Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Lack of leadership in condemning IHL abuses, despite UK's strong position to lead.
Conclusion
There is encouraging collaboration by a select few UN Member States that are promoting adherence to IHL and, in particular, the protection of aid workers. Yet there is a lack of comprehensive leadership across all aspects of IHL by a single Member State and a willingness to expose and publicly condemn flagrant abuses of IHL. This is challenging when traditional allies or leading world powers may be involved, but inconsistent application of IHL will be to its long-term detriment if IHL-conscious nations don’t make the appropriate interventions. The UK is well positioned to lead this endeavour to uphold IHL and the particular obligations in relation to humanitarian access and the protection of aid workers. This is a significant opportunity for the UK in a 0.3% foreign aid budget world, given that sharing expertise costs very little. In fact, it is one of the few areas where aid budget cuts need not have an impact and the UK could maintain and enhance its position as a world leader. (Conclusion, Paragraph 13)
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the vital role of local organisations in humanitarian access negotiations and describes its commitment to leveraging UK influence to include them, and its funding of the Centre for Competence on Humanitarian Negotiations.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
32. The UK agrees that participation of local organisations is vital to ensure humanitarian access negotiations result in effective, safe and sustainable aid delivery, particularly because local actors face greater levels of risk in conflict settings. We are committed to leveraging UK networks and influence to both consult with and include local actors in diplomatic efforts to enhance humanitarian access. 33. The UK funds the Centre for Competence on Humanitarian Negotiations (CCHN) to support humanitarian diplomacy for access. The CCHN provides frontline humanitarian staff with learning and training opportunities to develop their negotiation skills and share their practices with a global community to negotiate better assistance and protection for people in crisis situations. This global community includes more than 8,000 members across the globe and helps to amplify the voices of local and international negotiators on the frontline. (Conclusion 7, paragraph 28) We applaud the work of the current and previous Governments in ensuring that the safe delivery of aid is not jeopardised by most of the UK’s own legislation. However, lack of clarity around the UK’s anti-terrorism legislation has had a chilling effect on those delivering UK aid and risks limiting its delivery where the implementation of sanction exemptions is not clear.