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1253352

registered interest
date	18/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Horn of Africa: Armed Conflict
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conflict in the Horn of Africa; what estimate they have made of the number of refugees resulting from such a conflict; and what steps they are taking to bring any such conflict to an end.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL10465
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>The UK is concerned by the ongoing violence between federal and regional forces in the Tigray region of Ethiopia and the risk it poses to civilians, and by reports of ethnically-motivated attacks. We are gravely concerned at Amnesty International's report of killings of civilians on 9 November; we call for transparency and accountability to be delivered for such incidents.</p><p>The UN preparedness response plan estimates that 1.98 million people could be affected by violence in Tigray and neighbouring states. This number includes a caseload of 885,000 people that already rely on humanitarian support plus a further, additional caseload of 1.1 million people that are likely to be exposed to violence many of whom may be displaced from their homes and communities. Ethiopia hosts almost 800,000 refugees primarily from the neighbouring states of South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea. We are contributing to UN-led preparedness planning efforts for Tigray and calling for unrestricted humanitarian access and the protection of civilians. In Sudan, flexible UK funding to the UN's World Food Programme and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is already helping new refugees from Ethiopia to receive emergency assistance, including shelter and food.</p><p>The Foreign Secretary called Prime Minister Abiy on 10 November to raise our concerns and stress the urgent need to prioritise the protection of civilian lives, restore services (including banks and telecommunications) and enable humanitarian access. He also urged for a de-escalation of violence and called for moves to political dialogue. We will follow the situation, raise our concerns at the deaths of civilians, and raise the importance of respect for human rights in meetings with the Government of Ethiopia and regional leaders.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/12/2020 17:08:32 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1253354

registered interest
date	18/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Horn of Africa: Armed Conflict
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have about (1) missile attacks on Asmara, and (2) the presence of Ethiopian troops on Eritrean territory; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the movement of Ethiopian soldiers from Somalia for the containment of al-Shabaab.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL10466
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>Explosions were reported in Asmara on 14 November as a result of rockets launched from the ongoing military conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia. They all missed their intended targets and only minor injuries were reported. There has been no direct response from the local authorities. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have taken responsibility, claiming it was in retaliation for attacks by Eritrean forces on Tigray. Eritrea denies any involvement in the fighting. We continue to track the situation, raise our concerns at the deaths of civilians, and raise the importance of respect for human rights in meetings with regional leaders.</p><p>Ethiopian troops are an important part of international efforts to tackle Al Shabaab, in particular through their contribution (alongside four other regional states) to the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM. In our approach to the conflict in Tigray we will continue to underline the need to ensure that spill-over from the conflict does not affect regional stability.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 02/12/2020 12:43:53 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1250537

registered interest
date	10/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Syria: Military Intervention
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 Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 November (HL9502), what response they have received, if any, to representations made to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic to request the govrnment of Turkey to launch an investigation on the use of violence against civilian populations; and what assessment they have made of reports that more than 70 export licences have been issued by the UK for military products sold to Turkey containing white phosphorous over the last two decades.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL10150
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>We have encouraged the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) to investigate all alleged violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law in Syria. We have not made specific representations to the COI to request Turkey launch investigations, as the COI had already called for this. We have therefore not received a response. We take our arms exports obligations very seriously and keep all our defence exports under careful and continual review. If licences are no longer consistent with the Consolidated Criteria they will be revoked. We have continued to make clear that any targeting of civilians is against International Humanitarian Law, but white phosphorus is a legitimate obscurant.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 24/11/2020 16:18:27 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1249805

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	North Korea: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) what plans they have to offer humanitarian assistance to the government of North Korea; and (3) what discussions they have had with others in the international community about offering humanitarian assistance.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL10034
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>An assessment of the humanitarian situation in North Korea was completed in September 2020. It concluded that North Korea's humanitarian need is likely increasing as a result of the country's border lockdown in response to COVID-19 and abnormally high cumulative rainfall in the monsoon period. The United Kingdom provides multilateral funds to the UN and other international organisations providing humanitarian assistance in North Korea, including the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) in response to COVID-19. As a country of concern in the GHRP, North Korea is receiving funds from this global appeal. North Korea is also one of the countries eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX initiative to which the United Kingdom has committed up to £500 million.</p><p>We keep the humanitarian situation in North Korea under constant review, including through ongoing discussions with international organisations operational in country. We continue to make clear to the North Korean government that international support is available, and urge them to restore international access and monitoring for humanitarian assistance. The UK has also repeatedly called on North Korea to prioritise the well-being of its people over the development of illegal weapons programmes, through our bilateral relationship and in multilateral fora.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 23/11/2020 12:10:23 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool