UK calls on the international community to prioritise long-term support for the Rohingya people on the anniversary of the crisis

One year on from the devastating man-made crisis which saw the mass exodus of 700,000 persecuted Rohingya men, women and children fleeing Burma to Bangladesh, the UK is calling on the international community to provide long-term support to keep the Rohingya people safe in the years to come, both in Bangladesh and in Burma.

This time last year the watching world looked on at the scale and speed of this forced movement of people which triggered one of the largest international aid responses in 2017. The UK has been at the forefront of that response and has contributed £129 million to support the displaced Rohingya since 25 August 2017.

The Government and people of Bangladesh have also shown enormous generosity in opening their borders and providing a safe haven for those fleeing violence.

Now the focus is on making sure that the Rohingya people have access to further support while they are living in the camps. UK aid will provide immediate access to learning opportunities in a safe environment for Rohingya children and also local children living in communities near to the camps, as well as providing skills training to improve the livelihoods for Rohingya men and women, better equipping them for the future.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

“The roots of this crisis go back decades, but 12 months ago we saw an unprecedented campaign of terror by the Burmese military, resulting in 700,000 people fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.

“There is no doubt that this is a protracted crisis and the British public have enabled hundreds of thousands of lives to be saved through their taxes, and through huge sums raised in voluntary donations. I want to thank all who have stepped up and donated or worked to bring hope to so many.

“It is clear what the international community must now do, and what Burma must do. These people need their lives back and their rights guaranteed.

“On this anniversary of such barbarism we should recommit ourselves to ensuring that Burma cooperates with the asks of the international community and that nations work to meet to needs of these vulnerable people.”

To date UK aid has provided life-saving food, water, shelter and medication to almost a million Rohingya who now live within the camps in Bangladesh.

Our support:

• Helps traumatised children be reunited with their parents;

• Provides counselling for sexual violence survivors and makes sure the most vulnerable in the camps are protected from people traffickers;

• Has helped build sturdy, protected shelters during the rainy season. The monsoon and cyclone season is expected to last until November and UK aid will ensure that 10,000 upgraded shelter kits, 90,000 tarpaulins and ropes, 100,000 blankets and 100,000 floor mats are accessible and can be immediately provided to those in need.

The UK will continue to help all vulnerable communities remaining in Rakhine State, including 600,000 Rohingya. Our humanitarian work and support to education, nutrition, livelihoods and health are designed to address inequalities between different groups and promote progress on the recommendations put forward by the Kofi Annan led Rakhine Advisory Commission.

We continue to press for the conditions to be put in place for the Rohingya to be able to return voluntarily, safely and with dignity to their homes. Such conditions do not yet exist and any returns process will take considerable time.

UK aid, the crisis in twelve months:

August: Reports of violence and cross border movements triggered our preparations for a rising number of arrivals in Bangladesh.

September: The UK stepped up its existing assistance in the camps and provided £30 million in extra funding which helped to provide food, water and shelter for the new influx of people. In Burma, following the events of the 25 August 2017, DFID funded the distribution of clean water and food and the provision of healthcare services to affected communities.

October: The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its appeal. DFID announced it would match donations pound for pound up to £5million. In the same month we also pledged a further £12 million of humanitarian assistance at the landmark UN pledging conference.

November: International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt visited the Cox’s Bazar camps where she witnessed first-hand how UK aid was having an impact on the ground. She also announced an additional £12 million in support for additional food and to increase access to psychosocial support and counselling for victims of sexual and gender based violence.

December: Following the outbreak of diphtheria in the camps, the UK aid funded Emergency Medical Team (EMT), made up of the UK’s top medical professionals, was deployed in the days after Christmas to help stem the spread of this deadly disease.

January: The BBC ran a full day of live radio and TV coverage from Cox’s Bazar and announced the UK was playing a significant role in halting the spread of diphtheria within the camps by vaccinating 350,000 children between the ages of six months and 15 years.

February: After six weeks in the camps the EMT returned home having triaged more than 3,000 people and treated almost 500 people for diphtheria. Had it not been for British help, many people could have died. An important part of their legacy was training local Bangladeshi medical professionals in disease prevention.

March: The International Development Committee visited the camps and witnessed how UK aid was saving lives.

April: The Evening Standard reported on the number of babies that were due to be born in the midst of the monsoon and cyclone season. In an interview with the paper the International Development Secretary highlighted how more than 16,000 births were imminent and set out how UK aid was helping to train midwives.

