Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to increase funding to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
While the seismic impact of the pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, the UK remains a longstanding supporter to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) and values its importance as a vital humanitarian and stabilising force in the region. In the financial year 2022/2023, the UK provided UNRWA with £18.7 million and in 2023/4 our funding is approximately £10 million. Our annual contribution to their programme budget helps UNRWA provide education to over 533,000 children a year (half of them girls), and access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees. We are aware of UNRWA's financial challenges and frequently raise this with MENA regional partners at ministerial level, most recently with the government of the United Arab Emirates. To that end, the UK Government is working with UNRWA and other international donors to help ensure its sustainability.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities on (a) recent and (b) possible future demolitions of Palestinian schools in the occupied territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to international humanitarian law. Our opposition to the demolition of Palestinian property is long-standing. The practice causes unnecessary suffering and is harmful to efforts to promote peace. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. Most recently, on 7 May, The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, to express the government's opposition to the demolition of Jubbet Adh Dhib school. Lord Ahmad has also visited a school under threat of demolition in Masafer Yatta during his visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in January.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Israel's compliance with paragraph 4 of UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have long supported resolutions consistent with our policy, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. The UK's position on settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution and indeed contribute to the negative trends that imperil the two-state solution. We urge Israel to halt settlement expansion immediately and we continue to monitor the changes to the settlement approval process instituted by the Government of Israel on June 18, which facilitate swifter approval of construction in settlements.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterparts on the potential impact of the Israeli permit system on Palestinian mothers from Gaza with babies receiving treatment in East Jerusalem hospitals.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Israeli authorities on reports of the forced transfer of Palestinian patients from Palestinian to Israeli ambulances to enter occupied East Jerusalem.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent of the means available to it. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the adherence by the Israeli Government to its legal responsibilities towards the populations of the occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has long been the government's view that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is as an occupying power and therefore is governed by the provisions of the Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a state party. We repeatedly call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and we have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation. We stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. It is vital that Israeli security operations all actions are proportionate, in line with international humanitarian law and calibrated to avoid civilian casualties. The Foreign Secretary along with the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon frequently engages with Israelis and Palestinians on issues relating to the occupation. The Foreign Secretary most recently spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen on 26 June.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help improve resilience in countries in the Horn of Africa to impacts of climate change.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The compounding pressures of conflict and cyclical climate disasters are driving unprecedented humanitarian needs, across the Horn of Africa. It is clear that humanitarian funding must complement and work alongside longer-term climate finances to help break the cycle of crisis and to build resilience. To support these efforts, in July the UK will host a conference at Wilton Park to agree concrete actions on how vulnerable countries can secure a proportionate share of climate finance which can be used to promote adaptation and resilient development.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the £143m of aid announced on 24 May for the Horn of Africa was additional to his Department's existing budget for the region.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The £143 million is part of a wider bilateral Official Development Assistance allocation for East and Central Africa of £389.8 million as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30th March 2023.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's publication entitled UK pledges support for over a million people in East Africa, published on 24 May 2023, what recent steps he has taken to ensure humanitarian support is being delivered through local actors.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an important role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in East Africa and beyond. We work and consult closely with local NGOs to aid their planning, delivery and ability to access funding.
In Ethiopia in 2022 the UK provided £7.6 million to the UN's Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) which supported a range of international and national NGOs. Similarly, the UK-funded 'Building Resilient Communities in Somalia' programme has supported a number of local NGOs alongside international civil society organisations. More broadly, the UK funds a number of Country based Pooled Funds (CBPF) and in 2022, nearly 22 percent of funding allocated by CBPFs went directly to national NGOs.
Asked by: Anum Qaisar (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of adherence by the Russian Federation to its legal responsibilities towards the populations of the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In the course of its illegal invasion, Russia has shown a total disregard for its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and is responsible for numerous violations and abuses of human rights. Russia continues to deny full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to territory under its temporary control, where millions of people are in acute need of humanitarian assistance. Reporting from the UN and OSCE concludes that Russia's treatment of civilians, including killings, torture and forced transfers, may amount to war crimes. The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine, including by supporting the International Criminal Court and Ukrainian domestic investigations.