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1046301

registered interest
date	22/01/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Iraq: Christianity
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 January (HL12614), what assessment they have made of the comments of Chaldean Archbishop Habib Nafali of Basra that the Christian population of Iraq has reduced from around 1.5 million in 2003 to 250,000 in 2018.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL13010
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>The exact number of Christians in Iraq is difficult to confirm, as Iraq has not held a nationwide census in many years. The UK remains concerned by the decreasing number of Christians and we are firmly committed to protecting all ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq and the region. Minister Burt met with the Archbishop of Erbil during his recent trip to Iraq, and UK Embassy staff regularly meet with representatives of Christian and other minority communities to discuss their situation. We continue to raise the needs of these communities with the Government of Iraq. For example, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon reinforced the need to protect ethnic and religious minority communities with Iraqi Foreign Minister Al-Hakim in December 2018.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 05/02/2019 17:34:49 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1041191

registered interest
date	14/01/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	UN High Commissioner for Refugees
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a consistent policy on resettling asylum seekers who claim that atheism or religious beliefs will lead to their persecution if returned to their countries of origin; if they have found that it is not consistent, what steps they are taking to ensure it is; how many such claimants have submitted applications to the UNHCR in Thailand; and how long, on average, it takes for such applications to be processed.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2019 answer text <p>UNHCR is mandated to protect all refugees and other displaced persons, including those who fear persecution on the basis of religion. UNHCR’s procedures and criteria for determining refugee status include religious persecution, in line with the Refugee Convention. Where religious belief causes or heightens the risk a refugee faces, UNHCR will take this into consideration when assessing specific vulnerabilities, and determining the appropriate protection interventions (including but not limited to resettlement).</p><p> </p><p>HMG does not hold information on the number of asylum claims submitted to UNHCR in Thailand, or elsewhere; this information is held by UNHCR. Individual data is considered private and confidential and not normally shared with third parties (and never without the specific consent of the individual). Furthermore, UNHCR does not routinely identify or record beneficiaries by their religion where this has no bearing on their case. The reason for this is because there is a risk that collecting information about the ethnicity or religion of people receiving aid could be obtained by others, including extremist groups, and used to persecute them.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 28/01/2019 11:32:14 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1036971

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Pakistan: Christianity
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance they have provided to Christian groups in Pakistan in each year since 2009.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>UK aid prioritises support for the poorest and most excluded people and communities in Pakistan regardless of race, religion, social background or nationality. The UK supports the rights of all groups to follow their own religious faith and to live safe and secure lives. It is not possible to disaggregate our spending data by religion as we do not collect information on the religion of all our beneficiaries in country. We do however have a data disaggregation action plan which focuses on 4 key areas, disability, age, sex and geography. We do not currently have plans to collect data on religion as we recognise the risks associated with potentially revealing such sensitive information for religious minorities.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 21/01/2019 17:40:54 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1036972

registered interest
date	07/01/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Iraq: Christianity
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance they have provided to Christian groups in Iraq in each year since 2003.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>DFID has committed to providing humanitarian support to Iraq since 2003, including access to clean water, food, medicines, protection and other life-saving assistance, targeted towards the most vulnerable people. This support is provided on the basis of need, irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity, and in line with international humanitarian principles; it is therefore not possible to provide figures on assistance specifically provided to Christians or other religious group. The UK works closely with the Government of Iraq, the UN, humanitarian partners and minority representatives to support the rights of all minorities and to ensure our aid reaches those in the greatest need.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 21/01/2019 17:41:18 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1020030

