Speeches by Harding.

“Israel’s expansion of military activity in Gaza, including a strike on UN medical facilities, displacement of civilians and the Defence Minister’s new proposal to seize large swathes of territory is gravely disturbing. It seems that international humanitarian law is being violated. This week’s reports that the Israel D…”

“We had testimony from an NGO working in Sudan that the mistake was that we treated the war in Sudan as a governance crisis, not an atrocity crisis. It speaks to what you are saying, which is that there is a huge amount of gender violence and conduct in Sudan, for example, without the voice of gender conflict coming to …”

“That is very interesting. We are interested in it from a UK perspective, where a lot of this just gets bundled up into one thing. Therefore, we must separate it, as you have done.”

“I am worried that what you just said muddies the narrative slightly, that people want to move for economic reasons rather than some having to move because of humanitarian disasters.”

“I want to scrutinise what you said a bit more, that people migrate more when wages rise or development increases. It is important, isn’t it, to separate those who migrate because of humanitarian disaster, who are moved within or without the country and then come back? It is important to separate them when we are doing …”

“Thank you. My question picks up on your point, Louis, about the diaspora and the role they play in increasing private sector investment in their country of origin.”

“Can I push you on that point? I remember from before these most recent cuts, speaking at this Committee and asking, “Do they trust us? Do the countries where we are operating trust us?” They said, now they do, and now they are starting to—pretty much as you have said. Now that this second round of cuts has come in, has…”

“Can I follow up on Myanmar? It is not the only humanitarian disaster, but it is the most sudden since both of those aid cuts have happened. What has been the impact of the USAID cuts on that situation? I know that the US response was slower, comparatively, than usual, but has there been a comparative funding element to…”

“On that point, the ODA from which donor country?”

“That is very interesting. We are interested in it from a UK perspective, where a lot of this just gets bundled up into one thing. Therefore, we must separate it, as you have done.”

“I am worried that what you just said muddies the narrative slightly, that people want to move for economic reasons rather than some having to move because of humanitarian disasters.”

“I want to scrutinise what you said a bit more, that people migrate more when wages rise or development increases. It is important, isn’t it, to separate those who migrate because of humanitarian disaster, who are moved within or without the country and then come back? It is important to separate them when we are doing …”

“We had testimony from an NGO working in Sudan that the mistake was that we treated the war in Sudan as a governance crisis, not an atrocity crisis. It speaks to what you are saying, which is that there is a huge amount of gender violence and conduct in Sudan, for example, without the voice of gender conflict coming to …”

“Can I push you on that point? I remember from before these most recent cuts, speaking at this Committee and asking, “Do they trust us? Do the countries where we are operating trust us?” They said, now they do, and now they are starting to—pretty much as you have said. Now that this second round of cuts has come in, has…”

“Can I follow up on Myanmar? It is not the only humanitarian disaster, but it is the most sudden since both of those aid cuts have happened. What has been the impact of the USAID cuts on that situation? I know that the US response was slower, comparatively, than usual, but has there been a comparative funding element to…”

“Thank you. My question picks up on your point, Louis, about the diaspora and the role they play in increasing private sector investment in their country of origin.”

“On that point, the ODA from which donor country?”

“The Sensory Smart Child in my constituency does fantastic work providing vital therapies for 115 adopted children and their parents, but 77 of those children were unable to secure a temporary extension in support while the Government considered the future of the adoption fund, and that caused huge trauma for the famili…”

“I share the grief expressed by the whole House for the people of Myanmar. It is heartbreaking that a country that has already suffered four years of brutal civil war now faces further devastation. I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s announcement of £10 million to support the emergency response. It is vital that t…”

“It is still a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. As I was saying, driven by spreading conflict, worsening climate change and the disruption of the pandemic years, the number of those suffering from malnutrition has risen by 150 million in five years. At this moment, we have a broader challenge. The …”