Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to assess the conflict risks associated with aid delivery in Somalia for (a) his Department, (b) other donors and (c) non-governmental aid delivery partners.

As part of our departmental approach to risk, we regularly assess the impact of conflict on UK aid programmes and partners in Somalia and how best to mitigate risks. As a leading donor, we also discuss conflict risk to humanitarian operations with other donors, the UN and non-governmental organisations.

The UK advocates at all levels of the Somali Government that military planning for security operations against al-Shabaab should minimise humanitarian impacts and that all security actors should respect International Humanitarian Law, including the protection of civilians. This approach aligns with the recently published UK humanitarian framework.

The UK supports stabilisation efforts in Somalia, for example through our Early Recovery Initiative, which works with local authorities, supports local political reconciliation and supports the immediate needs of vulnerable communities.