Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £40 million fund for Chagossians has been allocated to date by his Department; for what purposes that money has been allocated; and how much of that spending has been classified as Official Development Assistance.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
DFID was allocated £20 million to develop a support package for Chagossians living in Mauritius, which is eligible to receive Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The support package will be used to address the most pressing needs of Chagossians in terms of access to adequate healthcare and to improved education, including language training, and employment opportunities.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans he has to ensure that human rights are prioritized within his Department's approach to achieving the (a) SDGs and (b) other development outcomes.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is committed to respecting, promoting and protecting universal human rights. Respect for human rights is important in itself and for achieving stable, inclusive and prosperous societies. Human rights underpin freedom, democracy and rule of law and form the basis of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are at the heart of the UK Aid Strategy and the Department’s new Single Departmental Plan which guide DFID’s strategic decision-making.
The UK continues to be a strong advocate for Goal 16 on inclusive, peaceful societies, widely acknowledged as an enabler for all the other Sustainable Development Goals and for the protection and promotion of human rights.
DFID programmes support human rights across a range of areas such as health, education, peace and security as well as through our support for inclusive and accountable governance. DFID puts the rights of women and girls at the centre of our development efforts through the 2018 Strategic Vision for Gender Equality. We support southern grassroots organisations to protect girls from issues like female genital mutilation and enforced child marriage and DFID’s support to the Jo Cox Memorial Grants includes a specific tranche to build civil society’s capacity to predict identity-based violence.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s support to human rights defenders on the ground; and what plans he has to increase that support.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
DFID works closely with the FCO on safeguarding of Human Rights Defenders. Support on the ground includes lobbying and programming for safe and open spaces for civil society and human rights defenders to operate. Officials monitor programme outcomes and regularly consult with civil society and directly with Human Rights Defenders to improve our response.
DFID’s Governance for Growth, Stability and Inclusive Development paper, published in March, set a refreshed strategic direction for our work on governance, with a renewed focus on protecting democratic space, where this is under threat, and supporting the rule of law and civic freedoms. A new programme, led by a UK human rights organisation, Article 19, will pilot responses to shrinking civic space and pressure on independent media and civil society.
This month, the FCO published a new document, ‘UK support for Human Rights Defenders’, which reflects the importance of human rights defenders and the support the UK provides to them through its network of embassies and high commissions. Human Rights Defenders and civil society organisations were consulted on the document prior to its publication.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he will take to ensure that, in line with the UN Statement of Common Understanding, a human-rights based approach is integrated within his Department's development co-operation and programming.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is committed to respecting, promoting and protecting universal human rights. Respect for human rights is important in itself and for achieving stable, inclusive and prosperous societies. Human rights underpin freedom, democracy and rule of law and form the basis of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are at the heart of the UK Aid Strategy and the Department’s new Single Departmental Plan which guide DFID’s strategic decision-making.
DFID country offices’ planning processes take account of interdisciplinary analysis, including a country’s progress toward achieving the SDGs, and our aid relationships involve consideration of partner governments’ commitment to human rights.
DFID carries out, and regularly reviews, programme risk assessments, including the risks of unintended harm to people and to the environment, and our Supply Partner Code of Conduct sets high, legally enforceable standards for ethical behaviour and compliance with human rights by our suppliers in the delivery of DFID contracts.
DFID’s position paper, Governance for Growth, Stability and Inclusive Development, published in March, set a refreshed strategic direction for DFID’s work on governance, including a renewed focus on protecting democratic space, where this is under threat, and supporting the rule of law and civic freedoms. It is a key reference document for future planning.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans he has to ensure that his Department's strategic decision-making is explicitly guided by human rights principles and instruments.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is committed to respecting, promoting and protecting universal human rights. Respect for human rights is important in itself and for achieving stable, inclusive and prosperous societies. Human rights underpin freedom, democracy and rule of law and form the basis of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are at the heart of the UK Aid Strategy and the Department’s new Single Departmental Plan which guide DFID’s strategic decision-making.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he will take to further integrate human rights considerations into his Department's country-level programming, particularly in human rights priority countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK is committed to respecting, promoting and protecting universal human rights. Respect for human rights is important in itself and for achieving stable, inclusive and prosperous societies. Human rights underpin freedom, democracy and rule of law and form the basis of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are at the heart of the UK Aid Strategy and the Department’s new Single Departmental Plan which guide DFID’s strategic decision-making.
DFID country offices’ planning processes take account of interdisciplinary analysis, including a country’s progress toward achieving the SDGs, and our aid relationships involve consideration of partner governments’ commitment to human rights.
DFID carries out, and regularly reviews, programme risk assessments, including the risks of unintended harm to people and to the environment, and our Supply Partner Code of Conduct sets high, legally enforceable standards for ethical behaviour and compliance with human rights by our suppliers in the delivery of DFID contracts.
DFID’s position paper, Governance for Growth, Stability and Inclusive Development, published in March, set a refreshed strategic direction for DFID’s work on governance, including a renewed focus on protecting democratic space, where this is under threat, and supporting the rule of law and civic freedoms. It is a key reference document for future planning.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will take steps to make funding more accessible to civil society organisations in his Department's partner countries.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In financial year 2016-17, DFID spent £1.3 billion funding the work of civil society. DFID provides assistance to strengthen civil society in the UK and overseas through capacity building support and funding opportunities. This assistance is delivered through our centrally-managed programmes and our country programmes.
DFID is acting to increase support to CSOs based in developing countries. We are broadening out some of our centrally-managed programmes to accept bids from Southern-based CSOs. This includes UK Aid Direct, DFID’s centrally-managed programme for small and medium civil society organisations. The most recent UK Aid Direct funding round was fully open to bids from Southern-based CSOs for the first time.
In addition, through UK Aid Connect we are funding programmes specifically targeted at enhancing civil society effectiveness in the UK and overseas.