip them to tackle Russia’s malign interference. To the south, we are working with partners to understand and respond to evolving challenges, such as terrorism, co-operation on migration and increasing strategic competition. On both the eastern and southern flanks, NATO is reaching out to non-alliance members to enhance our co-operation in areas where it can bolster our mutual security. NATO also takes that approach to the Indo-Pacific, whose security is inextricably linked to that of the Euro-Atlantic.

I am pleased to report that the leaders of Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand will join talks in Vilnius, and the UK Government will continue to champion such co-operation. We will also push NATO to engage more with international and regional organisations. A top priority is our work to ensure that NATO and the EU are leveraging their complementary tools, and working together effectively. We have certainly been encouraged by progress this year on joint NATO-EU work on the resilience of our critical infrastructure.

The NATO summit in Vilnius will be a shot in the arm for Ukraine’s defence of its territorial integrity. It will demonstrate to Russians and Ukrainians that NATO will support Ukraine in the short, medium and long term. The summit will be the culmination of years of work to ensure that NATO’s deterrence effect is fit for the threats that we face today, and those on the horizon. It will also provide impetus to NATO’s partnerships around the world, ensuring that the alliance and those who work with it are stronger together.

[John Spellar]

The Front-Bench spokesman, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), asked about AI, and I raised the question of information warfare, which is about not just technology but generating the message and understanding the environment in which that is done.

[Mr Mitchell]

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. He will forgive me if, in the interests of time— I suspect that my right hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell will want a word—I do not answer that now, but I will write to him and others who have attended the debate.

The UK’s commitment to NATO is ironclad and unwavering. It is evident at every level of our engagement with our allies—in Brussels and in capitals across the Euro-Atlantic, and between our Parliaments. I reiterate our gratitude to my right hon. Friend and to all delegates from both Houses, who will continue to provide UK leadership at the Parliamentary Assembly, and who help to ensure that NATO remains the most effective and powerful guardian of collective security anywhere in the world.

Draft Commonwealth Development Corporation (Limit on Government Assistance) Regulations 2023

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Wednesday 5th July 2023 General Committees

[The Chair]

Before I call the Minister, I want to say that it is very warm and close in here, so if right hon. and hon. Members wish to take their jacket off, they have my permission. Minister, will you be good enough to move the motion?

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Commonwealth Development Corporation (Limit on Government Assistance) Regulations 2023.

The draft statutory instrument was laid before Parliament on 6 June, in accordance with section 15(6) of the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 1999. It is subject to the affirmative procedure and will be made once approved by the House.

I will start with a brief overview of British International Investment. The primary purpose of the draft regulations is to permit the Government to increase the assistance available to BII—formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation—from £6,000 million to £9,500 million. The increase will enable the Foreign Office to increase financial support to BII in line with the new five-year technical strategy. As the UK’s development finance institution, BII invests long-term patient capital in private companies in developing countries’ pioneer markets. That delivers benefits that last. BII has a dual mandate of development impact and financial sustainability.

BII has a rich history and long commitment to supporting development around the world. Over the previous five-year strategy, from 2017 to 2021, BII made £7 billion-worth of investment in more than 600 investments, mobilising about £2.5 billion in additional capital from the private sector. I hope that right hon. and hon. Members will join me in recognising just how extraordinary and impactful those numbers are, and what they represent. Over the same period, BII supported businesses that employed more than 1 million workers, generated 277,000 GWh of electricity, and paid more than £10,000 million in taxes into the relevant exchequers.

BII’s investments are largely self-financing. Increases in taxpayer support allow it to accelerate the speed at which it makes new investment, thereby increasing its development impact. That increase in speed and size helps it to contribute more to the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals. The Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 2017 amended the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 1999 to increase the limit on taxpayer assistance to BII from £1,500 million to £6,000 million, with a further power to increase taxpayer assistance to an amount not exceeding £12,000 million by way of a statutory instrument.

The aggregate amount of assistance provided to BII by the taxpayer to date is £5.2 billion. We launched BII’s 2022 to 2026 technical strategy in November 2021. In support of that, a new share subscription agreement was approved by His Majesty’s Treasury on 7 December 2022, based on the current spending profile. Under that agreement, the Foreign Office will reach the £6 billion maximum limit for support of BII by June 2024. The funding profile agreed under the share subscription agreement in December 2022 is required to enable BII to deliver on its 2022 to 2026 technical strategy ambitions.

The strategy commits BII to greater ambition on geographical spread, climate and gender impact. The provision of increased support is critical for BII to continue implementing this strategy, which is the cornerstone of wider publicly announced ambitions under the Government’s British investment partnerships, the international development strategy 2022 and the UK’s commitment to provide at least £11.6 billion of international climate finance between 2021 and 2026. Expanding BII’s reach into new markets of strategic importance to the UK, consistent with its mandate laid down by the shareholder, will enable it to continue as a key vehicle for our economic development objectives, helping to build greener and more prosperous economies.

