Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she has had discussions with UN agencies on increasing funding for gender-based violence services as part of the Global Humanitarian Response plan.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is deeply concerned about the surge in gender-based violence (GBV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have consistently encouraged the UN agencies, including United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to prioritise GBV within the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) through bilateral channels and joint advocacy with other donors.
Whilst we are pleased to see improvements in how GBV is being addressed overall in the GHRP, the UK is continuing to discuss with UN agencies what more can be done to ensure sufficient focus, finance and accountability for GBV in the humanitarian response. All UN agencies and international actors must demonstrate that the shadow pandemic of GBV is taken seriously in the global response to COVID-19 and be held accountable for addressing it.
We have committed £20 million to UNICEF and £10 million to UNFPA through the GHRP, which includes funding to scale up reporting, protection and support services for women and girls affected by violence in the world’s poorest countries. £20 million of UK Aid funding to UNHCR’s work with refugees and internally displaced people also includes support for adapting and scaling-up essential services for gender-based violence and child protection.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to gender-based violence services during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The?UK?is?working?to?leverage a strong?and co-ordinated response?globally to address the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have committed £20 million to UNICEF and £10 million to UNFPA, which includes funding to scale up reporting, protection and support services for women and girls affected by violence in the world’s poorest countries. £20 million of UK Aid funding to UNHCR’s work with refugees and internally displaced people also includes support for adapting and scaling-up essential services for gender-based violence and child protection.
We are urgently?reorienting?existing?bilateral?programmes to ensure women and girls can continue to access support during the lockdown. For example, in Nepal, the UK is financing 14 Women’s and Children Service Centres across the country and 62 One Stop Crisis Centres.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the long-term strategy of the Government is with respect to sustainable support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK has a multi-year commitment to support United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and we plan to continue to fund the Agency in line with that agreement. This will provide basic services such as health and education to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and the region.
Last year the UK led international efforts to help ensure UNRWA’s essential services were maintained, by almost doubling our original core support of £33.5 million to £65.5 million in total, and lobbying other donors to step up, to ensure the funding burden is shared more evenly across the international community. Both the UK and UNRWA recognise the need for UNRWA to reform to ensure its sustainability, and UNRWA has undertaken significant cost-cutting measures to respond to budget cuts and growing needs. We welcome UNRWA’s efforts to broaden its donor base and are encouraging partners to provide more funding and more predictable disbursements. A long-term solution requires a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for Palestinian refugees. Until that happens the UK remains firmly committed to supporting UNRWA and Palestinian refugees.