Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps his Department is taking to support Palestinian families threatened by home demolition and forcible transfer in (a) East Jerusalem and (b) the rest of the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Government has repeatedly raised our concerns on this issue with the Israeli authorities. I did so personally during my visit to Israel and subsequently.
In all but the most exceptional of circumstances demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. The practice causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process.
Our firm position is evidenced by our support for Palestinians facing demolition or eviction through our legal aid programme, which helps residents challenge decisions in the Israeli legal system.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £100 million budget for landmine clearance is being spent on clearing landmines in Syria; and whether that budget also provides for the clearance of other devices such as improvised explosive devices.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID provides support to demining in Syria, including in areas liberated from Daesh. This activity includes survey, mine clearance and the provision of mine risk education to the local population. This forms part of the £100 million spent across DFID’s Global Mine Action Programme, which overall tackles the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in developing countries. As set out in the UK’s policy document on mine action, ERW includes abandoned improvised explosive devices.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to the Government of Bangladesh to support refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, and our total package of support since August is £59m. UK support that is already programmed will provide emergency food for 174,000 people, lifesaving nutritional support to more than 60,000 children under-five and over 21,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, safe drinking water, emergency latrines and hygiene kits for more than 138,000 people, and emergency shelter for over 130,000 people.
The Secretary of State for International Development just returned from Bangladesh, where she urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to plan for what looks certain to be a protracted crisis. The Secretary of State assured her that the UK stands ready to provide further support to both refugees and their host communities
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the root causes of attempted migration to Europe across the Mediterranean.
Answered by Justine Greening
Last week I announced a package of initiatives that will provide emergency aid as well as jobs and education to help to address the root causes of the migrant crisis. This includes support worth £217 million to help some 2.5 million refugees and vulnerable people in Africa, and an additional £100 million to help those who have been displaced as a result of the Syria crisis.