Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many citizens of British Overseas Territories have requested consular assistance in Haiti in the last 12 months.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has provided consular assistance in 0 new cases to British Overseas Territories Citizens in Haiti in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to coordinate bilateral training for police and security forces in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is following closely the deteriorating political and security situation in Haiti and the impact this is having on the Haitian people. FCDO officials are engaged in the UN Security Council discussions on the security challenges facing Haiti and we continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and effective response in Haiti.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is providing overseas assistance to Haiti to help tackle flooding in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is contributing to relief efforts through the Start Fund: a UK-based, NGO-managed, multi-donor, pooled fund for humanitarian response. The Start Fund has allocated nearly £390k to ACTED, ActionAid and World Jewish Relief to carry out relief activities in Haiti. The UK is the largest donor to the Start Fund and also provides central contributions to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Office which is currently providing food assistance to over 30k affected people.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to provide support to help border forces in Turks & Caicos Police and Border to reduce illegal immigration.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are committed to supporting Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) with their efforts to protect their borders and tackle illegal migration and human trafficking. The UK Government is procuring a maritime surveillance aircraft to help them bolster their border security and funding work to introduce electronic borders. The UK Government is also working closely with international partners including the Haitian authorities to build a coordinated response that addresses the root causes of irregular migration from Haiti to TCI.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Haitian counterpart on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Rising instability in Haiti has led to increased numbers of people departing to nearby countries, including the UK Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The UK and TCI Governments are working with international partners including the Haitian authorities, and through our role on the UNSC, to build a coordinated response that addresses the root causes of irregular migration from Haiti to TCI. The UK continues to provide TCI with support to strengthen its borders, including through border security expertise and the lease of a maritime surveillance aircraft.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to support the (a) Dominican Republic and (b) Turks and Caicos islands with potential increased in the number refugees arriving in those countries from Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Rising instability in Haiti has led to increased numbers of people departing to nearby countries, including the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The UK is working with international partners, including the governments of the Dominican Republic and TCI, and through our role on the United Nations Security Council to build a coordinated response that addresses the root causes of irregular migration from Haiti. The UK continues to provide TCI with support to strengthen its borders, including through border security expertise and the lease of a maritime surveillance aircraft.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current political and security situation in Haiti, particularly the level of crime and gang violence in that country.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is following closely the deteriorating political and security situation in Haiti and the impact this is having on the Haitian people. We encourage international partners to work together to assist in Haitian-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of gang violence. UK officials are actively engaged in UN Security Council discussions on Haiti, including those on security. We will continue to work with our international partners to build a coordinated and coherent response.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the publication of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis which showed an increase in the number of acutely hungry people in Haiti, what discussions he has had with the World Food Programme on the situation in Haiti since the publication of that analysis.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Food security is a key priority for the UK Government as set out in the refresh of the Integrated Review (IR) published in March 2023. There is a rising global food security crisis in 2023 with 46 million people across 36 countries estimated to be living in famine or one step away from it. We are committed to working with our international partners to respond to this situation and engage regularly with the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of this. We are monitoring the situation in Haiti closely including through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to work with the United Nations to help with its March 2023 request for the deployment of an international specialised support force in Haiti.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is aware of the deteriorating security situation in Haiti and we encourage international partners to work together to assist in Haitian-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of gang violence. UK officials are actively engaged in UN Security Council discussions on Haiti, including those on security. We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure a coordinated and coherent response.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation in Haiti, following the assassination of the President in 2021 and the reported increase in lawless violence; whether they are consulting on this issue with the Organization of American States; and what information they have about the safety of Father Antoine Macaire Christian Noah who was kidnapped for ransom from his parish on 7 February.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK is following closely the deteriorating security situation in Haiti and the impact this is having on the Haitian people and attempts to return to political stability following the assassination of President Moise. We encourage all actors to work in cooperation with the international community to tackle these serious challenges. UK officials are in regular consultation with the Organisation of American States on this issue, and intervened at the meeting of the Permanent Council in February to discuss the situation in Haiti. We welcome recent news reports that Father Antoine Macaire is no longer captive.