Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage UN agencies to support non-governmental organisations in Afghanistan that have had to suspend their activities in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The UK recognises that some partners or organisations may choose to either partially or fully suspend activities for a variety of reasons in the current context. Where non-governmental organization (NGO) partners have had to suspend activity, either partially or fully, FCDO is continuing to cover staff salaries and other critical associated operational costs and is encouraging UN agencies to do the same. We are also working with other donors to ensure we maintain a common position regarding our support to organisations who have suspended activities.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 Pakistani counterpart on (a) blasphemy and (b) anti-Ahmadi legislation in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Protecting minority communities continues to be central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the need to safeguard the rights of religious minorities and raised proposed amendments to the blasphemy laws during his meeting with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. Lord Ahmad also discussed blasphemy laws and the importance of promoting respect for all religions during his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 Pakistani counterpart on (a) ending the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims and (b) the failure of authorities to stop violent attacks on Ahmadis in that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities continues to be central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, 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 this 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: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart on ensuring that (a) Kurdish, (b) Alevi and (c) other minority communities receive equal access to emergency support in Turkey.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We are closely monitoring events in Turkey and we are working in close coordination with the Turkish authorities, the United Nations and NGO partners to ensure that aid makes it to those who are most in need, including vulnerable and minority communities in Turkey and Syria.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 Turkish counterpart on ensuring that emergency aid for victims of the recent earthquakes is able to (a) pass safely through national borders and (b) reach predominately ethnic and religious minority areas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Prime Minister spoke to President Erdogan on 7 February, noting the humanitarian situation over the border in North-West Syria, where Turkey plays an important coordinating role. The UK is one of the top donors to the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund and welcomes the UN-brokered agreement to open additional border crossings into North-West Syria for an initial period of three months.
The UK has sent thousands of life-saving items to Turkey and Syria, including tents and thermal blankets and is working in coordination with Turkish authorities, United Nations and NGO partners to ensure aid reaches those who are most in need.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his American counterparts on recent reports of deepening (a) defence and (b) economic ties between South Africa and Russia.
Answered by David Rutley
We are committed to working with international partners to mitigate the impact of Russia's actions globally. The UK regularly engages with international counterparts, including the US and South Africa, across a range of defence and economic interests in the region. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on 17 January to discuss how we can best support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell also discussed a range of issues, including the Ukraine conflict, with South African Deputy Foreign Minister Botes on 19 January. Our High Commission in Pretoria regularly engages South African counterparts on Russia-related matters, and keeps in close touch with US colleagues.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of UK overseas aid funding is distributed to each Commonwealth country in Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Table 1 below provides the volume and proportion of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided for the benefit of each Commonwealth country in Africa in 2021, the latest year for which data is published. Bilateral ODA is aid that has been earmarked, usually for specific countries, regions, or programmes.
The UK also spends ODA in the form of unearmarked contributions to multilateral organisations and bilaterally to programmes which benefit multiple countries/regions, some of which may also benefit Commonwealth countries in Africa.
Table 1: Volume and proportion of UK bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Commonwealth countries in Africa, 2021
Commonwealth Countries in Africa | 2021 Bilateral ODA | % of UK Bilateral ODA |
Botswana | 2,356 | 0.14% |
Cameroon | 8,030 | 0.47% |
Eswatini | 399 | 0.02% |
Gabon | - | 0.00% |
Gambia | 17,991 | 1.04% |
Ghana | 25,002 | 1.45% |
Kenya | 71,993 | 4.17% |
Lesotho | 899 | 0.05% |
Malawi | 42,298 | 2.45% |
Mauritius | 892 | 0.05% |
Mozambique | 37,493 | 2.171% |
Namibia | 1,449 | 0.08% |
Nigeria | 140,146 | 8.12% |
Rwanda | 34,946 | 2.02% |
Sierra Leone | 50,048 | 2.90% |
South Africa | 102,251 | 5.92% |
Tanzania | 60,605 | 3.51% |
Togo | - | 0.00% |
Uganda | 64,352 | 3.73% |
Zambia | 27,921 | 1.62% |
| Source: Statistics on International Development |
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 Chinese counterpart on reports of the repression of the country's Christian community through surveillance, censorship and disinformation.
Answered by David Rutley
The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief.
We regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on 20 September.
We also work within the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance and other international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report by Open Doors entitled World Watch List 2023, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the finding that North Korea is the most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian; and if he will hold discussions with his international counterparts on this.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK remains engaged in addressing the appalling human rights situation in North Korea. The right to freedom of religion or belief for all is an FCDO policy priority and a key strand of our DPRK human rights strategy. We regularly raise this with the North Korean authorities and at the UN, and have discussed North Korea's human rights situation during closed consultations at the UN Security Council on 9 December 2022.
The UK co-sponsored the resolution on DPRK human rights, adopted by consensus at the UN General Assembly Third Committee on 16 November 2022. The resolution sends an unequivocal message to the DPRK Government and reiterates long-held demands of the international community for the regime to take concrete action to end the systemic and widespread human rights violations in the country, and to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 Nigerian counterpart on the prevalence of deadly attacks on the country's Christian population.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government condemns all incidents of violence across Nigeria and is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all communities. I [Minister Mitchell] raised the effect of insecurity on communities in my engagements with leading Nigerian presidential candidates in December 2022 and January 2023. Additionally, at the UK's Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in July 2022, the Nigerian High Commissioner reiterated his Government's commitment to freedom of religion or belief. We will continue to call on the Nigerian Government to assist affected communities and implement long-term solutions.