In summary, my priority is to ensure that UK aid is used effectively to help achieve the sustainable development goals, to achieve value for money for UK taxpayers and to deliver in our national interests. The regulations will enable us to deliver on BII’s full potential in continuing to promote productive, sustainable and inclusive development. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

I am grateful to the hon. Members who have contributed to today’s debate, and I will try and address the questions and points that they have raised. First, I am grateful to the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire for her support; she raised exactly the right questions.

The hon. Member for Cardiff West and I have been in this House for quite a long time; no one would ever criticise him for lack of diligence and hard work, and he sort of explained his attendance in the Committee today. I want to make it clear that none of us on Government Benches would ever accuse him of showboating—apart from my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington, of course.

I have four points to make in response to the debate. First, the hon. Member for Cardiff West talked about spending in Ukraine. He will know that at the Ukraine Recovery Conference it was made clear that BII would play a modest part further down the track, putting its shoulder to the wheel of our national interests, which I think is the right thing to do. Ukraine is not an area that it would normally invest in, but by co-investing with organisations such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, it can help to move forward a policy that both the UK and the Ukrainians want to see realised.

BII has a role in respect of social enterprises, which I will explain later in my response to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston. She raised four points, and was very supportive of the concept of BII. She appreciates the all-party basis on which the reforms that I enacted 10 years ago were carried out. We were careful to ensure that we carried the sector and the Opposition with us on those reforms. That is a very valuable consensus, which has propelled BII into a position where it is viewed with enormous respect and is widely regarded as the most effective and best development finance institution in the world. It is not a coincidence that that has happened on the back of the all-party support it has received.

The hon. Lady mentioned the difficulty of allocating ODA money in a very constrained environment, and asked if we should spend it in another area and not on BII. As she knows, under the Act we could have said that BII should receive an extra £6 billion, rather than an extra £3.5 billion—that is what the Act says. We are not doing that; we have reined it right back so that it is taking the same haircut as much else in the ODA budget is taking. I hope she accepts that we have exercised constraint and not just given the BII what it the Act as originally passed entitled it to. In trying to slice the cake with a very constrained ODA budget, we require maximum effectiveness and results for the British taxpayer, and for the aims and aspirations that she and I both want this country to pursue in international development.

Think what BII has achieved: it has directly employed 1 million people, and it is working in the most difficult, pioneering countries for the private sector. Putting food on the tables of, effectively, 1 million people and families is a remarkable result. Look at the massive increase in off-grid and grid electricity and the amount of money paid in tax by BII investments into the treasuries and exchequers of poor countries. Not all that money will necessarily be used well, and another part of that budget tries to ensure that it is used more transparently and better. Nevertheless, raising £10,000 million in tax predominantly in poor or very poor countries is a significant development achievement. I want to make that point to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston.

Secondly, the hon. Lady made the point that BII does not, by definition, engage in the most egregious extent of poverty; other parts of the development budget do that. If we take a holistic view across the piece of where we should put our taxpayers’ money for maximum effect in achieving the SDGs and driving forward our climate financing and climate result objectives, we must make that allocation. We do not expect BII to address some of the most egregious effects of poverty; we use grant funding and co-financing, and we do it bilaterally and multilaterally through other mechanisms.

Thirdly, the hon. Lady said that she had read my speech at Chatham House—I am grateful to her for doing that—and pointed to the importance of transparency. On that, she, I and the International Development Committee, which is conducting an inquiry and has done so much good work in this area, are more or less agreed. We want greater transparency, partly because if there is not transparency, people think that something is being hidden when perhaps it is not being hidden at all. BII has a vested interest in greater transparency too, and we are talking to the board. We are waiting to see the advice of the International Development Committee on the issue, but we will then be driving forward on transparency as the hon. Lady suggested.

The hon. Lady mentioned that BII scored poorly on Publish What You Fund; actually, it came 12th out of the 21 non-sovereign development finance institutions. I emphasise to the Committee that that resulted partly from a technical issue on the website that prevented data from being unloaded, which has now been resolved. Publish What You Fund has indicated that BII, if it were to remark it now, would be towards the top end of the league table. I am completely with the hon. Lady on her overall point about the importance of transparency, and I hope that we will be able to move forward on that agenda after the International Development Committee has published its report.

The hon. Lady’s final point was about the Kenya hospital and the upsetting circumstances that she described. I should make it clear that BII takes all allegations of this sort extremely seriously, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working closely with BII on the matter. We encourage Oxfam to share any further evidence it holds of the alleged cases so that we can accelerate those investigations. I should also make clear that BII has already taken steps at Nairobi Women’s Hospital. A new fund manager was put in place in 2019. The new fund manager has put in a new management team at the hospital, including a new CEO, and strengthened procedures. The next five years will see BII prioritise investing in the manufacturing of medicines, vaccines, devices and equipment, pharmacy and early stage funding for health technology.

[Kevin Brennan]

I think the Minister said that he would say a few more words on social enterprise. I apologise if I missed those in his remarks.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Mitchell]

My point was really about the waterfront of different interventions on development. Social enterprise has certainly benefited indirectly from BII investments, but BII is predominantly an equity investor. Countries receive this equity. They do not have to provide a sovereign guarantee and they are not on the hook for paying back the money; it is an equity investment. As I have tried to set out to the Committee, that has a huge role in driving forward the international development aims that we all, across this Committee, want Britain to achieve.

Question put and agreed to.

Draft African Development Fund (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) (Amendment) Order 2023 Draft African Development Bank (Sixteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2023

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Monday 3rd July 2023 General Committees

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft African Development Fund (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) (Amendment) Order 2023.

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to consider the draft African Development Bank (Sixteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2023.

[Mr Mitchell]

I believe that this is the first time we have served together in a Committee such as this, Mr Vickers, and it is an enormous pleasure. The Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston, and I have served together on many occasions; it is a pleasure to see her in her seat as well.

The orders, which were laid before the House on 23 and 22 May, will permit the British Government to make financial contributions to the African Development Fund up to the stated values for the purpose of core replenishment of the fund and contribution to the multilateral debt relief initiative. The African Development Fund—ADF for short—is an arm of the African Development Bank Group, which is the largest development finance institution focused solely on Africa.

As the Committee will be aware, the bank is a major source of funding for economic, social and institutional development across the continent, providing concessional loans and grants to the 37 poorest and most vulnerable countries in Africa. It is 60% owned by African countries, 80% staffed by nationals of African countries, and highly trusted across the region. It promotes green and inclusive growth and supports development in five focus areas, from infrastructure to industrialisation, food supplies and quality of life.

The bank is an important partner for UK international development. By spreading opportunities in African countries, it helps make the UK more secure and more prosperous. That is why we have purchased additional shares to increase our shareholding in the bank from 1.7% to 1.8%. We are also providing the bank with guarantees to release $3 billion of additional climate finance across the continent. At the bank’s recent annual meeting in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, I launched projects in Senegal and Egypt, which are the first to be supported by the guarantees.

I turn now to the African Development Bank (Sixteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2023. The ADF is replenished by donors every three years. The 16th round of replenishment negotiations took place last year, with pledges made in December. The British Government pledged to provide £650 million to the ADF over three years, including £450 million to the core budget. The order allows for the provision of the core funding by the United Kingdom.

Forty per cent of our core pledge will be used to tackle climate change. We also pledged a further £200 million to the climate action window, which will be used entirely to help countries to adapt to climate change. Overall, that will represent a slight increase on our previous contribution and will make us the largest contributor to the 16th replenishment. That reflects our assessment that the ADF represents excellent value for money for British taxpayers.

For example, the African Development Fund is ranked second in the Centre for Global Development’s quality of official development assistance report. The total value of the 16th replenishment is $8.9 billion—up from $7.4 billion for the previous round. That is an act of global solidarity with the poorest African countries to help cushion them from a series of crises, including a food crisis driven by the impact of Russia’s illegal war and a climate crisis that is unleashing increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather on African countries, alongside the challenges of recovery from the pandemic.

The ADF works to respond to such crises with urgency and in a way that is tailored towards the needs of different communities. For example, to respond to the food crisis, the bank approved a $1.5 billion emergency food production facility last year, which supported 20 million African smallholders and farmers by providing them with certified seeds and access to fertilisers. This supported the production of 38 million tonnes of food and helped to avert a looming food crisis on the continent.

The UK Government used the replenishment negotiations to secure commitments from the bank that will advance a number of our development priorities. The bank made commitments to support African countries to develop long-term strategies to tackle climate change, empower women, strengthen food security, tackle fragility, improve debt management and mobilise private sector investment.

The 16th replenishment is expected to deliver new or improved electricity connections for more than 19 million people, advances in agriculture for more than 24 million people, new or improved access to water sanitation for more than 32 million people, access to transport for over 14 million people and it is also expected to create 2.4 million new jobs, including more than 1 million new jobs for women.

We also welcome the agreement by the bank’s governors in May to make changes to the ADF articles of agreement that will enable it to borrow from capital markets. The UK has been supportive of the bank taking this step for several years, which could release $25 billion of additional financing for ADF countries over the next 15 years. That is very much in the spirt of the Bridgetown initiative.

I turn now to the draft African Development Fund (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) (Amendment) Order 2023, which permits the British Government to provide an additional £56 million between 2023 and 2035 to support the ADF’s participation in the multilateral debt relief initiative, or MRDI. The UK Government played a leading role in establishing the MDRI in 2005 through their G8 presidency. The initiative enabled the African Development Bank and the World Bank to cancel debts owed by some of the poorest countries by committing donors to compensate them for losses. This order will enable the current Government to continue to make good on that commitment.

To conclude, the African Development Bank Group is one of our closest and most important partners. The financial contributions covered by the two orders are an important part of this country’s commitment to the poorest people in Africa. The orders will deliver UK international development and foreign policy objectives in some of the world’s poorest countries and bring opportunity to tens of millions of people. That is not just in their interests. It is also in the UK’s national interest, because greater opportunities in African countries reduce customers for people traffickers while creating more customers for UK exporters.

I commend the two orders to the Committee.

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[Mr Mitchell]

I am extremely grateful to the Committee for its comments, and I will try to respond. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston set out an analysis of the crisis that has struck Africa and the reasons for it. Across the Committee there will be complete agreement with her analysis, which was correct. She rightly pointed out that following a period from 1990 to 2020, under all three major parties, there was tremendous progress under British leadership particularly in the eradication of the extremes of poverty. There has probably been no period in human history when so much poverty alleviation has taken place so successfully. Of course, a lot of it was due to progress made in China and India. As she said, since 2020 those advances have been under threat due to the covid epidemic, the appalling aggression of Russia in Ukraine and the effect that that has had on inflation, standards of living and food flowing into Africa—in particular, to places of great shortage. We would all agree with that analysis.

The hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston then made the point about Publish What You Fund and the high accolade that it has given to the work of the African Development Bank, which is, in part, the answer to the question of my near neighbour, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr. There is a clearly a strong Birmingham-Sutton Coldfield element to this debate. The clear benefits were set out by Publish What You Fund.

On the level of funding, the ODA budget is immensely constrained. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston and I both know that the budget could be spent many times over—and spent extremely well. The replenishment was for £650 million; we would have liked to have spent more, but we have to balance it with other funding. We have spent £1 billion supporting the global fund, which is outstandingly good expenditure. We settled on £650 million in this case, which is a little up from last time, when the figure was £633 million. I assure her that the money will be very well spent.

The hon. Lady referred to the letter written last week by my former colleague in the Foreign Office, Lord Goldsmith. Of course, I will not be drawn on any of that, except to say that those of us who know the Prime Minister well know that he is incredibly interested in the science and activity around climate change, and is very committed to that agenda. The hon. Lady asked about the Prime Minister’s attendance at the summit. It is true that he was not able to attend; he sent me instead, and I hope the Committee will accept that. I could only be a very poor reflection of him, but I did my best at the summit, and Britain was able to lead on the climate-resilient debt clauses, which will make such a difference to countries caught up in tragedy or crisis. Say disaster or covid struck the Government of Ghana, and that they really needed liquidity in order to help their people, and then had to pay off the capital and interest of loans. The climate-resilience debt clauses mean that they would get a two-year break to help them cope with the crisis. That is added on to the end of the loan. That is being done now by UK Export Finance, and it was the big British contribution to the summit; I think it will be powerful.

The hon. Lady asked me about SDR. We are engaged with the Treasury in a serious discussion on whether we can do more on SDRs. She is right in saying that the African Development Bank is a good potential vehicle for that. All I can say to her is that discussions are ongoing. Our colleagues in the Treasury are being very helpful, and we hope that the matter will move forward, though I point out that at the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that Britain would use $5.3 billion of SDR through the two particularly important pro-poor IMF funds. That was the British announcement.

The hon. Lady asked me about accountability, and my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton raised the same point. The accountability of the African Development Bank is absolutely excellent. Our performance tranche was fully disbursed at the mid-term review. We do not have a performance tranche for this replenishment, but that reflects our experience, which is that the other controls are absolutely adequate to ensure value for money for the British taxpayer. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston, will recall that—quite apart from our having officials who are based in Abidjan at the headquarters of the bank, and who regularly visit experts on all these matters—I am the British governor of the African Development Bank, and I can tell her and my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton that I keep a sharp eye on the interests of British taxpayers in this matter.

Finally, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston mentioned the deal done on Zambian debt. I completely agree with what she said. Zambia has had to wait far too long for relief from those debts. Finally, the Chinese were persuaded to join in the international settlement. I had a WhatsApp message from the President of Zambia at the end of last week, thanking Britain so much for our engagement and assistance in the negotiations, which, as I say, went on for far too long. The African Development Fund is a vital source of finance and hope for the poorest and most vulnerable countries and people in Africa. I hope and trust that the Committee will support the orders.

Question put and agreed to.

Draft African Development Bank (Sixteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2023

Resolved,

That the Committee has considered the draft African Development Bank (Sixteenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2023.—(Mr. Mitchell.)

Ugandan School Attack

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 20th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to make a statement about the attack on the Lhubiriha Secondary School in Uganda on 16 June.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

At the outset, I thank my friend the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for raising this important matter and for his courtesy in taking the trouble to inform my office.

