Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist in the protection of women and girls in the earthquake hit region of Northern Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK responded swiftly and committed a significant package of aid to address urgent humanitarian needs to those affected by the earthquake in Syria. This included funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support immediate needs around childbirth, midwifery and reducing risk of violence against women and girls and support to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for child protection activities. The UK has also delivered hygiene kits alongside other emergency relief items.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the (a) eligibility criteria, (b) prioritisation criteria and (c) guidance for caseworkers for pathway 2 of the ACRS scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under Pathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refer refugees who have fled Afghanistan to the scheme, based on an assessment of their protection needs and vulnerabilities.
UNHCR is responsible for out-of-country casework activity before individuals are referred to the Home Office.
The seven resettlement submission categories used by UNHCR are:
We are pleased to have welcomed the first arrivals to the UK under this pathway and we will continue to receive further referrals.
Further information on the referral process can be found on the UNHCR website: https://help.unhcr.org
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the Iranian Government respects the right to peaceful assembly and releases unfairly detained protesters.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Iran to account on a wide range of human rights issues, including the appalling treatment of children and women throughout Iran's brutal crackdown of protests. The UK supported the 24 November Human Rights Council resolution establishing a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations. We worked closely with partners to successfully remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The FCDO has called on Iranian authorities in multiple international fora to abide by its obligations under international law to release unfairly detained protesters.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what additional steps the Government is taking at the UN in respect of Iran and the violence, arrests, and detention of people taking part in recent protests in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Iran to account on a wide range of human rights issues, including the appalling treatment of children and women throughout Iran's brutal crackdown of protests. The UK supported the 24 November Human Rights Council resolution establishing a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations. We worked closely with partners to successfully remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The FCDO has called on Iranian authorities in multiple international fora to abide by its obligations under international law to improve the practices surrounding children in detention.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to call for the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism by the United Nations into the civil protests in Iran.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK co-sponsored the Human Rights Council resolution to establish a UN investigation into human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime during recent protests. This passed at a Special Session of the Council on 24 November. The UK also worked closely with the US on removing Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which was achieved on 14 December. We continue to press Iran at every opportunity over its brutal suppression of protests in Iran.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the role of the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports the UN Special Envoy (UNSE) for Myanmar. It is vital the UNSE is able to fulfil her mandate and engage with all stakeholders, including the democratic opposition. We regularly work with the UNSE, most recently on 30 November by co-chairing a Women, Peace and Security roundtable to amplify the voices of Myanmar Civil Society Organisations.
Asked by: Tony Lloyd (Labour - Rochdale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2021, published 12 April 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the trends in the level of funding for (a) reproductive health programmes and (b) the United Nations Population Fund's thematic programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to promoting and defending comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and to working with our partners to drive progress. Family planning is an important part of our programming on reproductive health. At the 2017 Family Planning Summit, the UK committed to spend an average of £225 million on family planning each year to 2022. The UK has exceeded that commitment, spending an average of approximately £246 million on family planning every year between April 2017 and March 2022. The UK continue to be an important partner and significant funder of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The FCDO works closely with HM Treasury to ensure that aid spend is directed towards our priorities in line with the International Development Strategy, meeting the UK Government's commitment to spend 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on Official Development Assistance until the fiscal situation allows a return to 0.7%. Comprehensive SRHR is integral to achieving the commitments in the International Development Strategy on women and girls and global health.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will set out the Government's position on the forthcoming vote in the United Nations on Iran's membership of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through its actions, words and repression of women's rights, Iran has proven it is not fit to sit on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The UK fully supports the United States' proposal to seek Iran's removal from the CSW, and will do what we can, together with our partners, in support of this. On 24 November, the UK supported a successful Human Rights Council resolution to establish a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations during the protests.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking at the United Nations to prevent any human rights violations by the government of Iran in that country, and to support the upholding of the rights of women.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Mahsa Amini's death is a shocking reminder of the repression faced by women in Iran. On 14 November the UK sanctioned 24 leading political and security officials in Iran for their role in the brutal crackdown on protests, which included unacceptable violations of the rights of women and girls. This followed our earlier sanctions against the Morality Police and other leading security figures. The UK continues to urge Iran to improve its human rights record, including on women and girls, at all appropriate opportunities. The UK is also working with international partners to ensure Iran is held to account. On 24 November, the UK voted in support of the UN Human Rights Council's resolution to establish an investigation into human rights violations by the regime during the protests. We are also working with partners to ensure Iran is removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking (a) at the UN Security Council and (b) bilaterally to raise the issue of human right abuses against children occurring in Iran and on holding the perpetrators to account.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Iran to account on a wide range of human rights issues, including the appalling treatment of children throughout Iran's brutal crackdown of protests. The UK supported a successful Human Rights Council resolution to establish a UN investigation into the regime's appalling human rights violations. We are working closely with partners to remove Iran from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The FCDO has called on Iranian authorities in multiple international fora to abide by its obligations under international law to improve the practices surrounding children in detention.