Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2022 to Question 127358 on Multilateral Aid: Forced Labour, what assessment her Department has made of the likelihood of Uyghurs in situations of forced labour being able to report their concerns to the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is an independent complaints mechanism for people who believe they are affected by International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects. CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of Projects and Sub-Projects, and also carries out reviews of IFC compliance with its environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions where needed. Complaints are submitted in writing, may be presented in any language, and can be submitted electronically. CAO will maintain confidentiality upon receiving a complaint if requested to do so by the Complainant. The UK has confidence in the CAO, and has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK’s multilateral education ODA investments on improving learning outcomes for children in literacy and numeracy.
Answered by Vicky Ford
In May 2021, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) began a results review of the UK's support to global education between 2015-2020, during which time we supported at least 15.6 million children with quality education. The review will examine UK bilateral aid, as well as aid to two multilateral education funds (Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW)), and our multilateral aid to education via the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA). Publication of this review is expected in April 2022.
In addition, FCDO publishes annual reviews of UK support to the GPE and ECW online on our Development Tracker (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk), including progress with improving children's learning outcomes. Our 2021 annual review of GPE found that 70 percent of GPE partner countries with available data saw improvements in learning outcomes between 2015-16 to 2019-20. The review encouraged GPE, in future, to focus more on supporting and incentivising developing countries to use assessment systems to generate more and better data on children's learning outcomes in countries receiving GPE funding.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2021 to Question 85317, which other 15 countries the UK supports bilaterally for foundational learning.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Our 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan set out the UK Government's commitment to improve basic education and focus on foundational learning for all. This is reflected in our bilateral programmes globally, which work to improve teaching, strengthen systems and support the most marginalised children, especially girls. This includes bilateral programmes to improve basic education in Pakistan, Lebanon, Tanzania, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, DRC, Myanmar, Jordan, Syria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Kenya and Afghanistan.
We are shining a spotlight on the learning crisis internationally and improving ways of working at the country level by building a new Coalition on Learning with likeminded partners to emphasise the urgency of getting children's learning on track after two years of school closures. We are calling on all governments to keep schools open and to scale up efforts to get girls into school, assess children's learning levels and support children to catch up on learning by prioritising the basics.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
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 ensure that UK taxpayer funding provided to the International Finance Corporation is not used to support companies benefiting from forced labour.
Answered by Amanda Milling
The UK remains committed to tackling the issue of Uyghur forced labour in global supply chains, working with our international partners. The International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Performance Standard 2 defines IFC clients' responsibilities for managing labour and working conditions, and precludes the IFC from supporting clients which employ forced labour. People affected by IFC projects can register complaints through the independent Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen. The UK has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding from the public purse provided to the International Finance Corporation is not used to support companies benefiting from forced labour.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)'s Performance Standard 2 defines IFC clients' responsibilities for managing labour and working conditions, and precludes the IFC from supporting clients which employ forced labour. People affected by IFC projects can register complaints through the independent Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsmen. The UK has been working with the IFC and other development finance institutions to develop stronger safeguards to reduce the risk of forced labour in supply chains.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the condition of 18-year-old Amal Nakhleh, who has contracted covid-19 while held in administrative detention without charge by Israeli authorities since January 2021; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Officials from the British Embassy Tel Aviv raised Amal Nakhleh's case with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 27 January. We remain committed to encouraging the Government of Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding the treatment of detainees, including access to essential healthcare, and regularly raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reported deteriorating health condition of 18-year-old Amal Nakhleh who has been held in administrative detention by Israel since January 2021, if she will make representations to her Israeli counterpart to call for (a) the urgent provision of necessary healthcare for Amal’s autoimmune disease and for the treatment of covid-19 and (b) his immediate release.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Officials from the British Embassy Tel Aviv raised Amal Nakhleh's case with the Israeli Ministry of Justice on 27 January. We remain committed to encouraging the Government of Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding the treatment of detainees, including access to essential healthcare, and regularly raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has provided guidance to sporting representatives of Great Britain participating in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games on the exercise of fundamental human rights in that country.
Answered by Amanda Milling
We have provided specific advice to the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations, including in respect of security, Chinese law and society, to ensure Team GB and Paralympics GB are as well prepared as possible for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. We wish our athletes every success and they will continue to have our full support throughout the games. Officials in Beijing stand ready to provide consular assistance if needed.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which team within her Department has responsibility for identifying early warning signs of atrocity crimes; and if she will publish the criteria that team uses to make such an assessment.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The team leading on atrocity prevention in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's United Nations and Multilateral Department shares the following with their geographic departments to help them formulate policy in response to atrocity risks:
Reporting from the United Nations (UN). Non-sensitive reports are available on the internet;
Countries at Risk of Instability (CRI);
US Holocaust Memorial Museum Early Warning Project and other reports available in the public domain from Non-Governmental Organisations;
Analysis and assessments shared between Member States, at the UN and international fora.
The CRI process involves a quantitative and qualitative process to calculate a country's risk of instability by assessing the pressure on a country's government and the resilience of its institutions to withstand further pressures. It uses over 80 indicators including respect for human rights, respect for the law, displacement and political stability. It is an internal document for HMG use and there are no plans to publish the criteria.