On Thursday 16 June, there was an horrific and cowardly attack on Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe in western Uganda, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Government of Uganda have confirmed that 42 people were killed, of whom 37 were students from the school. Six people were injured. There are also reports that a further five to seven people, which may include children from the school, were abducted. The Ugandan authorities believe that the perpetrators are from the Islamic State-affiliated armed group the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, which operates in the DRC. The Ugandan military is pursuing the attackers. Those responsible for the attack must be brought to justice.

I issued a tweet on 17 June expressing my horror at the attack, which took the lives of so many innocent schoolchildren. My condolences go out to all the victims and to their families. The British Government strongly condemn this attack. We have confirmed that no British nationals were caught up in the attack. In response to the attack, the Foreign Office updated its travel advice for Uganda on 17 June with a factual update. The British high commissioner in Kampala issued a tweet sending her condolences to all those affected and the British high commission in Kampala remains in close touch with the Ugandan authorities.

[Jim Shannon]

First of all, I thank the Minister very much for his response. He encapsulates our horror and our concerns. I also thank him for his obvious interest, which we know he has anyway, but which he has proven today. I am sure the whole House will join me in expressing our deepest sorrow and sympathies for the victims of Friday’s abhorrent attack.

I want to put on record the full magnitude of what occurred. On Friday 42 people, including 37 students, were killed when militants from the ADF, affiliated with IS Central Africa Province, attacked the Lhubiriha secondary school. Some victims were murdered with machetes, while others were killed in their dormitories when terrorists threw bombs and set the building alight after students had barricaded the doors to try to protect themselves. Six additional students were kidnapped to carry loot stolen from the school and it is estimated that some of those may be some young girls and ladies.

The effect of this act of terror is clear: many of the town’s residents have fled since the attack, and yesterday schools across the region were empty, as teachers and students feared turning up. While IS Central Africa Province has yet to claim the attack, that is not unusual, and the attack carries all the hallmarks of ISCAP. Moreover, it is part of a trend of escalating attacks by the group, targeting Christian villages in the DRC since March, resulting in some 400 deaths. This attack in Uganda spells an alarming development.

The attack is part of a wider trend of violence against Christian and religious minority communities stretching across central Africa, including attacks from Daesh, Boko Haram and Fulani militants in Nigeria and intentional targeting of places of worship by al-Shabaab in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

I want to ask the Minister four questions. First, what steps can the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office take to help recover those who were kidnapped? Secondly, what scope is there in the current UK aid budget to provide emergency relief to displaced communities and help to create a safe environment for schools to reopen? Thirdly, when was the latest joint analysis of conflict and stability assessment carried out for the region by the FCDO, and does it reflect the current threat from IS Central Africa Province to Christians and minority communities? Fourthly, what can we do to prevent future attacks?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman sets out the position extremely well. He asks me a number of questions. First, in respect of the aid budget, Britain has a significant partnership with Uganda, which last year was in the order of £30 million. That is spent principally on humanitarian and reproductive health-related issues, but we always keep the humanitarian situation under review and we will continue to do so in this specific case. He asks me about the latest JACS report; it is not recent, but I can tell him that before these horrific events we were looking at commissioning another one and we will pursue that. In respect of what more Britain can do, we are in very close touch with the Ugandan authorities and will do everything we can to help them.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Alicia Kearns (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

I congratulate my very good friend the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing the urgent question. My condolences go to all those parents who are suffering unimaginable horror and fear. The abduction of children is cowardly in the extreme, and I am sure that the Minister is doing all he can to exert pressure to bring those six children home to their families.

The Foreign Affairs Committee is gravely concerned about the current situation. We have launched an inquiry into counter-terrorism so that we can look at the position in countries such as Uganda. We are aware of links between the Allied Democratic Forces and Daesh. Will the Minister please explain what we are doing to discourage any engagement with the Wagner Group? Increasingly, too many African countries are turning to the Wagner Group in a misplaced effort to counter the rise of organisations such as Daesh. Will the Minister also explain what we are doing to tackle border insecurity between Congo and Uganda? The situation is grave.

[Mr Mitchell]

I thank my hon. Friend the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for what she has said. On her third point, I make it clear that we work closely together on counter-terrorism and regional security, which is a shared priority.

On my hon. Friend’s first point, she is right: this was a horrendous attack on young people and students. A fire bomb was thrown into the male student dormitory, and six and possibly as many as 12 mostly female students appear to have been abducted. Two others, who were taken to a nearby health centre, died owing to a lack of blood supplies. My hon. Friend was right to emphasise the cohort that has suffered so much.

On the disorder at the border, we give strong support to the Luanda and the Nairobi peace processes, which are designed to try to do something about the disorder in the eastern DRC, of which I know my hon. Friend is well aware.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Ms Lyn Brown (West Ham) (Lab)]

I am grateful, Mr Speaker. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing the urgent question.

Forty-two people are dead, including 37 children, and students remain in terrible danger after being abducted. I struggle to understand the mentality of anyone who deliberately seeks to murder children. The Opposition, and I know the whole House, stand in solidarity with the people of Uganda in their grief.

