Caroline Spelman: ...mental cost to this young woman of having to retell her story to us and other MPs over and over again. It is a disturbing story. She explained how she had been studying peacefully alongside other Arab groups in the city where she lived when suddenly her whole community was forced to flee into the mountains. She did not make it, however, and together with hundreds of women, she was turned...
Caroline Spelman: ...to underline the importance of the Bill. The UK is the first ever G8 country to reach the 0.7% target, joining other, smaller countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates. It is significant that we are providing that leadership among the G8 countries. I want to help some hon. Members understand the long history behind the figure of 0.7%. I have had one...
Caroline Spelman: Having a Coptic church in my constituency, I support absolutely the case that the hon. Lady is making for better protection for Coptic Christians in Egypt. Does she agree that, following the Arab spring, we must urge the Government to do all that they can to urge the new constitutions of those states to respect religious freedom?
Caroline Spelman: ...have delivered on their pledges to help one of the world's poorest nations. To take one of the most startling examples of underperformance, only $35 million of the $500 million pledged by the Arab Development Bank has been forthcoming. Another example of rich donors' failure to deliver on their promises is the fact that only a fraction of the more than $900 million that was pledged at the...
Caroline Spelman: ...them. What is the thinking about inter-ethnic tension? Kirkuk has become a no-go area for the non-governmental organisations to work in because the returning Kurds are at loggerheads with the Arabs. The problem is spreading to Mosul. The situation is entirely predictable. It could have been envisaged in any contingency plan that was made last year. How does the coalition intend to deal...
Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of ethnic strife between Kurds and Arabs in the north of Iraq.