Tag: Lord Boateng

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for humanitarian assistance in Burundi and the potential role of the churches in meeting the needs of Burundian refugees and internally displaced persons.

Baroness Verma

The UK is gravely concerned about the ongoing political and human rights crisis in Burundi. Reported abuses by security forces against civilians are deplorable. All allegations should be investigated and those responsible held accountable. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed at increasing signs of ethnic targeting which is very concerning and is being monitored. DFID is coordinating closely with the Foreign Office on the situation as well as with international partners including the African Union.

The humanitarian situation in Burundi itself is not critical at this stage, but it remains fragile and will deteriorate as long as the political crisis continues. DFID will continue to assess whether humanitarian assistance is required within the country. At the same time, our teams in Tanzania, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda, are working hard providing humanitarian support to Burundian refugees. The UK has committed £18.15 million for the refugee response being led by UN agencies, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and international NGOs. This funding includes £14.25 million to support refugees in Tanzania, and £3.9 million to support refugees in Rwanda. We are keeping our funding levels under constant review according to need. We have deployed a humanitarian adviser to the region to support the regional refugee response and we have provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi. This includes support to the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi.

DFID recognises that churches and faith groups can have great legitimacy and a wide reach, and therefore can make an important contribution to both refugees and internally displaced persons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the Global Fund in the fight against Malaria.

Baroness Verma

The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has played a critical role in the fight against malaria. To date, it has invested $7 billion to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. Between 2002 and 2015, this support has helped distribute approximately 600 million mosquito nets and treated over 515 million cases of malaria. Given that the Global Fund contributes 58% of all international finance for malaria, it has played an important role in helping reduce deaths from the disease by 48% between 2000-2014.

With 1 in 10 child deaths in Africa still caused by malaria, the UK recognises that more needs to be done to tackle this deadly, but preventable disease. That is why earlier this year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State committed that the UK would spend £500 million a year to help tackle malaria. This support will contribute towards reducing the death rate from malaria by 90% by 2030.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the state of the rule of law in Burundi, the need for security sector reform and the role of development assistance in addressing any deficits in this regard.

Earl of Courtown

The UK is deeply concerned by the situation in Burundi. At least 130 people were killed in December 2015 alone. We are aware of 250 cases of torture/ill treatment and 13 documented cases of sexual violence. The UK has also been deeply concerned to hear of allegations that the police and the Burundian ruling party’s youth league are involved in the violence, including sexual violence. These reports demonstrate that the rule of law is in a fragile state in Burundi.

Given this, there is a critical need for security sector reform (SSR) in Burundi. The African Union (AU) has authorised a protection mission to Burundi if Burundian consent is obtained. If the mission is deployed the UK will provide financial and logistical support. However, the UK’s current focus is to see progress in the Ugandan-mediated East African Community dialogue. Without dialogue, SSR will bear little fruit.

The UK does not currently have a bilateral aid programme with Burundi; however, the Department for International Development is providing £18.15 million to support Burundian refugees in the region, making the UK the second largest contributor to the humanitarian effort after the US.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Burundi in mid-December 2015 where he pressed the Government to engage in inclusive dialogue to end the violence. He again pressed the Foreign Minister for action when they met at the recent AU Summit. The summit also provided an opportunity to lobby a range of AU members on the importance of regional leadership in resolving the situation in Burundi.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of resourcing from the international community needs to be applied to meet the Global Fund’s target of saving an additional eight million people at risk of dying from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Baroness Verma

The investment case for the Fifth Replenishment of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) projects that a successful replenishment of $13bn will enable the Global Fund to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections over the period 2017-2019.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their contribution to multilateral development assistance to Burundi; and what is their assessment of the impact of this funding.

Baroness Verma

The UK’s imputed share of multilateral net ODA to Burundi was £28.7 million in 2013, the latest year for which figures are available. DFID selects its partners on the basis of their ability to spend funds where they will have the greatest impact and DFID has rigorous systems in place to ensure that funds are spent effectively. The World Bank, for example, has a country-level results framework to track and manage progress and impact; currently over two-thirds of the outcome indicators for Burundi have already been achieved or are on-track to being achieved.

In addition to core funding to multilaterals, DFID also provides resources for multilateral organisations through bilateral and central programmes. A preparedness programme has enabled the UN and World Food Programme to assist up to 10,000 people in Burundi and to strengthen humanitarian coordination. Since the start of the crisis DFID has contributed £21 million to support the regional refugee response and DFID’s contribution to the Central Emergency Response Fund in Burundi is in excess of £2 million in 2016.

DFID is working with the EU, international financial institutions, UN Agencies and NGO community to review their support to Burundi and to ensure that humanitarian needs are met. DFID has a humanitarian adviser based in the region as well as advisers in the UK monitoring the situation in Burundi and ensuring that DFID funds are being spent in a way that achieves value for money for the UK taxpayer

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economies of the Caribbean and British Overseas Territories of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Earl of Courtown

We are already engaged with the Overseas Territories to capture the full range of interests they have in the EU, including the potential economic impact of any change in their relations with the EU. We will fully involve the devolved administrations, Gibraltar, the Crown Dependencies, the other UK Overseas Territories and all other regional centres of power, in accordance with their various constitutional relationships with the UK, to ensure that all of their interests are taken properly into account. In the meantime, the UK remains a member of the EU, and the full range of rights and obligations afforded under the Treaties still apply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of Burundi to the UK has been (1) called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss events in Burundi, and (2) met a minister.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Mr Deo Sindayihebura became the first Burundian Ambassador to the UK in May 2014. Until then the position was based in Paris. The most recent meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), and the Burundian Ambassador was on Wednesday 3 February.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have regular contact with Ambassadors and High Commissioners during their normal diplomatic duties. We do not hold central records of all such meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many full-time accredited diplomatic staff are employed in the British Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura; and of those, how many are not locally engaged, and what are their civil service grades.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura is a subordinate post, covered by our High Commission in Kigali. It has three full time locally engaged staff. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is seeking to appoint a full time accredited diplomatic officer to be based in Bujumbura. Our High Commissioner to Rwanda is accredited as the British Ambassador to Burundi while the Department for International Development Head of Office in Rwanda also covers Burundi. Full-time accredited diplomatic staff at our High Commission in Kigali and elsewhere in the region support political engagement with Burundian actors and visit Burundi regularly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the level of representation facilitated by the British Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura in the light of recent events in Burundi; and what consideration they have given, if any, to the upgrading of its status to that of a full diplomatic post.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The current security situation in Burundi has made it difficult for our locally engaged staff to provide the level of political representation that they have done in the past. We have responded by increasing the frequency of visits by diplomatic staff, within the security constraints. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), considered upgrading the level of diplomatic representation in December 2015, and he decided to recruit a full time Burundi coordinator based at our Embassy Liaison Office in Bujumbura. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in the process of appointing this officer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of the UK to Burundi (1) visited Bujumbura, and (2) met the President of Burundi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In 2014 our Ambassador visited Bujumbura on eight occasions and met with President Nkurunziza on three occasions.

In 2015 our Ambassador visited Bujumbura on seven occasions and met with President Nkurunziza on two occasions.

In 2016 our Ambassador has visited Bujumbura on one occasion so far.