Last month, the shadow Foreign Secretary and I discussed these issues with His Excellency the Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs. Insecurity in the region is a serious threat to many lives. It is also a threat to sustainable development, and to UK interests. Sadly, it lacks the international attention that it deserves.

The ADF is responsible for frequent massacres and brutality in DRC. It seems most likely that it is responsible for this atrocity too. The security situation could grow still more complex as elections in DRC approach this December. May I press the Minister on what plans the Government have to update our sanctions on the ADF? Is he confident that he has the right resources to map illicit financial flows? Do we understand where we have leverage over those who support the ADF and other armed groups in the area?

How are we engaging with the African Union, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community to support consensus against insecurity among regional states? The ADF and hundreds of other armed groups that terrorise the region must be held to account. Surely the Government must update our offer of support, in solidarity with the people of Uganda.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady makes several important points, and I thank her for the tone and content of her comments. She asked a number of questions. We are in very close touch with the African Union and the SADC. I should emphasise that Uganda has designated the ADF a terrorist organisation, and the Ugandan defence forces are tracking the perpetrators, as the President has made clear.

The hon. Lady asked about illicit financial flows. She will know from the “Integrated Review Refresh” that tackling those flows of stolen and dirty money is a high priority for the Prime Minister. We are actively engaged in working out how we can do more on that front.

Finally, on the processes that Britain is engaged in supporting, the Nairobi process, to which we have provided funding, is a very important aspect of how we bring some sort of order to the eastern DRC, which, as the hon. Lady implied and knows well, is a source of enormous worry to all the surrounding countries, as well as to us and many others.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I thank my good friend, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for securing this urgent question. I have visited schools in Uganda. They should be happy and safe places. This is yet another tragedy. I am concerned about rising violence throughout the region. Since the war started in Sudan, there have been ominous reports of waves of ethnic violence in El Geneina in Darfur. It may be that the Rapid Support Forces are rekindling genocide in Darfur. Genocide has happened there before, and it may be happening again.

It is incredibly important that the international community keeps shining a spotlight on this and that we break this culture of impunity, because when one violent organisation thinks it can get away with it in one part of Africa, another violent organisation thinks it will get away with another atrocity in another part of Africa. Will my right hon. Friend agree to meet members of the UK’s Darfur community who are desperate to tell people what is going on there so that they can whistleblow on what might be genocide again?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend will know that I have met recently with the Darfur community, but things have changed since that meeting, so I take on board her final point. She also made a point about the war in Sudan, which means there is the possibility—perhaps the likelihood—that this area of disorder, conflict and humanitarian disaster could stretch from the middle east right the way down to southern Africa. She is completely right about that.

My right hon. Friend is also right to say that impunity must not be allowed to stand on this or any other violent acts. The Ugandans are pursuing the perpetrators. The Ugandan commander-in-chief of land forces has been to the area and was joined by the commander of Operation Shuja, which is the Ugandan deployment in the eastern DRC specifically to combat the ADF. I hope that that, in part, answers her question.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

This is a shocking terrorist crime, and I put on record my party’s condolences to the families of those murdered in this horrific attack. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on bringing attention to this crime, which has had too little of that.

The people who carried out this atrocity are not an unknown group. They have already been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Uganda and the United States of America. When will the UK Government finally join those countries in proscribing them too? What will the UK Government do to support Uganda in response to this attack and to the ongoing threats that clearly exist there?

Lasting solutions can only be achieved by Governments in this region with outside support investing in peacebuilding and civic society building. Military cannot be the only option, so does the Minister agree that it would be a mistake to continue cutting aid in the sub-Saharan area and, indeed, worldwide?

[Mr Mitchell]

On the hon. Gentleman’s final point, we are deploying very large amounts of British taxpayers’ money in the area, as he suggests, and we are ensuring that we are light on our feet and using that to good humanitarian effect. If he looks at some of the programmes I have announced recently, he will see that they directly affect the humanitarian position, particularly for girls and women.

In respect of what Britain is doing to try to ensure greater security in the eastern DRC and on the border to which the hon. Gentleman refers, although we never discuss proscription and other security measures in advance, he may rest assured that the British Government are fully engaged, not least through the Nairobi peace process, in doing anything that we can to bring back stability to this very troubled part of the world.

[Mary Robinson (Cheadle) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing this really important question before the House. It is a dastardly and awful attack—it is desperate—and the people living along that border will be fearful for their lives and living with a heightened sense of fear and danger. Could my right hon. Friend set out what measures we are taking across that border between Congo and Uganda to help those people who are living in fear every day?

[Mr Mitchell]

Britain has been heavily engaged through both the Luanda and the Nairobi peace processes in trying to tackle that very problem, and we will continue that engagement until we are finally successful.

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this urgent question. I know that he has been diligent in highlighting these issues, as have so many organisations—such as Open Doors—that have also highlighted the persecution of Christians and other minority religious groups across the world. I chide him in just one way: do not fall into BBC-speak. These people are not militants, but terrorists. They are terrorists who have blood on their hands and engage in the cruellest activities to promote their cause.