May: Ahead of the looming monsoon and cyclone season the UK announced continued support to the Rohingya people. The additional £70 million support package is destined to provide immediate support in the form of shelter, food and medication, and longer-term support in the form of livelihood opportunities.

June: UK support helped with the important process of shelter preparations before the looming rains began. New shelters were built and existing shelters strengthened.

July: A flurry of activity in this month saw the final repairs to roads and pathways in the camps. UK support provided to undertake this task will ensure that vital food, medicine and water can to get through into the camps if there is significant flooding. July also saw a meeting between the International Development Secretary and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett, where they discussed how UK aid is saving lives and what more needs to be done to ensure that the Rohingya people are cared for.

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I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I’d like to open the session by thanking Mr. Voronkov and Ms. Coninsx for their briefing on the Secretary-General’s report on the threat posed by the Daesh to international peace and security. I’d also like to welcome Dr. Joana Cook. Thank you for sharing the key findings of your report on Daesh women and minors which shows the value of inviting civil society and researchers to inform our discussions.

In the summer of 2014 Daesh swept down the Tigris and Euphrates valleys capturing thousands of square miles of Iraq and Syria and imposing its pitiless rule on millions of people in an area that was once the cradle of civilization. Over the next three years, attacks that were directed, inspired or enabled by Daesh would claim more than 30,000 lives including 181 attacks outside Iraq and Syria.

The world responded by forming a global coalition to defeat this threat and military action by many countries including my own has driven Daesh from almost all of its domain and liberated millions from its oppression.

But the point I wish to emphasise today is that this has not been vanquished and the root causes of its emergence have yet to be resolved. Britain shares the assessment of the Secretary-General’s report that Daesh is responding to the loss of territory by evolving into a covert terrorist network that branches as far apart as Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen.

Daesh takes advantage of ungoverned space and weak states. Its terrorists do not necessarily require a central direction and they’ve demonstrated their ability to strike in Europe and Southeast Asia. The Secretary-General’s report estimates that as many as 20,000 Daesh fighters remain in Syria and Iraq, including the citizens of many countries. About 900 people with links to the United Kingdom have travelled to join the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. About 40% returned to the UK in the early days of Daesh’s so-called Caliphate and some 20% are believed dead. The rest are still in Iraq, Syria or elsewhere.

Our response to this enduring threat should fall into two parts. First we must press on with military operations against Daesh. British forces continue to play their part as members of the global coalition and UK leads in a vital area of strategic communications against Daesh. This year the British government has committed another 20 million pounds to counter-terrorism projects in countries we assessed to be most at risk from returning foreign fighters.

Second, we should renew our focus on prevention. By addressing the root causes of the emergence of Daesh. This means doing more to support peace and reconciliation in Iraq and a lasting political settlement in Syria. It also means responding to specific humanitarian problems. For example, up to 20% of foreign fighters globally are women and girls. Almost 10% of the 40,000 individuals who travelled to join Daesh were minors. Many of whom have witnessed or experienced horrific violence and been exposed to radicalization. Some will be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We need to act to prevent these minors from becoming the next generation of terrorists. The UN has a vital role in the struggle against Daesh consistent with the responsibility of this Council to address threats to international peace and security. This Council made air travel more secure by passing Resolution 2309 – the first ever Resolution on aviation security. And it addressed the threat from foreign fighters in Resolutions 2178 and 2396. Earlier in 2005, this Council passed Resolution 1624 condemning incitement and repudiating all attempts to justify or glorify acts of terrorism.

The Council should be willing to consider further action in order to counter the use of the internet by terrorists for propaganda and fundraising. Prevention is a key pillar of the UK’s approach to counter terrorism. Our aim is to identify anyone at risk of radicalization and seek to reintegrate them into society. Agencies and local governments from health education social services and the police routinely meet to identify individuals at risk and refer them to programs run by specialists in de-radicalisation. This approach focused on prevention rather than prosecution after a crime has been committed has turned more than more 500 people away from terrorism in the UK.

Over the years we’ve learned lessons and refined our Prevent program. We stand ready to share our experiences with countries that face similar problems. Societies that are confident about their beliefs and values and hold governments to account are societies that are resistant to the virus of terrorism. The key to success is partnership between many nations. We mustn’t lose sight of the importance of those partnerships even as Daesh loses its grip on Syria and Iraq. I look forward to our discussion today on how we can act together to prevent and counter the evolving threat from Daesh. Thank you.

