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1,361 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThe funding we are giving is being channelled through many different organisations, including UN organisations such as the World Food Programme, and through the UN Office for the…21 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseMy hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that this is an incredibly concerning humanitarian situation. We have pledged our funding, and it is going through and getting through to…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseThe Ministry of Defence’s ARAP scheme is still open and people can still apply, and the hon. Lady should raise individual cases with the Armed Forces Minister. We have supported…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseI completely agree. This is a complex situation, but we are pressing the World Bank. We are also working with it and the UN to find solutions to allow international…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseAs I said, this is a hugely concerning situation. On helping people to leave the country, the UK has been working to allow Afghan nationals to cross borders into neighbouring…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseNone of us wishes to be in this situation. There is a deeply concerning humanitarian situation, and what we all saw happening over the summer when the Taliban moved in so quickly…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseAs I have already said, the funding the UK is putting in day by day and week by week already supports 4.47 million people in Afghanistan. We recognise that the UN has launched its…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseMy colleague Lord Ahmad met a group of leading Afghan women in this country only last week. If the hon. Lady would like to contact me about her particular contact, I will make…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseThat is an extremely important point, because we are working, as much as we can, to get aid through to the people who need it. We are working through a lot of different…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseAs the hon. Lady knows, the Home Office Minister—the Minister for Afghan Resettlement—leads on that subject, so I suggest we raise that with her. Significant cross-Government…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseAs I have said already, the UK funding is providing food aid to 4.47 million people. It is an enormously tragic situation. The UK has stepped up for over 4 million people, and we…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseWe work with a lot of different local organisations through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. If there are specific organisations that the…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseThe money that we have already announced is providing over 6 million people not only with food but with health, water, protection, shelter and so on. I agree on the importance of…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseI will certainly take up my right hon. Friend’s suggestion with the Minister responsible for south and central Asia.09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseOur officials have very pragmatic engagement with the Taliban at official levels, especially pressing on human rights and humanitarian issues. For example, in October the PM’s…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseAs I mentioned earlier, this is an extremely serious situation. My colleague Lord Ahmad regularly meets the various aid organisations that we work with, and he has been meeting…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseI completely agree that it is important to keep money flowing through the Afghan economy and, as I said, we are working with the World Bank on that. On 25 January—a couple of…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseYes.09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseOn sanctions, as I said, we have already made progress as the humanitarian exemption that came into UK law on 27 January has helped to unlock funding. On whether we should…09 Feb 2022HANSARDAfghanistan Humanitarian Crisis: UK ResponseIt is extremely important, when we talk about such a tragic situation, that we get the facts right about what the UK Government are doing on behalf of the British people. We have…09 Feb 2022