In the joint US, UK and Norway statement of 23 December we renewed our call for all parties in the Two Areas, as well as Sudan’s other conflict zones, to immediately allow full and unfettered humanitarian access. It is vital that both the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North make this a priority issue in the next round of African Union High Implementation Panel mediated peace talks, a point that we make consistently to both sides.

In response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine the UK Government has committed £16.4 million of bilateral humanitarian support in Ukraine. In addition, the UK’s share of multilateral contributions through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) stands at £4.35m.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Over 100,000 people were made homeless by the conflict last summer, more than 10,000 of whom are still sheltering in UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) operated Collective Centres.

The UK provided £17million of emergency assistance to support those affected by the conflict last summer and is providing a further £20million of early recovery assistance.

There is no official figure for how many people have been killed by violence in Sudan and South Sudan. In South Sudan, the International Crisis Group (ICG), estimates that at least 50,000 people have been killed since conflict broke out in December 2013.

The UN currently estimates that 5.4 million people need humanitarian assistance in Sudan in 2015. In South Sudan it is projected that 2.5 million conflict affected people will be in crisis or emergency phases of food insecurity during January to March 2015.

In Sudan, 871,160 IDPs live in flood-prone areas, constituting 28% of the total IDP population.

The UK Government has not provided direct humanitarian assistance to the people of Guinea Bissau in any of the last three years.

The UK Government provides humanitarian core funding to a number of UN agencies, who in turn have provided funding to Guinea Bissau. For example, between 2011 and 2013 the UK Government provided over $300m to the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which in turn allocated over $3m to Guinea Bissau.

The UK has led conversations with other donors on improving linkages between humanitarian and development programmes, and ways to increase self-sufficiency and resilience among populations who are in need of humanitarian assistance. With our partners we are looking to fast track and implement innovative ways to stimulate markets to address food insecurity and build livelihoods, link development programmes in health and education with humanitarian provision of these services, and improve co-ordination in-country between humanitarian and development planning and provision.

Within the £150m in humanitarian support already pledged by the UK in response to the crisis in South Sudan this year, and supplemented by our development support to basic services and livelihoods, the UK is introducing new elements that facilitate a move away from reactive emergency responses to those that strengthen communities’ and households’ own efforts to reduce hunger and the need for humanitarian assistance. This portfolio includes investments in food and livestock production, stimulating weak food markets in urban centres, and enhancing roads that link communities with markets and basic services.

The UK has been closely monitoring the situation in CAR and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). DFID officials conduct quarterly visits to CAR in order to meet with partners and review the response.

In December 2013 the UN declared a Level 3 crisis in CAR which is in effect until December 2014. The UK welcomed the UN declaration which more accurately reflected the severity of the situation on the ground and brought much needed attention and resources from across the UN system to respond to the crisis.

The UK has been closely monitoring the situation and has committed a total of £18 million in humanitarian funding to CAR in 2014 to help hundreds of thousands of people, along with £7 million in Cameroon and Chad to assist CAR refugees. The funds are going towards the protection of civilians, urgent medical assistance, and to food security and livelihoods assistance through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs. In 2014, the UK is the third largest bilateral humanitarian donor to CAR after the USA (£87 million) and the EU (£39 million). The UK’s combined bilateral and multilateral contributions (through the EU and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund) to the CAR crisis total £27 million in 2014.

The intensity of the conflict in South Sudan has reduced substantially during the rainy season, but low level fighting and restrictions on humanitarian access in violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) continue. Steps towards a wider ceasefire were agreed in principle by the main warring parties in August, but an implementation matrix has not yet come into effect.

A further round of peace talks convened by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was held from 22 September to 5 October, with the mediators reporting some progress around the formation of a Transitional Government of National Unity to lead the country out of conflict. We expect talks to resume again after regional consultations, and the UK government continues to offer its full support to this process.

The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has stepped up patrols and continues to focus on protection of civilians and creating the conditions for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, in line with its renewed mandate agreed on 27 May 2014. Additional UN troops from regional forces have also been deployed in support of teams monitoring CoHA implementation. UK support has enabled humanitarian agencies to provide essential assistance in both UN Protection of Civilian (PoC) camps and in ‘hard to reach’ area. However, security and lack of access remain major constraints to reaching those in need and we continue to stress the important need for all parties to respect the CoH, and to allow for unhampered access for humanitarian assistance.

On 25 September, South Sudan’s Foreign Minister recommitted to his country’s 2012 Action Plan on Children and Armed Conflict at an event hosted by the Minister for Africa in New York. However, we continue to receive credible reports of the use of child soldiers in some areas.

Conditions in CAR are extremely challenging for both humanitarian workers and local communities. The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported over 770 security incidents throughout CAR since January 2014. 67 of these incidents have directly targeted humanitarian personnel. DFID is working with agencies which have appropriate systems and a level of community acceptance to enable them to access some of the most vulnerable populations in CAR. In 2014 DFID has funded the ICRC, UN agencies and international NGOs to support communities who have suffered from the violence.

The UK is one of six donors funding the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Community Security and Arms Control (CSAC) Project, which includes provision of technical support for national and community-level community reconciliation process, including working with faith-based partners. Furthermore, under the Africa Conflict Pool Programmes, the UK is funding civil society organisations to build the capacity of local populations to identify and resolve conflicts that affect them.

Through the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), the UK has supported work by national civil society to provide health, education, food security and livelihood, water and sanitation and mine awareness services for the most vulnerable. In addition, some United Nations agencies supported by the UK (such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)) work in close collaboration with local partners. To improve basic services the UK funded Girls Education South Sudan (GESS) project is working through Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) in two of South Sudan’s 10 States, and the UK-led Health Pooled Fund (HPF) will support faith-based county hospitals as well as government ones.

Conditions in CAR are extremely challenging for communities affected and for humanitarian workers. The Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported over 770 security incidents throughout CAR since January 2014. 67 of these incidents have affected humanitarian personnel. DFID is working with agencies which have appropriate systems and a level of community acceptance to enable them to access some of the most vulnerable populations in CAR. In 2014 DFID has funded the ICRC, UN agencies and international NGOs to support communities who have suffered from the violence.

Security is the overriding factor in enabling humanitarian access and the UK is playing a strong role as part of the international community’s response. We provided early support to the deployment of the African Union mission (MISCA), as well as to the EU security mission (EUFOR) and co-sponsored the UN Security Council Resolution that authorised a UN Peacekeeping Operation (PKO) which will deploy in September.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on 10th July that US$60 million was needed to cover out of stock medical supplies and medical referrals out of Gaza. This is now exacerbated by the Gaza emergency. Even before the recent violence the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza had chronic shortages of drugs (28% of drugs had zero stock) and medical supplies (53% of medical supplies had zero stock). Our support to UNRWA and ICRC is already helping these organisations to respond to the current situation, and we are in continuous contact with humanitarian agencies to assess emerging needs as a result of the violence.

My Lords, the already chronic humanitarian situation in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating. Ongoing hostilities are making it very difficult and dangerous to deliver humanitarian support. We have increased UK humanitarian support and continue to urge Israel to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law to minimise civilian casualties and facilitate the rapid, unimpeded and impartial delivery of relief to civilians.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that humanitarian aid is reaching Israel and Palestine.

I thank the Minister for her response, which I am sure the House will be pleased to hear. I understand that, in the past four years, £340 million has been spent in humanitarian aid to this area. I am glad that my noble friend can confirm that we are making our best efforts to ensure that it reaches those who need it. In this time of increased conflict in that area, are Her Majesty’s Government able to make more funds available? What actions can they take to ensure that the rest of the international community also play their fair part in helping humanitarian aid to that area?

My Lords, the tragedy that is occurring in this terrible carnage in Gaza can be stopped immediately if Hamas stops firing its missiles that it is storing in UN schools and hospitals. However,

my question is: what conversations have the Government had with the Government of Qatar about the funding that they have been giving to Hamas to build tunnels into Israel and to buy missiles from Iran, instead of using that money for infrastructure and aid?

While welcoming the Minister’s answer, could I ask her how much of the aid—particularly the £30 million that the Government are giving to the Gaza Strip—is she confident is reaching the real beneficiaries and is not being diverted to other purposes?

My Lords, at this difficult and distressing time, which is surely a source of grief to all of us, will the Minister comment on what a Government not blind to humanitarian concerns but seeking to defend their citizens from missile attack do when missiles are stored in schools, rocket launchers are placed beside hospitals, ambulances are used to transport terrorists, entrances to tunnels are set inside apartment blocks and civilians are used as human shields?