Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support the freedom of the press reporting on the Israel Hamas war in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We recognise the valuable role of journalists operating on the ground in Gaza, providing important coverage of the conflict in incredibly challenging circumstances. On 5 December, the UK supported a joint statement of the Media Freedom Coalition expressing concern over the repercussions for the safety of journalists and access to information due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. We continue to call for the protection of journalists and media workers.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to make representations to his Israeli counterpart against the military operation in Rafah.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We are clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support international partners with ceasefire discussions between Israel and Hamas.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is doing all it can to reach a long-term solution to this crisis, including by calling for the immediate release of all hostages and continuing to support a deal which would secure a pause in the fighting.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps with international partners to (a) press Pakistan to stop deportation of Afghan people and (b) develop a longer-term strategy on the situation in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK is closely monitoring Pakistan's policy on the deportation of Afghans and ministers have raised it most recently with Pakistan's Minister of Human Rights and Deputy Prime Minister. We are working with a number of international partners, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the World Bank to ensure Pakistan adheres to its international human rights obligations with respect to those affected. Since September 2023, we have committed £18.5m to the IOM to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable returnees in Afghanistan. We are also grateful for Pakistan's continued co-operation over our Afghan resettlement schemes.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make diplomatic representations to his Israeli counterparts to ensure the Rafah crossing remains open and the flow of aid continues.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We remain deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah. Over half of Gaza's population, including 600,000 children, are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it.
Entry points for humanitarian aid, including Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate, uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, especially the entry of fuel, and ensure the protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah.
We are clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.
The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. We must then work with our international partners to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help ensure Israel takes steps to protect civilians and humanitarian aid workers in Rafah.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We remain deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah. Over half of Gaza's population, including 600,000 children, are sheltering in the area, and the Rafah crossing is vital to ensure aid can reach the people who so desperately need it.
Entry points for humanitarian aid, including Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate, uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, especially the entry of fuel, and ensure the protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah.
We are clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.
The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. We must then work with our international partners to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to help ensure there is a continued supply of fuel into Gaza, in the context of Israel’s closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We have been clear that entry points for humanitarian aid, including Rafah and Kerem Shalom, must be reopened quickly to allow aid in. Israel must facilitate immediate uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, including the entry of fuel, and ensure protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah.
The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has pressed these points with the Israeli Government.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to food in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We continue to have grave concerns around humanitarian access in Gaza. Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis and there is an urgent need to get more aid to the people of Gaza to prevent a famine.
We have seen an encouraging increase in the number of aid trucks getting into Gaza and some World Food Programme aid has now moved from Ashdod Port into Gaza, but more needs to be done. We must see further action to ensure more aid actually gets over the border. We need progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.
Aid will also not make a difference unless it can be properly and safely distributed. Guaranteed deconfliction for aid convoys and aid workers, and for other humanitarian work is essential.
The UK is playing a leadership role in alleviating that suffering. We trebled our aid commitment in the last financial year, and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what diplomatic representations he has made to Israel on allowing 500 aid trucks a day to enter Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The Government maintains a regular and intensive dialogue with Israeli counterparts on issues relating to all aspects of the conflict, including Israel's commitments to increase aid into Gaza. The Prime Minister last spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu on the 30 April, whilst the Foreign Secretary travelled to the region 17 April, where he met with President Herzog, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Katz.
The Government has been clear that, whilst we have seen an increase in the number of aid trucks getting into Gaza, more needs to be done. We need to see progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps his department is taking to help reopen the Adre crossing in Sudan.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We condemn in the strongest terms the decision of the Sudanese Armed Forces to close the crossing point at Adré to humanitarian supplies, which is putting at risk the lives of even more people in Darfur. The UK is doing all we can to press for this further serious restriction on humanitarian access to be urgently lifted. On 27 February, we called for the UN Security Council to convene for a closed consultation in response to this. On 20 March, the Security Council heard a briefing on OCHA's White Note, at which the UK underlined OCHA's warning that obstruction of humanitarian access by the SAF and RSF is resulting in people in Sudan starving. Using starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by international humanitarian law. In March, I visited the Chad/Sudan border and met with some of the 700,000 refugees who have fled conflict and hunger. I reaffirmed the UK's commitment to the people of Sudan and announced a near doubling of UK ODA to Sudan for this year, increasing to £89 million.