Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political situation in Yemen; and whether they support autonomy or separation for south Yemen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis. The Yemeni parties must engage constructively and in good faith to overcome obstacles and find a political solution to end the conflict.
The issue of governance arrangements for southern Yemen is ultimately a question for the Yemeni people. The UK position - and that of the UN Security Council – is to support the unity, sovereignty and independence of Yemen. It is likely however that a greater degree of autonomy for all Yemen's regions, including the south, will be required to promote stability, as agreed in the National Dialogue outcomes. We urge all Yemeni groups to pursue political aspirations through peaceful dialogue and to refrain from violence.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances, if any, they have received from the government of Saudi Arabia that, in response to the statement by the UN Security Council of 15 March 2016, that government will negotiate directly with Houthi leaders in Yemen without preconditions and in a way that ensures the participation of women and other under-represented groups at all levels of society.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A negotiated political settlement through inclusive intra-Yemeni dialogue is the only way to end the Yemeni conflict and address the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and we continue to work with all our Yemeni, regional and international partners in support of this goal. As the 15 March UN Security Council Presidential Statement made clear, this will require the full involvement of women and other under-represented groups to ensure that the process goes beyond politics and reflects the aspirations of all Yemenis.
The imperative of reaching a political solution to the conflict in Yemen was agreed in the Joint Declaration by the UK and Saudi Arabia during the visit of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in March. The Joint Declaration expressed the UK's and Saudi Arabia's strong support for the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, and our resolve to work together closely to achieve a political solution.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps her Department is taking to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is the third-largest humanitarian donor to Yemen, with £205 million this financial year. This provides enough food for 3.4 million people for at least a month, nutrition support for 1.7 million people, and clean water and sanitation for an expected 1.2 million people. We play a leading role in lobbying all sides to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for International Development:
What steps her Department is taking to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is the third-largest humanitarian donor to Yemen, with £205 million this financial year. This provides enough food for 3.4 million people for at least a month, nutrition support for 1.7 million people, and clean water and sanitation for an expected 1.2 million people. We play a leading role in lobbying all sides to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
Yemen is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The recent escalation in fighting and restrictions on commercial and humanitarian access threaten to push the country into catastrophic famine. The UN estimates that almost 18 million people in Yemen do not have reliable access to food and over 8 million people face extreme food shortages.
The International Development Secretary visited Djibouti and Saudi Arabia in December, where she announced a further £50 million in life-saving UK aid to provide food and fuel for millions of people. This announcement increased our support to Yemen to £205 million overall for this financial year (2017/18) making us the third-largest humanitarian donor to Yemen overall and the second-largest to the UN Humanitarian Appeal.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Saudi-led Coalition continues to seek to reinstate the legitimate government in Yemen and defend its own southern border against artillery and missile strikes by Houthi forces and those allied to former President Saleh. The conflict sees skirmishes and sporadic fighting in a number of areas in western Yemen, including along the Saudi border, around Midi, north east of Sana'a and in the vicinity of Sirwah. We remain concerned by the ability of terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda and Daesh to exploit ungoverned spaces in Yemen. The conflict has also resulted in security threats to international shipping in the Bab-el-Mandeb. Reinstating peace talks remains the top priority: a political solution is the best way to bring stability to Yemen and address the worsening humanitarian crisis. The UK continues to play a leading role in international efforts to achieve this goal. The Yemeni parties must engage constructively and in good faith to find a political solution to end the conflict.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Saudi-led Coalition continues to seek to reinstate the legitimate government in Yemen and defend its own southern border against artillery and missile strikes by Houthi forces and those allied to former President Saleh. Sporadic fighting is taking place in western Yemen, including along the Saudi border, around Midi, north east of Sana'a and in the vicinity of Sirwah. We remain concerned by the ability of terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda and Daesh to exploit ungoverned spaces in Yemen. The conflict has also resulted in security threats to international shipping in the Bab-el-Mandeb. Restarting peace talks remains the priority: a political solution is the best way to bring stability to Yemen and address the worsening humanitarian crisis. The UK continues to play a leading role in international efforts to achieve this goal. The Yemeni parties must engage constructively and in good faith to find a political solution to end the conflict.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Yemen.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The security situation in Yemen remains a concern. The conflict continues to have a grave impact on the civilian population and makes humanitarian access and delivery of aid in to and within Yemen extremely difficult.
A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability. The UK is playing a leading role in diplomatic efforts, supporting the UN Special Envoy’s tireless efforts to achieve this. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), met his Quint counterparts from Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US and UN in Bonn on 16 February.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings have taken place between Ministers of his Department and Ministers of governments which support the current government of Yemen since January 2016; and in how many such meetings was the civil war in Yemen discussed.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
As set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2216, President Hadi and his government are the legitimate authority in Yemen, and the UK regularly discusses the situation in Yemen with international partners including at Ministerial level. Most recently during the UN General Assembly week in New York, I hosted two meetings on Yemen which involved Gulf Foreign Ministers, the US and the UN Special Envoy for Yemen. The UK remains committed to finding a political resolution to the current conflict and to foster peace and stability for all Yemenis.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with (a) her international counterparts, (b) international organisations and (c) NGOs on the situation in Yemen.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The UK is playing a leading role in responding to the crisis in Yemen. DFID Ministers regularly have discussions with international counterparts, organisations, and NGOs on the situation in Yemen. The World Humanitarian Summit in May was obviously a key moment for such discussions.
Senior officials also have regular discussions on the situation in Yemen. Mark Lowcock, DFID Permanent Secretary, recently discussed the humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen with international counterparts on 11 July, at the annual Tidewater conference of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development (OECD-DAC).