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Pakistan: Overseas Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11513), how they (1) monitor, and (2) evaluate the success of programmes they fund in Pakistan; and what methods they use to check that aid provided is used for its intended purpose.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>DFID Pakistan uses a range of approaches to monitor and evaluate our programmes. Every programme within the portfolio is required to develop a comprehensive monitoring plan to enable assessment of whether the programme is achieving planned results. Programmes use different monitoring arrangements depending on the context, which include a range of internal approaches including field visits and annual reviews as well as independent, external monitoring arrangements. Programmes gather a broad range of evidence to support the management of their programmes and to facilitate robust assessment, including through formal evaluation. Evaluations are carefully selected to ensure their findings add as much value as possible.</p><p> </p><p>DFID has a zero tolerance approach to aid diversion. We have a rigorous set of standard controls and measures to protect UK aid and ensure it reaches those for whom it is intended and delivers results. Our programmes carefully consider aid diversion controls across the programme cycle. Partners are carefully selected and scrutinised to ensure they can manage and deliver the intended programme results. We ensure that the partners we fund apply similar controls and have effective safeguards in place to protect UK aid from being diverted.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/12/2018 16:41:28 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1020034

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	South Sudan: Armed Conflict
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people they estimate to have (1) fled the conflict in South Sudan, (2) been internally displaced in that country because of the conflict, and (3) died because of the conflict.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12010
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 4.7 million people have fled their homes as a result of the conflict, including nearly 2 million who have been internally displaced.</p><p>A report published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in September this year estimated that 383,000 South Sudanese people have died as a result of the conflict (either due to violence or the wider impact of the conflict on food security and health services) during the period December 2013 to April 2018.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/12/2018 16:41:56 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1020035

registered interest
date	04/12/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Overseas Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of official development assistance is distributed through faith-based organisations.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL12011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>UK official development assistance is distributed through a wide range of bilateral and multilateral partners. DFID does not disaggregate and retain specific information on funding distributed to faith-based organisations. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/12/2018 16:42:25 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1019259

registered interest
date	03/12/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Pakistan: Religious Freedom
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11515), what the AAWAZ Voice and Accountability Programme has achieved in Pakistan; how much that programme has cost; what assessment they have made of whether discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan is decreasing.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL11948
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>The AAWAZ Voice and Accountability Programme was a successful six-year, £39.1m programme which ended in May 2018. It reached over 8m people to increase the voice, choice and control of poor and excluded people in Pakistan. It included a focus on women and minorities to promote tolerance and inclusion. Beneficiary feedback from people who participated in interventions suggested a shift in attitudes towards minorities. Programme reports with results and assessments are available on DFID’s development tracker website.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/12/2018 16:00:42 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1019260

registered interest
date	03/12/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Pakistan: Minority Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 27 November (HL11514), whether they intend to collect disaggregated population data on minority groups in Pakistan to establish whether UK aid reaches those groups; when they last raised the issue of inclusion of minorities with the government of Pakistan; and what response, if any, they received.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL11949
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>DFID has developed a data disaggregation action plan to help strengthen our understanding of whom and where people are, or are at risk of, being left behind and the analysis of why. The action plan sets out the initial practical steps that we will take to move the agenda forward within our own organisation and through the global system, focusing on four key levels of disaggregation - sex, age, disability status and geography. We have focused on these four in the first instance to reorient our approach and raise our ambition, which over time will ensure DFID is better equipped to disaggregate in a number of ways, including by minority group. DFID and FCO continue to raise the issue of human rights of minorities at the highest levels with the Government of Pakistan, including in our annual Bilateral Assistance Talks, advocating greater tolerance and action against abuses when they occur.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 17/12/2018 16:03:37 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1014628

registered interest
date	26/11/2018
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Burma: Conflict Resolution
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much, in total, the UK has provided in aid funding to the government of Burma for the peace process in Burma since 2015.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL11768
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>The UK supports the peace process in Burma through the Joint Peace Fund and the Joint Monitoring Committee.</p><p> </p><p>The UK has provided GBP £5.4 million to the Joint Peace Fund (JPF) since 2015. The JPF is funded by 11 international donors and supports all parties to the peace process on peacebuilding measures such as dialogue and negotiation. Of the £5.4m provided by the UK, £283,000 has been provided to the government of Burma. The UK has also provided £136,000 to the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The JMC was set up by the Burmese authorities and the signatory groups to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement to oversee dialogue between parties.</p><p> </p><p>DFID’s peacebuilding programme is reviewed annually, as is all support to the peace process.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 05/12/2018 17:22:37 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool