Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to monitor the Private Members Bill moving through the Ghanaian parliament, which would further criminalise consensual same-sex relationships and undermine the human rights and freedoms of those perceived as being LGBT+. The UK routinely encourages Ghana to confirm its opposition to all forms of discrimination and uphold the human rights provisions enshrined in Ghana's...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to monitor the Private Members Bill, which would further criminalise consensual same-sex relationships and undermine the human rights and freedoms of those perceived as being LGBT+. The UK routinely encourages Ghana to confirm its opposition to all forms of discrimination and uphold the human rights provisions enshrined in Ghana's Constitution, the UN Universal Declaration of...
Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of the recent incident in Leer and are monitoring the situation carefully. The UK supports the UN Arms Embargo and Sanctions Regime on South Sudan which prevents the flow of weapons to armed groups, subsequently reducing the violence and killing of innocent people across the country. At the UN Security Council in March 2023, we expressed concern about the escalation of...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK acceded to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1970. The Convention provides that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or war, is a crime under international law. Whether or not a determination of genocide is made, the UK is committed to work aimed at preventing and responding to atrocity crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns the violence which took place on Sunday 26 November. We welcomed President Bio's call for unity and commitment to hold those responsible to account, and the statements from all political parties denouncing the violence. We continue to follow the situation closely and to engage Government, political parties and other stakeholders on the response to the 26 November events....
Andrew Mitchell: I think this is the first time that I have served under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley; it is a great pleasure, and I very much hope it will not be the last. I am extremely grateful to the hon. Members for Rochdale (Tony Lloyd) and for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this debate, and very grateful indeed to the hon. Member for Rochdale for his kind words about my hon. Friend the Member...
Andrew Mitchell: I agree fulsomely with my right hon. Friend. She has undoubtedly read the international development White Paper, in which all these strands of thinking are drawn out. The Government made a very strong commitment in it to enable those brilliant organisations to continue their excellent work. All hon. Members who spoke underlined the importance of shaping a world where human rights are...
Andrew Mitchell: I will, if the hon. Gentleman just gives me a moment. Britain also continues to fund and provide support to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan, a UN body that provides a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. In October Britain led efforts at the Human Rights Council to establish an international and independent fact-finding mission...
Andrew Mitchell: The hon. Member for Strangford is quite right to identify the importance of Britain’s role as the penholder on Sudan. He will have seen the extensive work that we are carrying out in that role not only in the United Nations, but as one of the Troika and one of the countries that works closely with the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and many other bodies to try...
Andrew Mitchell: I join the hon. Member for Rochdale in expressing our dismay at my hon. Friend the Member for Henley not being here to speak on a subject on which, as the hon. Gentleman generously said, he is extremely expert. I am sure that the whole House would want to wish him a speedy recovery.
Andrew Mitchell: One must be careful when talking about Rwanda, a country I know extremely well. This is a country that, in the last 30 years, suffered a genocide where 1 million people were killed in 90 days. It is an extraordinary success story of a country that has lifted itself up from the very depths to be one of the safest and most stable countries in Africa today. Do not forget either that, dealing...
Andrew Mitchell: I do not want to prolong the debate at this point on Rwanda, but in the opinion of the British Government, and more widely, it is indeed a safe country. The hon. Gentleman may or may not know this, but if we look at the statistics Kigali is a safer city than London.
Andrew Mitchell: Our statement called for the immediate de-escalation of violence and for the protection of civilians; we continue to monitor the situation. The Minister for Africa subsequently raised the issue in his meeting with Ethiopian National Security Adviser and the Ambassador raises the issue in all his meetings in Addis Ababa. We urge the Government of Ethiopia to find a political solution to end...
Andrew Mitchell: There is a risk of crime throughout Kenya with incidences of mugging, kidnapping, car-jacking and armed robbery occurring regularly. The risk of crime is particularly high in Nairobi, Mombasa and other large cities but can also occur in other areas including the Ngong Hills. UK travel advice advises British nationals to remain vigilant at all times when travelling in Kenya. We keep our travel...
Andrew Mitchell: I wish to inform the House that the Government has today published the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office response to the independent Public Body Review of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission (MACC), and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) internal Chevening Scholarship Programme. The Government launched...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to honouring the agreements reached at COP27 and at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) Transitional Committee to operationalise the loss and damage fund. The UK was therefore delighted to announce up to £60 million on Day 1 of COP28: £40 million for the new fund and a further £20 million for funding arrangements. To deliver for the most...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place in Sudan since the military coup in October 2021, including the escalation in abuses since conflict broke out in April. We are not aware of any significant increase in the discrimination or persecution of religious minorities in the country since April. We engage regularly with, and support the work of, the...
Andrew Mitchell: As stated in the International Development White Paper published last month, upholding Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is vital for open and inclusive societies. We will ensure that UK development policies are inclusive of people who are marginalised for their religion or belief. Equality issues are routinely considered during the approval process for all our aid programmes. We provide...
Andrew Mitchell: Education is an important international development priority. From 2013 to 2022, the UK is estimated to have spent £6.9 billion of bilateral education Official Development Assistance (ODA). Of this, £1 billion was spent on secondary education and £1 billion on post-secondary education including scholarships. The UK is estimated to have spent £2.3 billion in multilateral education ODA from...
Andrew Mitchell: We continue to work closely and effectively with climate-vulnerable countries. The Written Ministerial Statement published on 17 October showed that we have already spent over £3.2 billion of International Climate Finance in 2021/22 and 2022/23. It also sets out the trajectory of spend for the remaining three years of the commitment, providing all-important certainty and predictability for...
