Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the funding of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary has been clear with Foreign Minister Sa'ar that Israel must allow unrestricted aid into Gaza. In their latest call, the Foreign Secretary shared concerns about the rising risks of famine and starvation in Gaza, as well as the new aid delivery system, including the reduction of aid delivery points in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary was clear that aid cannot be used as a weapon of war. In our statement to the UN Security Council on 13 May, we made clear that the UK will not support any aid mechanism that prioritises political or military objectives or puts vulnerable civilians at risk. The UK supports the UN and humanitarian partners. We have endorsed the UN's plan for delivery of aid put forward on 16 May - it is based on humanitarian principles, has built in mitigations against aid diversion and uses established mechanisms to deliver at the scale required. We call on Israel to urgently engage with the UN to ensure a return to a full and unhindered resumption of the safe delivery of aid in line with humanitarian principles.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on the application of the global humanitarian principles of (a) humanity, (b) impartiality, (c) independence and (d) neutrality in relation to Israel's policies in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 19 May, the UK signed a joint donor statement with 26 other humanitarian donors, which directly called on Israel to allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza and enable the UN and humanitarian organisations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity. This statement referenced humanitarian principles, underscoring that humanitarian principles matter for every conflict around the world and should be applied consistently in every warzone. Further, our statement to the UN Security Council on 13 May was clear that the UK will not support any aid mechanism that prioritises political or military objectives or puts civilians at risk. The UK government has repeatedly called on the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under International Humanitarian Law to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary has reiterated this in his recent calls with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of airstrikes carried out by Israel in Gaza between October 2023 and September 2024, (b) the number of those his Department has examined for potential breaches of international law and (c) the number of those examined that were assessed as potentially involving violations of international law.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our International Humanitarian Law (IHL) assessments, which assess Israel's compliance and commitment to IHL in the conflict in Gaza, use data on verified incidents, including but not limited to airstrikes, provided by a third-party specialising in geolocation. We do not track every single incident or airstrike as part of this process.
While the assessments have raised concerns about possible breaches of IHL in the areas of humanitarian access, the treatment of detainees, and forced displacement, we have not been able to reach a determination in relation to the conduct of hostilities due to the lack of sufficient, verifiable evidence. To determine a possible breach in this area requires access to sensitive specific information related to individual incidents, such as the intended targets, anticipated military advantage and anticipated civilian harm, which is often not available to us.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it remains his policy that any determination as to whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza is a matter for a competent national or international court.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's long-standing policy is that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a determination under the Genocide Convention.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's long-standing policy is that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. As a party to the Convention, the UK is fully committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide as appropriate under the Convention.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK continues to step up for Ukraine as new funding announced to bring war criminals to justice, published on 29 December 2024, if he will publish a summary of his Department's legal advice on war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since the start of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has recorded over 150,000 incidents of alleged war crimes committed during the conflict. The UK government is committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to document and investigate these atrocity crimes. As set out in our funding announcement of 29 December 2024, we are focussing efforts through practical support co-ordinated via the Atrocity Crimes Advisory group, established with our US and EU partners. We have also provided support to the International Criminal Court, which established its own investigation into the situation in Ukraine in March 2022, and been an active member of the Core Group of countries, working to explore options to establish a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to spend at least £1 billion on humanitarian aid in each year of this Parliament.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact, and value for money.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
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 potential impact of proposed reductions in official development assistance on the UK contribution to international climate finance.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact on international climate finance is being worked through following the decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 0.5 per cent of GNI today to 0.3 per cent in 2027. We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensure all ODA delivers value for money and will set out our spending plans following the completion of the Spending Review and departmental resource allocation process.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in ODA spending, what steps his Department plans to take to provide humanitarian support to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, the Foreign Secretary announced an uplift of £14.6 million of humanitarian support for at least 480,000 more people in eastern DRC. This brings our humanitarian assistance in Eastern DRC to over £79 million this year. These funds support essential emergency assistance, and provide access to clean drinking water, treatment for malnourished children and life-saving sexual and reproductive health services. The UK remains committed to supporting those most in need in this critical humanitarian situation. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be allocated in future years will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors, including impact assessments.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide for programmes to help tackle global hunger in each of the next five financial years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The impact of the reduction in UK Official Development Assistance from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent in 2027 is being worked through. Announcements on allocations will be made following the completion of the ongoing Spending Review and departmental resource allocation processes. We will continue to advocate for action on global hunger, including through multilateral forums such as the G7, the G20, and as vice-chair of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.