Tag: Baroness Tonge

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will help to ensure that women have access to family planning throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

Baroness Verma

The importance of comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rightsbased Family Planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives.

We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions and will continue to do all we can to support their efforts. The Government is determined to support the international community in responding to the Zika virus. The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats like Zika. We are the second largest national funder of WHO and have also provided political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security DFID contributed £6.2 million to WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies which is available for the management of Zika.

Affected countries are working closely with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) which serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. PAHO and governments across the region are issuing information on the emerging Zika infection. DFID will keep under review its support to countries affected by Zika viral infections and along with other Government Departments we welcome the WHO emergency committee statement issued on Monday 1^st February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define the word illegal” with reference to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, to which Israel is a state party, prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into occupied territory. Consequently, settlements are illegal under international law. The UK’s position on the settlements is clear. They are illegal, present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two-state solution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued withholding of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, and whether they have determined why those bodies have been kept for so long.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have raised the withholding of bodies of suspected perpetrators of terrorist attacks on a number of occasions, at senior levels in the Israel National Security Council and with the Israel Defence Forces since the increase in violence in October.

We continue to urge both the Israelis and Palestinians to maintain calm and refrain from taking actions which could make peace more difficult to achieve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the demolition of the new school in Abu Nuwar (east of Jerusalem) which had been designed to increase the capacity of the existing school and kindergarten.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this particular demolition with the Israeli authorities. However our position is clear; demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and are (in all but the most exceptional of cases) contrary to international humanitarian law. We regularly raise the issue of demolitions with our Israeli counterparts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the creation of a Bible trail in East Jerusalem that entails demolishing Palestinian homes to make way for it.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There has been a significant increase in Israeli demolitions since the start of 2016. While we have not raised this particular issue with government of Israel, we remain deeply concerned by Israel’s approach to demolitions, and regularly raise this with Israeli interlocutors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of video evidence of the killing of a wounded Palestinian in Hebron, what discussions they have had with EU partners concerning the accused soldier’s charge being reduced to manslaughter.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not raised this case with EU partners. We note that the Israeli Defence Forces have investigated and understand that trial proceedings started on Monday 9 May. The UK is deeply concerned by the terrible human cost, to both sides, of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents and we regularly raise these concerns with the Israeli government, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability. We make clear that every effort should be made to exclude the use of live fire.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the demolition by Israeli forces on 16 May of seven donor-funded residential containers and the confiscation of materials for another three in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Jabal al Baba.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We condemn the demolition of Bedouin homes at Jabal Al-Baba, which is a particularly vulnerable community in East Jerusalem. We have not specifically raised this issue, but we are extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv raises our concerns about demolitions regularly with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 15 May. We call on Israel to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether current female genital mutilation protection orders contain information on girls’ country of origin and nationality.

Lord Faulks

An application for an FGM protection order may include information in relation to the country of origin or nationality of the person to be protected if it is relevant to the application. This information would not necessarily be included in every application or order granted.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-07-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are supporting victims of rape in Rwanda.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

DFID places the empowerment of girls and women at the heart of all its programmes in Rwanda spending £4.6 million over the four years 2014-2018 on a programme aimed specifically at combatting the triggers of gender based violence. The Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey reported a 6.7% decrease between 2010 and 2015 in the number of women experiencing physical violence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Official Development Assistance was disbursed via non-grant financing mechanisms for sexual and reproductive health and family planning in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2013–14, (3) 2012–13.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

DFID primarily provides support in developing countries through grants to delivery partners. We work in the poorest countries, including fragile and conflict affected states, for whom non-grant options can pose more risk.

No DFID resources that are specifically disaggregated as supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights or family planning were provided via non-grant mechanisms during those periods. While we do support World Bank IDA, which is a non-grant source of finance, we believe it is important that countries establish their own priorities for spending these resources.