Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency's for Palestine Refugees in the Near East of reports that Palestinian school textbooks contain content which incites violence; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK recognises the UN Relief and Works Agency’s (UNWRA) unique mandate to support Palestinian refugees until a lasting political settlement is reached which determines their final status. Until that time, the UK will continue to meet humanitarian need and promote regional security by supporting the 5 million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East through UNRWA. Our contribution to UNRWA last year helped provide education to more than 530,000 children (half girls), health services for over 3 million people, and social assistance for over 250,000 of the most vulnerable people.
Students in all UNRWA schools are taught the curriculum of their host country. UNRWA reviews host country textbooks and when problematic material is identified, develops alternative content and provides its teachers with support to ensure that the lessons taught in its schools promote tolerance and peace. The International Development Secretary spoke to the Palestinian Minister of Education in February to emphasise this point and encourage the Palestinian Authority to remove all inappropriate material from textbooks.
Asked by: Richard Burden (Labour - Birmingham, Northfield)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which international partners will take part in the review of books included in the Palestinian Authority's curriculum.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
We cannot yet provide further public information on which international partners have joined the independent review. Our international partners are currently concluding their contracting with the service provider, and do not wish to publicise their involvement at this time. Work commissioned by the UK on the inception report has already begun; our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged and we will publish findings by September 2019. We will inform interested parliamentarians of further details as soon as possible.
The UK government is deeply concerned about allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it has been a priority for the Secretary of State for the Department for International Development to commission an independent, impartial and rigorous review of the PA’s textbooks. We are pleased that after calls by the UK government for international action, a group of international partners - including the UK - will lead a review into the books included in the PA’s pilot curriculum. The PA Minister for Education Sabri Saidam has confirmed that he will engage constructively with the findings of the review, and listen to recommendations.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2019 to Question 209284 on Palestinians: Schools, whether her Department has commissioned the study into the new Palestinian textbooks.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it remains a priority for the Department for International Development (DFID) to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. Our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged. We expect to be able to announce our partners in the review and the start of work on this project shortly. We cannot yet provide further information owing to ongoing commercial discussions, but we will inform interested parliamentarians as soon as possible. In the interim, we are continuing to raise our concerns about incitement in education, which I did personally at a meeting with the Palestinian Education Minister in January 2019.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2018 to Question 200063 on Palestinians: Schools, whether her Department has commissioned the study into the new Palestinian textbooks referred to in that answer.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it remains a priority for the Department for International Development (DFID) to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. I personally will be meeting with the PA’s Minister for Education to discuss these issues this week. Our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged. We will publish findings from the review by September 2019. The UK has been convening discussions with potential international partners on commissioning the review together, in order to increase the impact of the study. We will commission the review once we have concluded these discussions. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 171641 on Palestinians: Schools, whether her Department has commissioned the study into the new Palestinian textbooks.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK government is deeply concerned about the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) new curriculum and it remains a priority for the Development for International Development (DFID) to commission an independent review of the PA’s textbooks. We are also continuing to raise our concerns about incitement, which the Minister did himself at a meeting with the Palestinian Education Minister earlier this year. Last week, on 4th December, DFID officials met the PA Minister for Education and raised UK concerns over specific examples in the IMPACT-SE report.
Our timeline for the textbook review remains unchanged. We will complete the review by September 2019. The UK has been convening discussions with potential international partners on commissioning the review together, in order to increase the impact of the study. We will commission the review in the new year once we have concluded these discussions. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165444 on Palestinians: Television, what information her Department holds on the steps that have been taken by the Palestinian Authority in response to the UK government's raising of the issue of incitement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has taken action to help address concerns raised. This has recently included piloting new textbooks, and confirming their commitment to engaging seriously with the findings of an independent review of the PA curriculum. I continue to press the Palestinian Authority on these issues.