Tag: Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussion they have had with the government of Burma to ensure that Rohingya are given full humanitarian access to camps, and the protection which enables them to return home or be given safe voluntary resettlement.

Baroness Verma

British Government Ministers take every appropriate opportunity to raise the plight of the Rohingya community with their Burmese counterparts. Most recently, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with the Burmese Foreign Minister in New York on 29 September. During his visit to Burma in July, Mr Swire travelled to Rakhine State to see the situation there at first hand, and raised the situation of the Rohingya at a senior level both in Rakhine and with Burmese central government ministers. The UK’s Deputy Head of Mission, accompanied by DFID officials, visited northern Rakhine State on 5-8 October and discussed freedom of movement for those in internally displaced person camps with Rakhine State Chief Minister, U Mya Aung.

DFID is one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine, and has provided over £18 million since 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the drought and food shortage in Ethiopia, and what support is being offered to those affected.

Baroness Verma

DFID has been following the evolution of the drought and its impact since the middle of 2015, working with the Government of Ethiopia, the UN system and other donors to compile and assess information on rainfall, production and food and non-food needs. On December 11th the Government and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) which assessed that 10.2 million people would need emergency food assistance in the first half of 2016 due to the effects of the drought. This is on top of the 8 million Ethiopians who are chronically food insecure, and who already receive multi-year support through the Government’s rural public works programme. 5.8 million people require assistance obtaining clean water, health and sanitation; and a projected 400,000 children will require treatment for severe malnutrition.

The UK Government has provided one of the earliest and largest packages of assistance to tackle the effects of the drought. In July, DFID provided £45 million to the response, which provided food to 2.3 million people; nutritional support to 258,000 severely malnourished children; and assistance to water, sanitation and health needs of the drought-affected communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the draft report by the UN panel of experts on Yemen, which documents major violations of international humanitarian law by all sides to the Yemen conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition.

Earl of Courtown

Although this is a leaked document, we are aware of the report which has not yet been published, and are looking at the conclusions carefully. We recognise the importance of the work of the UN Panel of Experts and take the allegations raised in the report seriously. The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the government of Burma plans to (1) protect resources in ethnic areas in Burma, and (2) press for a moratorium on large-scale extraction projects.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government of Burma’s term of office expires on 30 March. It will be for the incoming government, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), to formally announce its policies when it takes office. Resource issues will be a major issue for any new government. The NLD made a manifesto pledge to distribute the proceeds of resource extraction fairly, to address the issue of environmental degradation associated with this industry and to raise labour safety standards. The UK already supports work on public financial management in Burma. We have also actively supported Burma’s candidacy for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We stand ready to work with the incoming government on resource issues at its request.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of claims that women refugees who are in the UK (1) are not guaranteed female interviewers and interpreters who have been trained in sexual violence and trauma, (2) are not always provided with childcare during interviews, and (3) are not given adequate information about their rights.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

When an application for asylum is lodged, all asylum seekers are provided with information, in a range of languages, about the asylum process including appeal rights and other rights and responsibilities. In addition this leaflet, entitled ‘Information about your asylum application’, also includes details of where asylum seekers can obtain information about local legal advisers and local and national voluntary sector organisations who can provide assistance. For instance Asylum Help (part of Migrant Help), is funded by the Home Office and have a presence at many of the initial accommodation sites across the UK as well as providing a multi lingual website and freephone service offering confidential and impartial advice and guidance to adult asylum seekers and their dependants.

Since April 2015, female asylum seekers are guaranteed a female interviewer at their substantive asylum interview. In addition we also provide female interpreters where operationally possible. All asylum interview officers and decision makers receive training on gender issues during their initial training, this includes information about dealing sensitively with sexual trauma and violence.

Childcare facilities are currently provided in our Cardiff, Leeds and Solihull interview suites, with similar provisions soon to be made available in Glasgow and Liverpool. We are working towards tendering a national childcare contract to enable facilities to be made available in all our asylum casework hubs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Eritrean nationals were required to pay fees for their asylum appeals in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

In answer to Questions HL329 and HL331, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8090.

In answer to Question HL330, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8089.

In answer to Question HL332 and HL333, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 11/05/2016 for Questions HL8091 and HL9092.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Burma about restoring the citizenship rights of the Rohingya people.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have long advocated for action to tackle the problems of Rakhine for the benefit of all communities, and to end the mistreatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority. We therefore welcome the establishment of the new Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Alok Sharma), issued a statement to this effect on 25 August. On 14 September he also held a telephone conversation with Mr Annan in which he conveyed in person the UK’s strong support for his appointment and mandate. We are clear that this is a Burmese conceived and led initiative, and that is as it should be. The UK is providing funding to support the work of the Kofi Annan Foundation. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) also discussed the Annan Commission on 12 September with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy regarding the licensing of arms, including British-made military aeroplanes, to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition which is conducting airstrikes in Yemen.

Lord Maude of Horsham

All licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Export Licensing Criteria. A licence would not be granted if to do so would be a breach of the Criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of people, including children, who continue to suffer the consequences of predictable and preventable disasters globally, and what assessment they have made of the case for Disaster Risk Reduction being included in all development assistance programmes in high-risk countries.

Baroness Verma

DFID uses the global assessment undertaken by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology for Disasters (CRED). CRED estimates that in 2014 107.3 million people were affected by disasters caused by natural hazards such as drought, earthquakes and floods. A DFID funded report recognises that, although there is limited available data, women and children are disproportionately affected by disasters.

In 2012 DFID undertook a study which highlighted the case to invest in measures to build resilience to natural hazards, including Disaster Risk Reduction. The study proved that investing in disaster resilience in advance of shocks or in the early stages of a crisis saves lives and is more cost-effective than humanitarian aid provided after a disaster strikes. It found that, for instance, in Kenya, over a 20 year period, every $1 spent on disaster resilience resulted in $2.90 saved in the form of reduced humanitarian aid, avoided losses and development gains. Since 2011 DFID has undertaken a process to embed disaster resilience in all our country programmes, resulting in the inclusion of disaster risk reduction when appropriate. The Political Champions for Resilience Group has ensured building resilience has been institutionalised in donors, aid agencies and national governments. Strengthening resilience and response to crises is one of the four priorities of the 2015 UK Aid Strategy, Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have regarding claims that UN member states are seeking to minimise the number of Sustainable Development Goal indicators, possibly eliminate the Female Genital Mutilation target, and retain the current restriction of measuring Female Genital Mutilation only in relevant countries”.”

Baroness Verma

The UK has continually championed the inclusion of a global goal on gender and the inclusion of a target on ending harmful practices with indicators on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM). With others, we resisted a proposed qualifier which would have restricted the measurement of FGM to ‘relevant countries only’. We anticipate this indicator will remain, and apply to all countries, when the report and indicators are approved by the UN Statistical commission in mid-March.