Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to protect vulnerable people in refugee camps.

The UK is strongly committed to the protection of refugees, all of whom are vulnerable, including those in camps.

DFID provides support to refugees in camps through several agencies, including the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). A significant component of our support to refugees is focussed on protection. For example, a third of the UK’s recent £70m allocation for the response to the current Rohingya crisis is being spent on protection. Amongst refugees, some people have specific vulnerabilities. The UK has policy frameworks to address multiple vulnerabilities in challenging contexts, including refugee camps. In the Rohingya crisis response, this includes; women’s centres, children’s safe areas, emergency nutrition and midwifery care, and support for survivors of gender based violence.

More broadly, in July this year, the UK co-hosted the Global Disability Summit where humanitarian agencies made ambitious commitments on disability in humanitarian settings. This month DFID galvanised the support of all the major international donors – covering 90 per cent of global aid to commit to worldwide standards on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.