Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile Coordination Unit's Humanitarian Update, August 2019.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK regularly receives information on the economic and livelihood conditions of people in Sudan from multiple sources. This includes South Kordofan and Blue Nile states as well as other areas of high humanitarian need. These reports help us to assess damage or losses caused by natural or man-made events and are used to make credible determinations of the best use of available resources to address the basic needs of those affected, using UK taxpayer funds. The findings in the named report are in keeping with a range of other sources. Given the risks to humanitarian actors working in remote and conflict affected locations we are cautious not to draw attention to specific reports or organisations working in these locations.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with governments in the Gulf about the provision of reconstruction assistance to Syria; and what assessment they have made of withholding such assistance.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK has not had discussions with governments in the Gulf about the provision of reconstruction funding to Syria. We remain clear that we will not consider providing such assistance without a credible, substantive and genuine political process firmly underway. The UK calls upon all parties to engage in a political process that helps create a calm, safe and neutral environment, which will be vital if free and fair elections are to take place. The UK is focussed on delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to those affected by the ongoing conflict. We engage with a broad range of international partners to encourage sustained international support for the humanitarian effort in Syria (including governments in the Gulf).
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will urge the government of the United States to use its Al Tanf airbase in Syria to provide assistance to the thousands of displaced persons living in the Rukban Camp; and whether they will call on the governments of Syria and Jordan to help.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK remains immensely concerned by the ongoing situation in the Rukban camp. We have continued to publicly highlight the need for sustained humanitarian access to reach the estimated 41,000 people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners, including the UN and other NGO partners, is assessed as the best way to deliver aid to hard-to-reach areas such as the Rukban camp. We welcomed the successful interagency convoy that delivered life-saving aid to the camp last month. It is crucial that this is not viewed as a one-off event. We urge the Assad regime and its allies, in the strongest possible terms, to ensure there is now regular humanitarian access to the camp. We also welcome Jordan’s support in providing water to Rukban; maintaining access to the UN clinic in Rukban; and assisting with emergency medical cases.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding, if any, they intend to provide to support water and sanitation projects by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is funding UN and NGO partners to address vital water, hygiene and sanitation needs throughout Syria. Last year alone, our support meant that over 4 million people across Syria were provided with clean drinking water and over 2.5 million people with sanitation and hygiene assistance.
DFID is currently not funding the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Syria. This decision was taken following discussions with ICRC about DFID’s reporting and risk management requirements for partners operating in Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bates on 5 December (HL Deb, cols 1014–16) that “there cannot be a meaningful discussion about how to begin the reconstruction, because that requires a government we can deal with, and we do not have one at the moment”, whether they are seeking regime change in Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
Syria needs an inclusive government that can protect the rights of all Syrians and unite the country. We are pragmatic about how this can be achieved, and ultimately Syria’s future must be for Syrians to decide. We continue to support the UN-led Geneva process which remains the best forum for reaching a lasting political settlement to end the conflict in Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to address human trafficking from northern Burma.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is leading the fight against modern slavery internationally. In Burma, DFID is providing $9 million (£7 million) to raise awareness on trafficking and support safer and more productive migration across all states.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Burma to seek unrestricted access for international humanitarian aid to those who are internally displaced in the Kachin and Shan states of Burma.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK remains deeply concerned by continued reports of violence in Kachin and northern Shan States. UK aid-funded humanitarian and development assistance supports vulnerable displaced people in Kachin and northern Shan States. DFID has provided almost £19 million in humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected Kachin and northern Shan States since 2012. The UK continues to raise our concerns with both the military and the civilian Government of Burma at every opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the audit report by the Office of the Inspector General of the US Agency for International Development, Insufficient Oversight of Public International Organizations Puts U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs at Risk, published on 25 September; and what plans, if any, they have to commission a similar audit of UK aid to Syria.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID has robust and extensive controls in place to ensure that tax payers' funds are used appropriately and effectively; that UK aid reaches those who need it and that it does not benefit extremist groups.
As with other DFID programmes, our work in Syria remains under constant review and scrutiny, both through internal and independent processes, including by the National Audit Office and Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), which last audited DFID’s Syria humanitarian programmes in May 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of current restrictions on humanitarian access to Kachin and Shan States.
Answered by Lord Bates
We are deeply concerned by continued reports of violence in Kachin and also northern Shan States, which has led to a further 8,000 people being displaced since February 2018.
We are aware of the report and consider the findings to be credible. We agree with the conclusions that access for international groups to Kachin state is needed urgently. The UK continues to push the Burmese authorities for access at all opportunities.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which restrictions on humanitarian aid to internally displaced people in Burma may amount to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law; and if so, what steps they plan to take in response.
Answered by Lord Bates
We are deeply concerned by continued reports of violence in Kachin and also northern Shan States, which has led to a further 8,000 people being displaced since February 2018.
We are aware of the report and consider the findings to be credible. We agree with the conclusions that access for international groups to Kachin state is needed urgently. The UK continues to push the Burmese authorities for access at all opportunities.