Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic; and what support she is providing to that country.

The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic continues to take a distressing toll on the civilian population, compounding an already acute humanitarian situation. The UN estimates that in 2022 3.1 million people, or 63% of the population will need humanitarian assistance. The UK continues to make a significant humanitarian contribution, in 2020/21 this was £21 million.

The most important need continues to be security and the UK continues to work closely with international partners to support efforts to bring stability to the country. I spoke with President Touadéra on 1 November and underlined the UK's commitment to MINUSCA and the importance of an inclusive peace-building process. Last week the UK voted in support of renewing the mandate of the UN Multi-dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) for a further 12 months and makes an annual assessed contribution to MINUSCA (approximately £40 million per year).