Every parliamentary written question tabled by Laura Kyrke-Smith this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–11 of 11 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ratify the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
I refer the Hon Member to the response given to question 109027 on 5 February.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 60th ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty by Morocco in September 2025.
The government introduced legislation on 10 September to enable the UK to proceed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). I presented this bill for second reading in parliament on 16 October.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on tackling irregular migration to the UK.
The Foreign Secretary has made migration a top Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office priority. On 31 January, the Foreign Secretary travelled to Tunisia to see UK programming addressing the upstream drivers of migration. On 15 February, the Foreign Secretary met key European partners at the Munich Security Conference to discuss how to use sanctions to tackle people smuggling and Organised Immigration Crime.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of Official Development Assistance is spent on (a) fragile and (b) conflict-affected states.
In 2023, 64 per cent (£1.4 billion) of the of the UK's country-specific bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) was of scored to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) 2022 States of Fragility which provides a list fragile and conflict-affected states. This figure understates the true level as it does not include core contributions to multilateral organisations where funds cannot be directly tracked to benefitting countries. Additionally, this total does not include bilateral non-country specific ODA in the form of regional or centrally managed programmes, for which the beneficiary country cannot be individually identified.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support peacebuilding efforts by Israeli and Palestinian civil society.
This government has been clear; we are committed to pursuing a lasting solution to the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, including through achieving a two-state solution. We continue to support efforts to this end through our aid programmes, which assist civil society in Israel and Palestine on a range of issues, including peacebuilding and conflict resolution. We further support grassroots local peacebuilding efforts between Israeli and Palestinian civil society, for example on more inclusive and conflict-sensitive journalism.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Canadian counterpart on reports of anti-Hindu hatred in that country.
The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Joly engage regularly on a wide range of topics. They last spoke on 15 October. The UK will continue to work with its partners to tackle all forms of extremism to ensure the safety of our communities. We are clear that incitement of violence or hatred against individuals based on their religion or belief is unacceptable.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the right to freedom of religion in that country.
The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. In July, the Foreign Secretary and I expressed concern about the situation in Bangladesh and called for all sides to work together to end the violence. We support the independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations to identify human rights violations in Bangladesh.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Israeli counterpart on the death of Muhammed Bhar.
Whilst we have not raised this case specifically, the government does raise International Humanitarian Law compliance regularly with Israel. The Foreign Secretary last spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Katz on 02 October. This Government is clear that International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and civilians protected. The Foreign Secretary has raised issues of International Humanitarian Law compliance on several occasions with the Israeli government. We want to see an immediate ceasefire and we need the hostages returned immediately and unconditionally. We must see greater protection of civilians, a rapid increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and Israel to enable the UN and humanitarian agencies to be able to operate safely in Gaza.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all children in (a) Palestine and (b) Gaza have access to polio vaccination.
The UK convened the August 2024 emergency session of the UN Security Council to drive urgent action to address the risk of a polio outbreak in Gaza. We are supporting delivery through our funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), alongside our wider support to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary noted the importance of the full and effective delivery of the polio vaccination campaign in his statement to the House on 2 September. The UK continues to work with international partners to reinforce the importance of pauses in military operation to allow the delivery of the second vaccination campaign this month. The UK also funds Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is helping wider immunisation of children living in Gaza, the West Bank and within the Palestinian populations in Lebanon.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure access to (a) safe and (b) effective polio vaccines in conflict-affected areas.
The UK is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. The UK continues to be a supportive partner to the GPEI and will take every opportunity to ensure every child everywhere is safe from Polio, including in conflict-affected areas. The UK is engaging internationally to reinforce the importance of delivering the second polio vaccination campaign in Gaza this month. The UK is also one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Investing £1.65 billion from 2021 - 2025 to support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of essential childhood immunisations.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with (a) the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and (b) other multilateral organisations to help eradicate polio.
The UK is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), having contributed £1.4 billion since 1995. The UK continues to be a supportive partner to the GPEI and will take every opportunity to ensure every child everywhere is safe from Polio, including in conflict-affected areas. The UK is engaging internationally to reinforce the importance of delivering the second polio vaccination campaign in Gaza this month. The UK is also one of the largest donors to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Investing £1.65 billion from 2021 - 2025 to support eligible countries with polio vaccines as part of essential childhood immunisations.