May I ask the Minister two questions? First, we have a foreign aid budget, and this is not just about Uganda, but Nigeria and other parts of central Africa where these occurrences are happening almost daily. How can our aid budget be targeted in such a way as to help those who are victims or potential victims? Secondly, it seems that some Governments—either because they do not have the resources or do not have the willpower—are not pursuing these terrorists in the way they should. What discussions has the Minister had to ensure that those Governments take action where possible, and get help from our own Government in doing so?

[Mr Mitchell]

On the right hon. Gentleman’s last point, as I said, the Ugandan commander-in-chief of land forces has been there, and the Ugandan army is pursuing the perpetrators. The right hon. Gentleman added very eloquently to the statement and comments of our hon. Friend the Member for Strangford, and I very much agree with what he says. On how the British development budget is spent, we spend a great deal of time and taxpayers’ money on trying to stop conflicts from starting, stopping them once they have started, and reconciling people once they are over. That is the aspect of the budget to which he was referring, and I think it is very effective and gives very good value to the British taxpayer.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on tabling this urgent question on a topic that I know he is passionate about. We learned from Michela Wrong’s excellent article in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs how the M23 paramilitary organisation, which is actively destabilising areas of both the DRC and Uganda, has been given direct economic and military aid supported by the Rwandan Government in a deliberate strategy of President Paul Kagame, similar to that which they abandoned under pressure in 2012. Given the leverage that this Government now have with that regime, what assurances has the Minister—who I believe is an admirer of President Kagame—sought from the Rwandan Government that they will respect the sovereignty of their neighbours in the region, lest we provoke a wider humanitarian crisis in the great lakes?

[Mr Mitchell]

I expect to see the Foreign Minister of Rwanda within the next 24 hours, and I will say to him what we say to all of those who are engaged in fighting, profiteering or causing human misery in the eastern DRC: that we urge everyone to be part of the Nairobi and, indeed, the Luanda peace processes. We urge everyone to lay down their weapons and allow a peace process, which can also ensure that humanitarian aid reaches people who desperately need it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Mitchell Excerpts

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

16. What recent steps his Department has taken to respond to hunger in east Africa and the horn of Africa.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

On 24 May, the United Kingdom co-hosted an international pledging conference for the horn of Africa that helped mobilise nearly £2 billion to help nearly 32 million people across the region.

[Fleur Anderson]

The east African wet rains and the pledging conference have both come, but the food crisis is worsening. Just three weeks ago, the Government announced a further cut in aid to the region. Local organisations need more funding than most, so will the Minister set targets to increase funding to local organisations for adapting to climate change in the region and to diversify livelihoods to support vulnerable communities?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady is right about the importance of localism and localisation. I should make it clear to her that Britain’s pledge was £143 million—that will have an enormous effect. She should also bear in mind that we have a degree of flex when it comes to humanitarian budgets, and we have announced for next year that Britain—the British taxpayer—will be spending £1,000 million on humanitarian relief.

[Dr Whitford]

When the UK co-chaired the UN pledging conference, the Minister described the situation as

“one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in the world”,

yet he has cut funding compared with previous years and pledged less than 20% of the contribution that was given by the UK during the 2017 droughts. With over 70 million people now classed as at threat of starvation, is he not rather ashamed of the UK’s meagre response?

[Mr Mitchell]

If I may say so, the hon. Lady’s response to what I said is not fully comprehensive. We have allocated something like £400 million to east and central Africa, and although it is true that the bilateral spend is slightly below last year’s level, as I said, we do have some flexibility. It is the starting point for our spending this year, and of course, we will keep all these matters very much in our minds.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

Climate change and conflict are causing untold misery across the horn of Africa and forcing millions of people to leave their homes. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should be spending more of our overseas aid on stabilising lives in such places as east Africa and less on expensive asylum hotels here in the UK?

[Mr Mitchell]

My right hon. Friend is right, and she can rest assured that those points are made in discussions within Government. The point I would make is that as a result, the Treasury agreed to provide an extra £2,500 million of support to compensate for that spending. I think that was the right decision, and I strongly support it.

[Maggie Throup (Erewash) (Con)]

In February, I visited Kenya with World Vision UK and saw first-hand the impact of climate change on drought and hunger. While the £143 million aid package, which the Minister mentioned and which was announced at the UN pledging conference in May, is welcome, what more can the UK Government do to support this crisis-stricken part of the world at this important time?

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right in what she says. That is why we have announced that we intend to publish a White Paper setting a road map towards achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030 and making greater progress on tackling those climate change problems. We hope to engage the interest, involvement and support of colleagues on both sides of the House in that White Paper endeavour.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op)]

More than 29 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan are now experiencing catastrophic hunger levels following a fifth failed rainy season in a row. It is also the fourth year in a row that this Government have cut aid to those countries. Oxfam has estimated that one person is likely to die of hunger every 28 seconds between now and July. Can the Minister please explain how he is restoring Britain’s leadership in international development while decimating our support to some of the very poorest people on earth?

[Mr Mitchell]

First, let me say that British leadership has been exercised at the two big conferences that took place in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. British expertise and technical know-how is ensuring greater resilience and adaptation spend to drive up the ability to survive these crises when they take place next. If I may say so, the hon. Member must not diminish the extraordinary support and leadership that Britain is giving across the horn of Africa. The figures we have announced are preliminary figures, as I have said. We will react to the crisis—that is one of the things we are able to do—and those figures take no account of the tremendous support that British taxpayers are giving through the multilateral system.

[Jeff Smith (Manchester, Withington) (Lab)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of sovereign debt in African countries on their resilience to climate change.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

The Government recognise the challenging debt situation facing many African countries. The UK is working with international partners to address rising debt vulnerabilities.

[Jeff Smith]

Every dollar spent by low-income countries on servicing unsustainable debt is a dollar not spent on providing basic services and tackling climate change. I know that the Minister wants to make a difference on this, but the status quo clearly is not working. Given that 90% of developing country debt contracts are governed by English law, why will the Government not agree even to consult on legislative opportunities to compel private creditors to take part in debt restructuring, to make them part of the solution, not the problem?

[Mr Mitchell]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, we are looking at that specific issue. We think there is a case for majority voting when it comes to debt settlements, and we are exploring all that. He is right to emphasise that 15% of low-income countries are already in distress and 45% are at high risk of entering debt distress. Next week, at the Macron summit in Paris, Britain will be driving forward the climate-resilient debt clauses, which our export credit agency, UK Export Finance, was the first to start to put into grants. That will make an enormous difference, and we are pressing for all creditors to offer such clauses in their loans.

[Kate Osborne (Jarrow) (Lab)]

10. What diplomatic steps he is taking to support the Colombian Government to establish peace in that country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I have to say this is topical questions and I have to get everybody else in. It is a very important question and I am sure the Minister has got it.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mr Andrew Mitchell)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I add my congratulations to my right hon. Friend on his honour? The UK is appalled by Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, in particular the introduction of the death penalty for so-called aggressive homosexuality. We have expressed our strong opposition to the legislation, at all levels, with the Government of Uganda. The criminalisation of LGBT+ persons threatens minority rights, and risks persecution and discrimination of all people across Uganda.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

T4. Has the Foreign Secretary seen the report in the i newspaper today that a Ukrainian businessman suspected by the FBI of being a Russian FSB asset is living in London and used the Homes for Ukraine scheme to bring his family over to join him? Will there be an official response to that investigation?

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcome that the UK has been a long-standing champion of the sustainable development goals, so may I ask my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to commit to publishing another voluntary national review of our progress towards the SDGs, and will he attend the UN high level political forum on SDGs next month?

[Mr Mitchell]

On my hon. Friend’s last point, I think at least two Ministers will be at that forum to represent our country. She asked about the domestic analysis of the SDGs. There was a voluntary national review in 2019, conducted by our former colleague Rory Stewart. He said that it was a work in progress and we are doing quite well. On the wider SDG point, I hope that the whole House will engage with the White Paper, which can help to inject British leadership to drive it forward.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)]

T5. I recently met a Hongkonger living in Scotland, who told me at first hand about the oppressive surveillance that his community is under by the Chinese state police. He said that, no matter where they are in the world, they are subject to Chinese law. What steps is the FCDO taking to work with the Home Office to provide reassurance to that community, so they can report instances of suppression and oppression directly to UK Government?

--- Later in debate ---

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

Education can make a real difference to the empowerment of women and girls, and a positive difference to communities—something highlighted in a recent impact report from Five Talents, which focuses on setting up savings groups to help communities. Does my right hon. Friend agree that those types of groups can play a vital role in strengthening the resilience of communities in a sustainable way?

[Mr Mitchell]

Yes.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

T9. Every year, 430 million tonnes of plastic are generated. Thankfully, many of the world’s Governments have committed themselves to creating a global plastics treaty, which could cut production by a huge 80% by 2040. The timeline for that treaty is short. What are the UK Government doing to encourage the big plastic polluters to sign up and meaningfully enact its provisions?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady raises an extremely important matter. She may rest assured that the Government are fully engaged, through multilateral channels, in driving that forward.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

In early June, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps unveiled Iran’s first hypersonic Mach-15 missile, which was widely celebrated in Tehran. What has my right hon. Friend done to challenge the dangerous and continued militarisation in Iran?

--- Later in debate ---

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

The UN high seas treaty is a landmark for conservation. Will the Foreign Secretary assure the House that the Government will look to adopt and ratify it as quickly as possible?

[Mr Mitchell]

Unless I am advised otherwise, the answer is an emphatic yes.