Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK aid reaches the most vulnerable people during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
COVID-19 is a compound and protracted crisis, where the impacts on health, economies, food security, stability and society will hit the world's poorest and most fragile countries hardest. As a leading donor to the global COVID-19 response and one of the biggest humanitarian donors globally, we are ensuring that our support goes to those who need it the most, including refugees and other forcibly displaced populations.
We have so far pledged up to £790 million of UK aid to counter the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, and to further the search for vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. In addition, we have pivoted over 200 bilateral programmes towards addressing direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 response.
We are paying particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable. Our funding for UNHCR is focused on supporting refugees. Our support to UNFPA and UNICEF will protect the rights of women and girls, including addressing gender-based violence and ensuring continued access to sexual and reproductive health care. We have also recently announced a package of £119 million to provide relief to over six million people and help prevent famine in countries hit by conflict and COVID-19.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of discrimination against religious minorities on the distribution of UK aid.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK Government works to ensure that recipients of UK Aid, including minority religious communities, are not discriminated against because of their faith. The UK is committed to delivering its aid according to internationally-recognised humanitarian principles. These principles ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. This includes minority religious communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.
The FCDO's use of country context analysis has increased the understanding of how religious dynamics and religious groups are factored into all of our country programmes. The FCDO undertakes interdisciplinary analysis of a country's politics, society, state and economy to identify the most significant problems that hinder development and the main entry points and opportunities to create change. There is a strong emphasis on how politics, security, and demographics interact with economic growth and human development. This includes the role of religion and discrimination of religious minorities.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 ensure delivery on the aims of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Advancing gender equality and women's rights are a core part of the UK Government's mission, and Global Britain's role as a force for good in the world, including fulfilling every girl's right to 12 years of quality education. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to this agenda.
Substantial progress has been made since the launch of the Strategic Vision in 2018. Highlights include announcing the biggest ever donor commitment to support and accelerate the Africa-led movement to end female genital mutilation (£50 million), securing unilateral agreement by the 53 Commonwealth Leaders to work to ensure 12 years of quality education for all girls by 2030, and generating world-leading evidence on how to drive down global rates of violence against women and girls through our What Works to Prevent Violence programme. Between 2019-20 alone UKaid supported 25.4 million women to access modern methods of family planning, helping to save thousands of lives.
As part of the launch of the new FCDO, we will refresh and build on existing strategies, as well as develop new approaches, but we do not see the core ambitions of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality changing.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Bahraini counterpart on (a) Mohammed Ramadhan, (b) Hussain Moosa and (c) other prisoners who have been sentenced to death in Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are concerned by the death sentences handed to Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa. We continue to raise both cases at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain. The Bahraini Government is fully aware that the UK opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We continue to monitor their case, as it is taken to the Court of Cassation for final review.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that journalists' trade unions internationally are (a) consulted on the UK's media freedom campaign, and (b) invited to participate in his Department's London conference on media freedom in July 2019.
Answered by Mark Field
We are commited to and are in the process of consulting very widely with all relevant civil society bodies, including journalists' trade unions, on the design of our media freedom campaign and the July conference. We encourage all interested parties to get in touch with us.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether officials at his Department held discussions with representatives of (a) the US National Security Agency and (b) GCHQ on influencing UN Security Council vote in March 2003 on the second resolution to authorise intervention in Iraq.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
The Government deplores the leaking of any classified information, wherever it occurs. Such leaks can make the work of maintaining the security of our own country and that of our allies more difficult.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the article entitled Revealed: US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war, published in the Observer on 2 March 2003, whether his Department undertook surveillance of representatives at the UN from (a) Angola, (b) Cameroon, (c) Chile, (d) Bulgaria, (e) Guinea and (f) Pakistan prior to the UN Security Council vote on a second resolution on intervention in Iraq.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
The Government deplores the leaking of any classified information, wherever it occurs. Such leaks can make the work of maintaining the security of our own country and that of our allies more difficult.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department received a memo on 31 January 2003 from Frank Koza, Defence Chief of Staff (Regional Targets) entitled Reflections of Iraq Debate/Votes at UN-RT Actions + Potential for Related Contributions and published in The Observer on 2 March 2003, asking for information that could give US policymakers an edge in obtaining results favourable to US goals.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
The Government deplores the leaking of any classified information, wherever it occurs. Such leaks can make the work of maintaining the security of our own country and that of our allies more difficult.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on an operation to influence a vote at the UN Security Council on a second resolution to authorise an intervention in Iraq in March 2003.
Answered by Alistair Burt
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
The Government deplores the leaking of any classified information, wherever it occurs. Such leaks can make the work of maintaining the security of our own country and that of our allies more difficult.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on discussions between GCHQ and the US National Security Agency on surveillance of delegates to the UN in 2003.
Answered by Alan Duncan
It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.