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752406

registered interest
date	17/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the freedom of information response issued by the Department for International Development (DfID) on 13 March which stated that “whoever needs our help the most gets it first”, what assessment they have made of the needs of religious minorities in Northern Iraq and Syria; whether those minorities fall within the definition of humanitarian assistance applied by UN agencies; what assessment they have made of claims by NGOs that religious identity is the basis for human rights abuses including abduction and murder; what data DfID collect about the ethnic and religious diversity of those receiving its aid in those regions; and if such data is not collected, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL852
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities, income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. 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>We do not therefore hold information on how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS) to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq, and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need, including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL854 HL855 HL856 question first answered 25/07/2017 15:00:41 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

752408

registered interest
date	17/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which UN agencies have operated impartially and neutrally in responding to the needs of religious minorities facing persecution and genocide in Northern Iraq and Syria; and on what evidence they base that assessment.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL854
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities, income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. 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>We do not therefore hold information on how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS) to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq, and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need, including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL852 HL855 HL856 question first answered 25/07/2017 15:00:41 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

752409

registered interest
date	17/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the freedom of information response issued by the Department for International Development (DfID) on 13 March which stated that “the vast majority of Syrian refugees across the Middle East, as well as internally displaced persons in Iraq and Syria, live in host communities rather than in camps” and that DfID is active in providing them with support, what funds have been made available to Yazidis and Christians living outside the camps; how much will be provided for (1) urgent humanitarian assistance, and (2) the rebuilding of those communities; and how much DfID funding is provided through the Bishops Emergency Committee.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities, income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. 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>We do not therefore hold information on how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS) to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq, and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need, including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL852 HL854 HL856 question first answered 25/07/2017 15:00:41 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

752410

registered interest
date	17/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government (1) what contact they have had with, and (2) what support they intend to provide to, the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee, regarding (a) the rebuilding of 13,000 homes on the Nineveh Plains, and (b) the need to ensure that those Christians internally displaced from the Plains are provided with adequate food supplies.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2017 answer text <p>The UK Government recognises the specific risks such as abduction and murder faced by religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, including those who have suffered so horrifically at the hands of Daesh, and is deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses motivated by religious or ethnic identity.</p><p>All people in need, from any community, irrespective of religious affiliation, are eligible for humanitarian assistance. DFID’s humanitarian implementing partners, including the UN, consider a wide range of issues when assessing an individual’s vulnerability such as the impact of physical or mental disabilities, income, age, missing family members, and whether individuals are already receiving assistance from other sources.</p><p>The organisations through which we channel our support do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religion. 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>We do not therefore hold information on how much UK-funded support is channelled to Yezidis and Christians either inside or outside camps. This year the UK will provide £40 million for urgent humanitarian assistance in Iraq and £4 million for the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS) to help rebuild communities affected by Daesh, including for minority communities in newly liberated areas in Iraq. The UK is also providing £500 million to support people, including refugees and internally displaced Syrians, affected by the Syria crisis in 2017. DFID does not fund the Bishops Emergency Committee.</p><p>The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee comprised of Church representatives has not contacted the UK Government or submitted a proposal for UK support for the construction of homes on the Nineveh Plains.</p><p>The UK is funding the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation (FFIS), which is supporting 152 projects in mainly Christian communities in the Ninewa Plains and 70 projects in Yezidi communities in Sinjar, Rabia and Sinuni.</p><p>UN agencies are obliged to operate by the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality which aim to ensure that no one is excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, or religion; and to also ensure that the specific risks facing minorities are addressed and that assistance reaches those who need it most. DFID considers reports from a wide range of sources, including field visits by UK officials where these are possible, to assess the effectiveness of UN operations and their compliance with humanitarian principles. The UN carries out vital work in both Syria and Iraq, and UN staff frequently risk their lives to deliver assistance to people in need, including to areas where Daesh or the Assad regime seek to prevent aid being delivered.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL852 HL854 HL855 question first answered 25/07/2017 15:00:41 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

752411

registered interest
date	17/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the freedom of information response issued by the Department for International Development (DfID) on 13 March which stated that “Our aid … to millions of people across the Middle East … is carefully tracked and monitored”, what form that tracking and monitoring takes; what evidence they have to demonstrate its success; and what percentage of people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds receive that aid.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL857
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2017 answer text <p>In countries with live conflicts such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen it is especially difficult for DFID to operate and monitor delivery. In these countries, DFID finances partners that have experience of delivering successfully and in conformity with international humanitarian principles in conflict environments. In addition, in Syria and Yemen (where HMG staff are unable to travel), we have contracted independent monitoring agencies to provide objective evidence of programme delivery.</p><p>DFID's results in the Middle East include helping 3.6 million people in Syria to sustainably access clean water and sanitation and 182 thousand children in Syria to gain a decent education. In Iraq DFID has helped 42,000 people access emergency life-saving medical care and provided safe drinking water for more than 200,000 people. In Yemen 1.1 million women, adolescent girls and children under five have been reached through nutrition related interventions.</p><p>DFID’s partners do not identify or record beneficiaries by their religious affiliation or ethnicity.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 24/07/2017 13:49:40 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

751991

registered interest
date	13/07/2017
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	High Speed 2 Railway Line
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they are increasing financial support for those living in refugee camps on the Burma–Thailand border, and what is their assessment of the danger of refugees being forced back to Burma as a result of cuts in aid to those camps.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL826
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2017 answer text <p>DFID has no current plans to increase financial support for those living in refugee camps on the Burma-Thailand border. We do not currently asses that refugees will be forced back into Burma. We continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 20/07/2017 16:24:10 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

751992

registered interest
date	13/07/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	High Speed 2 Railway Line
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government when they last made representations to the government of China regarding refoulement of North Korean refugees to North Korea; and what response they received.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL827
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2017 answer text <p>We most recently raised the issue of non-refoulement of North Korean refugees with the Chinese authorities at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on 27 June.</p><p>We restated our belief that North Korean refugees fleeing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be treated as such under the 1951 refugee convention.</p><p>We are aware of reports that those returned to the DPRK have been subject to mistreatment by the authorities. The UK continues to raise our human rights concerns directly with the DPRK regime through our bilateral engagement and in international fora.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 27/07/2017 13:52:19 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

751141

registered interest
date	12/07/2017
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma: Rohingya
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding the case of Liu Xiaobo and his desire to be released to seek medical treatment abroad.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2017 answer text <p>As the Foreign Secretary stated on 13 July, we are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Liu Xiaobo. He was a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and lifelong campaigner for democracy, human rights and peace. His death is a huge loss and our thoughts are with his wife, Liu Xia, his wider family, friends and supporters.</p><p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific raised the case of Liu Xiaobo directly with the Chinese Ambassador on 5 July. He called for Liu Xiaobo to be allowed full access to the medical treatment of his choice and for all restrictions on him and his family to be lifted. We also raised his case at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue which was held in Beijing on 27 June.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 26/07/2017 15:57:08 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool