Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding committed to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Haiti that exacerbates pre-existing humanitarian and economic crises. We continue to support Haiti through our contributions to UN agencies, multi donor, pooled NGO funds, and institutions such as the World Bank Group, who are active in addressing Haiti's significant humanitarian challenges. The difficult security situation within Haiti has impeded humanitarian access. We will continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and coherent response so international support can reach people in need. It is clear that the climate of insecurity is driving Haiti's humanitarian needs, and we hope that deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, to which the Foreign Secretary announced a £5 million ODA contribution on 9 April, will improve this.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s development objectives in the Caribbean of the (a) security and (b) humanitarian situation in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in the country, and commends the efforts of Caribbean partners to work towards a return to security and stability. I [Minister Rutley] attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti. The UK Government assists Haiti through our financial contributions to UN agencies and the World Bank. We are increasing support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders in response to worsening violence in neighbouring Haiti.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, with reference to the World Food Programme's (WFP) press release entitled WFP scrambles to respond to hunger crisis in Haiti amid funding crunch as country teeters on the brink, published on 12 March 2024, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) humanitarian access to and (b) the free flow of (i) food and (ii) commodities in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to support Haiti through our contributions to UN agencies, multi donor, pooled NGO funds, and institutions such as the World Bank Group, who are active in addressing Haiti's significant humanitarian challenges. The difficult security situation within Haiti has impeded humanitarian access, but the UN has established a limited humanitarian airbridge. In response to calls for urgent humanitarian assistance, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, of which the UK is historically the largest contributor, has authorised disbursement of $12 million to support those affected.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains concerned by the deteriorating security situation in Haiti that exacerbates pre-existing humanitarian and economic crises. We continue to support Haiti through our contributions to UN agencies, multi donor, pooled NGO funds, and institutions such as the World Bank Group, who are active in addressing Haiti's significant humanitarian challenges. It is clear that the climate of insecurity is driving Haiti's humanitarian needs, and we hope that deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, to which the Foreign Secretary announced a £5 million ODA contribution on 9 April, will improve this.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent delays in the implementation of the 2016 Columbia peace agreement.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I [Minister Rutley] met with Colombian ministers in Bogota earlier this month where I stressed the importance of making progress on the 2016 Peace Agreement. During the most recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on 11 January, the UK and various Council members reiterated their commitment to support implementation of the 2016 peace agreement as the central peace policy in Colombia. As the second largest UN Trust Fund donor, the UK continues to be a leading advocate in support of Colombia's peace process and supports the work of the UN Verification Mission.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the murder of women’s rights and peace activist Ludivia Galindez in Colombia on 23 February 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Colombia is a Human Rights Priority Country for the UK and the British Government remains concerned at the worrying rate of murders of, and threats against, human rights defenders and social leaders in Colombia. We will continue to support the Colombian Government in its commitment to implement the 2016 Peace Agreement and ensure the protection and safety of peace activists and women's rights campaigners. During my visit to Colombia earlier this month, I [Minister Rutley] raised the human rights situation with Vice Foreign Minister Coy. At the UN Security Council on 11 January, we set out our concern over attacks on human rights defenders, communities, women and social leaders, and reiterated our commitment to supporting efforts to tackle the root causes of violence in Colombia.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Haitian counterparts on the security situation in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in the country, and commends the efforts of Caribbean partners to work towards a return to security and stability. I [Minister Rutley] attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti.
We are also increasing support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders in response to worsening violence in neighbouring Haiti.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Colombian Government on the UN Biodiversity Conference 2024, to be held in that country in October-November 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2011, Colombia has been one of the largest recipients of UK International Climate Finance and we regularly engage with the Colombian Government on environmental issues. In January, officials from our Embassy in Bogotá spoke with the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to offer our support to ensure a successful UN Biodiversity Conference in 2024. We will continue to have discussions with the Colombian Government as they develop their plans for the conference.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government plans to appoint a UK climate envoy ahead of COP29 in Baku.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Climate change remains an area of utmost importance to this government and is a central focus of our diplomatic relations on a daily basis.
Our senior representation on climate and environment has grown significantly since the creation of the FCDO, and expanded further since the UK's COP Presidency including two dedicated directors leading on climate and environment, and on energy security respectively.
Since 2011 we have directly supported over 100 million people in coping with the effects of climate change, provided just under 70 million people with improved access to clean energy, and reduced or avoided greenhouse gas emissions by 86 million tonnes.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has taken steps to support his Ecuadorian counterpart in the context of the recently declared state of emergency in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are carefully monitoring developments in Ecuador following recent security incidents and the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency. We are in close contact with the Ecuadorean authorities in both Quito and London. We have been clear in our discussions that we will continue to support Ecuador in its fight against serious organised crime and the maintenance of law and order.