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Written Question
Tigray: Famine
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department is providing emergency humanitarian assistance to help avert famine in Tigray.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Internal conflict, drought, and economic challenges are exacerbating humanitarian crises across Ethiopia. Famine risk in Tigray and elsewhere in Ethiopia increases as these factors are prolonged and if the international community does not expand humanitarian and development assistance. The UK recently increased our health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection programming across northern Ethiopia, including in Tigray. Since 2019, the UK has allocated more than £400 million to tackle humanitarian crises in Ethiopia.


Written Question
Ethiopia: Politics and Government
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Ethiopian Government on fully implementing the Pretoria Peace Agreement.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The former Foreign Secretary welcomed the November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, when he visited Ethiopia in December 2022. Since then, the UK has welcomed progress on implementation such as the handing over of heavy weapons, the establishment of a Tigray Interim Regional Administration, and the development of a comprehensive transitional justice policy. We continue to offer the UK's support, including for the successful implementation of the transitional justice policy. HM Ambassador to Ethiopia last year announced funding for the African Union's monitoring, verification and compliance mechanism to support the implementation of the Pretoria peace deal. Ministers and the British Embassy Addis Ababa continue to raise the importance of this issue with interlocutors in the Ethiopian Government.


Written Question
Tigray: Internally Displaced People
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if his Department will make representations to the Ethiopian Government to allow internally displaced Tigrayans to return.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The former Foreign Secretary welcomed the November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, when he visited Ethiopia in December 2022. There are no formal restrictions on internally displaced persons returning, however some areas of Tigray are under the control of regional militias or Eritrean forces. Ministers and the British Embassy Addis Ababa repeatedly raise the need for withdrawal of militias and foreign forces, including through a public statement in August 2023.


Written Question
Israel: Children
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government has had discussions with Israeli counterparts on the (a) detention of children in Israeli military prisons and (b) allegations of potential human rights abuses against prisoners.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in detention practices in Israel. We have made plain our concern about the continued reports of ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli military detention, particularly of children. The UK repeatedly calls 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.


Written Question
Sudan: Humanitarian Situation
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking as penholder for Sudan on the UN Security Council to (a) tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan and (b) help ensure that human rights abuses are properly investigated.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

We are working with international partners and humanitarian agencies to scale-up aid delivery in Sudan and neighbouring countries if and when the access situation improves, and through our ongoing work in the neighbouring countries and the UN. On 2 June the UK secured unanimous Security Council support for the renewal of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) which is leading coordination of international humanitarian efforts. We will look to renew its mandate further by 3 December. As Chair of the 'Sudan Core Group' (US, Norway, Germany, UK), we led on a UN Human Rights Council resolution, adopted on 11 October, which established an independent, international, Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to investigate atrocities committed by all sides.


Written Question
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) African Union, (b) United Nations and (c) other countries on reaching a sustained ceasefire in Sudan.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is working with a range of partners, including Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US, UK), African and European countries, as well as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the United Nations, to bring warring parties together and secure a permanent ceasefire. As a member of the African Union-convened Core Group on Sudan, the UK is working with regional and international partners to end hostilities and secure a peace process. UK Ministers attended the UN General Assembly in September, hosting a Ministerial-level Quad meeting reaffirming our shared interests in resolving the Sudan conflict. Ministers also raised Sudan in bilateral meetings with Egypt and South Sudan, paying tribute to their generosity in accepting refugees and calling for urgent action and the coordination of regional initiatives. UK leadership with 'Sudan Core Group' partners at the UN Human Rights Council led to a robust resolution on Sudan being passed. This resolution establishes an independent, international, Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan so that those responsible can be held to account and to deter perpetrators from further crime.


Written Question
Sudan: Humanitarian Aid
Wednesday 17th May 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his department is taking to support the creation of humanitarian corridors out of Sudan.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Securing the safe passage for civilians fleeing Sudan, the protection of civilians and respect of International Law is an FCDO priority. To achieve this, we are pursuing all diplomatic avenues, including at the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council, through engagement with the conflicting parties, and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (KSA, UAE, UK, USA) and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and United Nations agencies.


Written Question
Sudan: British Nationals Abroad
Wednesday 17th May 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reunite UK citizens with close family members who remain in Sudan.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Since 25 April, the UK has supported the departure of 2,450 people, including British nationals, dependants, and other eligible nationals out of Sudan. The UK Government continues to provide limited consular assistance to British nationals still in Sudan and to those who have left by alternative means to neighbouring countries.


Written Question
Diplomatic Service: Crisis Management
Tuesday 16th May 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) number of staff and (b) resources committed to its Crisis Response Centre.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The FCDO Crisis Response Centre has the capacity to surge staff and resources to respond to a crisis depending on the scale and nature of the incident. Following the Afghanistan response, the FCDO implemented a full review of these cadres, as well as the cross-FCDO crisis response training package, to ensure that staffing and resources are fit for purpose. This led to a full refresh of surge lists, many of whom served within the recent Sudan response.


Written Question
UK Special Representative for Climate Change: Public Appointments
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reasons his Department has not appointed a Special Representative for Climate Change.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Whilst an immediate successor to the Special Representative has not been appointed, our resource and senior representation within the FCDO on climate and environment has grown significantly in recent years. Climate change remains an area of utmost importance to this government, and to the Foreign Secretary.