Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to be Somalia's debt relief champion, as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). The UK provided debt relief when Somalia reached HIPC Decision Point in 2020, both bilaterally and helping to clear Somalia's arrears to the International Financial Institutions. The UK is committed to providing debt relief on our outstanding bilateral debt to Somalia when...
Andrew Mitchell: The Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Red Sea and Director General for Africa and the Americas recently visited Ethiopia to meet with senior Ethiopian Ministers and civil society, where they raised the situation in Amhara with the Ethiopian government. On 11 August we coordinated a statement with the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, calling for escalation and protection of civilians....
Andrew Mitchell: The humanitarian level of need across Ethiopia remains high. Last year, UK humanitarian assistance supported 950,000 with medical supplies, treatment for 80,000 malnourished children and women, and education for 10,000 boys and girls. This year Ethiopia has been designated a Focus Country in both the 2022 Human Rights and Democracy Report and the Women, Peace and Security National Action. We...
Andrew Mitchell: The Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Red Sea and Director General for Africa and the Americas recently visited Ethiopia to meet with senior Ethiopian Ministers and civil society, where they raised the situation in Amhara with the Ethiopian government. On 11 August we coordinated a statement with the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, calling for escalation and protection of civilians....
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to protecting human rights in Ethiopia and across the globe. We continue to support the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. The UK also provides funding to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights independent monitoring of human rights in northern Ethiopian and our £4.5 million Human Rights and...
Andrew Mitchell: Chevening operates in over 160 countries and territories. For the 2023-24 academic year, our budget of £57.7 million Official Development Assistance (ODA), £1.6 million non-ODA funding, and additional income of around £13.2 million from tuition fee-waivers and external partners allowed us to offer 1440 awards of which over 1383 were from ODA funding and 57 from non-ODA funding. Of these,...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to be Somalia's debt relief champion, as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). The UK provided debt relief when Somalia reached HIPC Decision Point in 2020, both bilaterally and helping to clear arrears to the International Financial Institutions. The UK is committed to providing debt relief on our outstanding bilateral debt to Somalia when it reaches...
Andrew Mitchell: In response to the ongoing conflict and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, on 12 July I announced a package of six sanctions under the UK's Sudan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. The UK has imposed an asset freeze on three commercial entities linked to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and three commercial entities linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as the two main...
Andrew Mitchell: Sustainable investments in livestock are key to preventing malnutrition and reducing poverty. As a shareholder and partner to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the UK works closely with the IFC to ensure that it complies with rigorous and internationally recognised standards. The IFC's assessments of its projects is aligned with EU requirements and standards, including on animal...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place since the military coup on 25 October 2021, and the escalation in incidents since 15 April 2023. The escalation of violence, killing of civilians, sexual assault of women and girls, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance must end. We continue to support the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is working with a range of partners, including from Quad (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, US), African and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to end the hostilities in Sudan. We welcome the mediation efforts of IGAD, the AU and neighbouring countries to bring the leaders of the...
Andrew Mitchell: It remains challenging for those in the UK to communicate with family who are in Sudan. Due to the intense ongoing conflict, mobile phone and internet services are currently only partially available and telecommunications networks can be disrupted without warning. For those in the UK who are worried about a British person in Sudan, they can contact the FCDO 24/7 on 020 7008 5000.
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is monitoring the situation in Sudan closely, including the humanitarian and security impacts of the conflict on Sudan's neighbouring countries. The UK recognises the significant pressure that the Sudan crisis is putting on neighbouring countries and commends them for the support they are providing. The UK is pursuing all diplomatic avenues, including engagement with regional...
Andrew Mitchell: Ensuring access to quality education is an FCDO priority. The UK is committed to supporting this through the global education funds. We are the largest donor to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), pledging £430 million in 2021. We pledged £80 million to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) in February 2023. We have been at the forefront of developing the new International Finance Facility...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including safe abortion and maternal healthcare. The UK uses sexual and reproductive health funds to support services in a range of ways including technical assistance, funding drugs and supplies and delivering services directly, working through NGOs, governments and UN...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK evacuation response from Sudan was open to all British nationals, and their eligible dependents who wished to leave Sudan, travelling with a British passport holder and having existing permission to come to the UK. The UK Government cannot offer advice on the safety of travelling to any departure point within Sudan and the UK's Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Khartoum remains closed...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK has co-ordinated the longest and largest evacuation from Sudan of any Western country and brought 2,450 people to safety. Between 25 April and 3 May, the UK supported the departure of 1,243 British Nationals (BNs) and 1,207 other nationals on 24 flights out of Sudan. The UK Government are no longer running any evacuation operations from Sudan. The British Embassy in Khartoum is...
Andrew Mitchell: In May, the Minister for Development and Africa announced that the UK would provide £21.7 million in humanitarian aid for people in need in Sudan, as part of our contribution at the UN Horn of Africa pledging summit. The UK's top humanitarian priority is to secure humanitarian access and operational security guarantees for humanitarian agencies. We are in close contact, and actively working...
Andrew Mitchell: The UK is a founding member and top bilateral donor to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). GPE estimates that its support will help partner countries get 40 million more girls into school and support 17 million more girls to read in low and lower-middle income countries by 2025. In 2021, the UK co-hosted the Global Education Summit, helping to raise a historic $4 billion in donor...
Andrew Mitchell: The International Development White Paper will set out the UK's approach to international development up to 2030. It will build on, not replace, the 2022 International Development Strategy and the development objectives set out in the Integrated Review Refresh. The White Paper will develop an ambitious and strategic agenda that looks to galvanise global action, seed innovation and broker new...
