Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) Afghan refugees and (b) refugees from any third country that were resident in Ukraine prior to the invasion by Russian troops on 24 February 2022.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
According to The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), prior to Russia's invasion, there were 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Ukraine, mainly from Afghanistan. The UNHCR is providing support to these and other individuals through its Appeal for Ukraine. The UK is a leading humanitarian donor on Ukraine, pledging £220 million. This includes providing crucial humanitarian assistance through the UNHCR, such as blankets, kitchen sets and hygiene kits. The (UK's) DEC Appeal has currently raised over £300 million for Ukraine: this total includes the UK's largest ever government aid-match at £25 million.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect women and girls fleeing the war in Ukraine from abuse and exploitation by human traffickers.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Modern slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes that the government is committed to tackling. The FCDO has deployed humanitarian specialists to Poland, Moldova and Romania to ensure that the support we are providing to refugees, including women and girls, is tailored to the local context, including the threats they face. Our humanitarian support will be implemented by trusted humanitarian partners with expertise in protection and safeguarding. FCDO staff are reiterating the importance of protection and safeguarding considerations in this response, including the risk of human trafficking, when liaising with HQ and regional staff of multilateral and NGO agencies. More broadly we will continue to coordinate law enforcement efforts by working closely with EU partners to target trafficking routes across Europe, provide protection to the most vulnerable and take tough action against those who seek to exploit people for financial gain.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what provisions his Department has made to pay for covid-19 vaccines for UK citizens who are temporarily abroad and have been offered a vaccination by that country's authorities.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Wherever possible British nationals should aim to be vaccinated in the country where they live. The FCDO does not pay medical costs for British nationals abroad. We are monitoring carefully other countries' plans to roll out the vaccine and providing bespoke information through Travel Advice and 'Living in' guides on gov.uk to inform British nationals of healthcare options available to them. British nationals should keep up to date on the national vaccination roll out plan where they live, including on who is eligible.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing for minority groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is concerned about the protection and safety of all communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including minority groups. We continue to urge the DRC Government and the UN to work together to protect civilians from ongoing violence and address the root causes of conflict in the east. I [Mr Duddridge] discussed the importance of this with President Tshisekedi during my visit to DRC in November 2020 and again during a telephone call in March this year.
We are committed to ensuring the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) has a mandate focused on the protection of civilians, and that supporting vulnerable communities remains central to the UN's work in DRC. In 2020/21 we provided approximately £52 million and three military staff officers to support MONUSCO. Our £70 million peace and stability programme is providing access to income-generation opportunities in conflict-affected communities, helping secure land access and supporting inclusive dialogue to address the drivers of conflict. Since 2017, the UK's humanitarian programme has helped over three million people with cash, emergency nutrition, water and healthcare. All UK-funded humanitarian aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure that the most vulnerable are reached.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of UK online activity on the political situation in Ethiopia.
Answered by James Duddridge
A number of Ethiopian political groupings have an online presence in countries around the world, including the UK. We do not assess that Ethiopian-linked online activity emanating from the UK has significantly impacted the political situation in Ethiopia.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 Ethiopian counterpart on tackling ethnic and political violence in that country.
Answered by James Duddridge
The UK is concerned by reports of violence and displacement of people in a number of regions in Ethiopia, and continues to raise the importance of human rights with the Government of Ethiopia at the highest levels. I raised this most recently with the Government of Ethiopia when visiting Addis Ababa at the end of July. The UK supports the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia to strengthen accountability and has been encouraged by their efforts to open the political space - in particular the release of thousands of political prisoners and the reform of legislation which constrained civil and political rights. We are committed to supporting civil society organisations in Ethiopia so that they can play an increasing role in monitoring rights.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support people held in camps in Xinjiang.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We remain committed to promoting human rights in Xinjiang. On 30 June, the UK read out a statement on behalf of 27 countries at the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council highlighting concerns about arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance and restrictions in Xinjiang, urging China to allow the High Commissioner for Human Rights meaningful access to the region.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Philippines, (b) Turkey and (c) New Zealand on facilitating the repatriation of UK nationals from those countries.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK is grateful for the continued support of our international partners. Their assistance in flying our citizens home and keeping flight routes running by keeping key transit hubs open to air traffic, are invaluable to our efforts to repatriate British nationals.
We are in regular contact with the Government of the Philippines on the repatriation of British nationals. This engagement has been critical to our efforts to repatriate approximately 1100 British Nationals from the Philippines, including via two UK charter flights. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Locsin on 31 March. I also spoke to Foreign Minister Locsin on 26 April to finalise planning for the second UK charter flight to bring British nationals home. We are supporting all remaining BNs with information on commercial flights and keeping the option of a third charter flight under review.
We have regular discussions with the Turkish authorities on these issues, both through our Embassy in Turkey and through Ministerial contact. The Minister for the European Neighbourhood and Americas, most recently discussed the repatriation of British nationals with her Turkish counterpart on 21 April. We are working hard with Turkey to ensure that British nationals in Turkey can return to the UK using the remaining commercial flights as soon as possible.
The Foreign Secretary spoke to New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, on 30 April. The Foreign Secretary thanked him for New Zealand's support in facilitating the five charter flights which have returned over 1500 British nationals to the UK and asked for his continued support for a further three charter flights scheduled to begin on 11 May.