Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support de-escalation of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to closely monitor the security situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). The Foreign Secretary issued a press statement on April 7 condemning violence at Jerusalem's holy sites. In a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 21 March he re-stated the UK's opposition to settlements, demolitions, and evictions. This followed a phone call with Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Malki on 7 March in which he made clear his expectation that the Palestinian Authority will call on Palestinians to refrain from violence. British diplomats in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem raise these issues with the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, respectively, on a regular basis, and we regularly raise these issues in international fora.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on the arrest of Shahid Hussain.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Mr Hussain was released on 27 March. We are aware of reports of arrests and continue to monitor the situation on the ground. Where there are credible allegations of human rights violations, we expect these to be investigated in line with due process.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the recently approved 7,000 new housing units in the West Bank by Israeli planning authorities.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. The Foreign Secretary has repeatedly raised this issue with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, when they met in person on 21 March, and in phone calls on 10 January and 7 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon also raised this point with the Israeli Government during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in January. Lord Ahmad also reaffirmed the UK's opposition to Israeli settlement expansion during his 31 March meeting with Palestinian Head of Mission Zomlot.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 his counterpart in Israel following reports of attacks on health workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence directed towards healthcare workers. British Embassy 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 Gaza and the West Bank should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on recent reports of (a) attacks on Palestinian healthcare personnel and facilities and (b) demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns all forms of violence towards healthcare workers, who should be able to go about their work without obstruction. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians, call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution, and in all but the most exceptional of cases, demolitions by an occupying power are contrary to international humanitarian law. The Foreign Secretary met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on March 21 in London and made clear the need to avoid actions which escalate tensions and violence.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations has he made to his counterpart in Pakistan over reports of the destruction of the minarets of an Ahmadi Muslim mosque in Kalra Kalan District in that country by local police.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised the issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society, including on recent attacks on Ahmadi mosques.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken steps to (a) implement policies and (b) provide funding to help support (i) sustainable development, (ii) peace and (iii) self-determination in Palestine.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to making progress towards a negotiated two-state solution and recognises the role of development in building the Palestinian Authority's capability for this. We continue to support The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides education to more than 533,000 children a year, half of which are girls, and access to health services for 3.5 million Palestinian refugees. We also continue to work with the Palestinian Authority to improve its financial management and security sector.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much humanitarian aid his Department has provided to help with food shortages in East Africa in the last year; and how much he plans to allocate in the next financial year.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to addressing the deteriorating food security situation across East Africa. This financial year the UK will allocate at least £156 million in humanitarian support across the region with UK funding benefitting millions of people. The UK is also working to raise the profile of the crisis with our international partners and to ensure a robust response from humanitarian and development actors. We will share information about spending plans for the next financial year at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations has he made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the attacks on the Ahmadiyya Jalsa Salana in Bangladesh in March 2023.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Preventing religious violence and upholding Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Bangladesh remains a UK priority. In March, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised the importance of FoRB with State Minister Alam and I [Minister Trevelyan] underlined respect for human rights with PM Hasina during my visit to Bangladesh. Our support in Bangladesh aims to ensure that the rights of religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyya community, are respected and that these communities are protected from discrimination. We regularly engage with a wide range of civil society and NGO partners to understand the causes and effects of inter-religious conflict.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the UK aid budget is dedicated to the development of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
In 2021 the UK spent £78 million of bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) on water and sanitation, this is equivalent to 1.1% of the overall bilateral budget. This excludes our share of multilateral spend, where there is a significant proportion of spend on water, sanitation and hygiene. We do not have an accurate figure for 2022 spend yet