Tag: Lord Chidgey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 12 February (HL5949), based on the UNHCR assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions, what is their estimate of (1) the number, and (2) the needs, of unaccompanied children from Sudan and South Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is not in a position to comment on the number or needs of unaccompanied children in particular countries. All asylum seeking children who arrive in the UK and are unaccompanied are referred to a local authority. Those local authorities hold responsibility for assessing their needs and providing services based on the outcome of the assessment.

The Government is clear about our moral responsibility to assist those who are suffering as a result of conflict and recognises that those fleeing persecution have a legal entitlement to protection. We worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to design and launch the ‘Children at Risk’ resettlement scheme. On the UNHCR’s recommendation, the scheme will not target unaccompanied children alone, but will be extended to all ‘Children at Risk’ as defined by the UNHCR who are in the Middle East and North Africa. We have committed to resettling several hundred individuals in the first year with a view to resettling up to 3,000 individuals over the lifetime of this Parliament, the majority of whom will be children.

As stated above, we cannot comment on the number of children in other countries. However, figures on asylum applications for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the UK are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015.

There were 142 applications for asylum from UASCs, excluding dependants, for nationals of Sudan during 2015. No such applications were received from nationals of South Sudan in 2015. UNHCR have published statistics on estimated numbers of children in countries, including South Sudan. These can be found at: http://data.unhcr.org/SouthSudan/regional.php.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has commissioned any research into migration to the EU from Horn of Africa nations, in the UK’s role as the Chair of the Khartoum Process.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

In response to the migration crisis, the Government is building its evidence base on the drivers and trends in migration flows. We are working with partners, including through the Khartoum Process, to obtain a more systematic quantitative and qualitative data on flows and drivers of migration in source, transit and destination countries.

The UK is funding data analysis and evidence review work by the International Organization for Migration and the Open Data Institute on migration into the EU through the central Mediterranean route. The UK has also funded work for research into criminal networks facilitating human trafficking and smuggling in the Horn of Africa.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Home Office has commissioned any research into migration to the EU from Horn of Africa nations, in line with the UK’s role as the Chair of the Khartoum Process.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

As Chair of the Khartoum Process, the UK supports enhanced work in the Horn of Africa, working with EU and African partners to deliver concrete actions to combat people smuggling and human trafficking. Helping the countries of the Horn of Africa cope with migratory flows and tackling the root causes of migration is firmly in the UK’s interests, but we remain mindful of the broader humanitarian and political concerns regarding countries in that region and our position on that point has not changed.

The Home Office conducted research in the Horn of Africa to understand drivers of irregular migration to Europe and the UK, in line with our work under the Khartoum Process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which African countries or regions the BBC World Service has switched from short wave transmission of their radio programmes from London via intermediate transmitters to in-country onward transmission from local FM stations, in each year from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The BBC World Service has advised that they maintained short wave broadcasts to Africa in all languages broadcast since 1999 except: •2010 – Swahili in Kenya •2011 – Portuguese in Southern Africa, primarily Mozambique.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that Regency Mining is undertaking mining operations in South Kordofan.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Regency Mines is a UK-registered company, which has operated agrominerals in Sudan. Following recent contact with the company, we understand that Regency Mines has no operations in South Kordofan, an area affected by conflict. More broadly, the United Kingdom advocates for the whole of the extractives industry to adopt the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, which provide guidance to companies operating in countries affected by conflict.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, alongside the current international intervention in the Central African Republic (CAR), they are ready to assist in the growth of economic activity and in building an effective public governance system that serves all CAR citizens, both Muslim and Christian.

Baroness Warsi

Together with other partners, our immediate priorities are to help de-escalate the levels of violence and ensure life-saving assistance is delivered to those in acute need. At the same time, we are working with international organisations such as the World Bank and the UN so that a longer-term strategy of economic recovery and effective governance is developed by these organisations to address the needs of all communities in the Central African Republic.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider assisting the international community in its fight against international trafficking originating from the Central African Republic, by creating a mechanism to fight against diamond, gold, and ivory trafficking and militarised poaching.

Baroness Warsi

International mechanisms to tackle illegal trafficking already exist, including the Kimberley Process to regulate the global trade in rough diamonds, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to protect endangered species. However, these are reliant of having an effective national government in the Central African Republic (CAR). To this end, our immediate priority is to de-escalate the levels of violence and improve the level of security, so that a legitimate government can be established in CAR with the support of the UN and other international organisations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will assist in the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for diamonds coming from the Central African Republic.

Baroness Warsi

The Government implements its commitments under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) in full. In order to maintain the integrity of the KPCS, the Central African Republic (CAR) was temporarily suspended from the KPCS in May 2013, preventing the possible introduction of rough diamonds produced in CAR into the legitimate diamond trade. This suspension was upheld in June 2014. It is likely to remain in place until the security situation in CAR improves significantly and the government of CAR is able to re-establish compliance with the KPCS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to deploy Stabilisation Unit experts to work as counterparts to the Central African Republic’s civil servants, to assist in financial, taxation and budgeting reform in that country.

Baroness Warsi

The UK will continue to work with and through international organisations, such as the World Bank and the UN, to ensure a coherent strategy for the Central African Republic, including on public financial management and public sector reform. We would be happy to consider the deployment of Stabilisation Unit experts to support the work of these international organisations, as necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to deploy the Stabilisation Unit to assist the G5 countries in providing capacity-building assistance to civil society organisations so that they can monitor public sector financial management in the Central African Republic.

Baroness Warsi

The UK will continue to work with and through international organisations, such as the World Bank and the UN, to ensure a coherent strategy for the Central African Republic, including on public financial management and public sector reform. We would be happy to consider the deployment of Stabilisation Unit experts to support the work of these international organisations, as necessary.