During a visit to Lima on 14 August, Baroness Fairhead CBE Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the UK’s Department for International Trade met Peruvian Minister for Foreign Trade and Tourism Roger Valencia. They discussed the future growth of trade and investment links between the UK and Peru after the UK leaves the European Union (EU).

As the UK is in the process of exiting the EU, the Peruvian Minister for Foreign Trade and Tourism welcomed the UK’s intention to avoid any disruption to bilateral trade. In particular, both parties welcomed the progress made so far in discussions to ensure continuity of the preferential terms of the Trade Agreement between the EU and Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, which helps facilitate trade between the 2 countries, as the UK leaves the EU.

Both the ministers also welcomed the agreement reached between the EU and UK at the March European Council that the UK is to be treated as a member state for the purposes of international agreements during the EU-UK Implementation Period. This would ensure that the preferential terms of the Trade Agreement between the EU and Peru, Colombia and Ecuador will continue to apply to both parties during the Implementation Period.

The Minister for Trade and Export Promotion, Baroness Fairhead said:

I was delighted to meet with Minister Valencia during my visit to Lima and enjoyed productive discussions on the economic partnership between the UK and Peru. The trading relationship between our 2 countries is flourishing and continues to go from strength to strength.

That’s why it’s important to ensure continuity and certainty in our current trade arrangements as we leave the European Union, and UK and Peruvian officials have made excellent progress in this. I’d like to thank officials on both sides for their cooperation and hard work.

As we leave the EU and create a new independent UK trade policy, we will build further on our trade with Peru, and continue to work closely together to champion free trade.

The Minister for Foreign Trade and Tourism, Roger Valencia said:

For Peru, maintaining preferential trade with the UK as it leaves the EU is of utmost importance. The UK represents many opportunities for Peru in terms of trade and tourism, and, as like-minded countries, we are working closely to ensure a smooth transition for open and free trade between our countries.

Proposals for a multi-million scheme to protect thousands of properties from flooding from the Humber has been put forward to Hull’s planning chiefs.

Planning permission is being sought for a £42 million Humber Hull Frontage Improvement Scheme to improve a 7-8 kilometre stretch of tidal flood defences in the Humber Estuary.

Led by the Environment Agency, the scheme has been designed to better protect 113,000 homes and businesses that are at risk from tidal flooding.

If the scheme gets planning approval, work will start at the end of the year and will be completed by the end of 2020.

Nine sites have been identified as part of the scheme including St Andrew’s Quay, Albert Dock and Victoria Dock Village for improved defences.

Contractor BMM JV – a joint venture between BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald – are set to deliver the project which will help improve flood risk along the city’s 19 kilometre waterfront.

Residents can view the detailed plans by visiting Hull City Council’s website:

If you have any questions about the scheme please email: humberhullfrontage@environment-agency.gov.uk

More information is available on our dedicated web pages:

In the past 65 years, there have been three major tidal events in Hull, the last was in December 2013 when 264 properties were flooded due to the overtopping of the existing defences. During high tides, water levels have the potential to rise to around 1 – 3m above some parts of the city.

Over the last few years, the Environment Agency has reviewed the existing Humber flood defences from Fleet Drain to the west of the city, through Hull, to Lord’s Clough in the east. This work has identified the nine sites where work is now being proposed.

Helen Tattersdale, project manager at the Environment Agency, said:

“It is vital for Hull to have improved defences to protect against the potential devastating tidal flooding from the Humber Estuary.

“This investment has enabled us to assess a significant length of the current flood defence walls and embankments that run along the Hull frontage to come up with a scheme that will better protect the city both now and in the future taking into account climate change.”

“Over the past few months, we have been gathering feedback on aspects of the design from local residents and landowners, and other interested organisations including Natural England, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Hull City Council which have been taken into account in our proposals.”

These improvements in Hull are supported by a further four kilometres (2.5 mile) of new and raised tidal defences on either side of the city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, at Hessle and Paull, delivered by East Riding of Yorkshire Council in partnership with the Environment Agency.

The Humber Hull Frontage Improvement Scheme is one of a number of tidal flood alleviation projects that form part of the Humber Flood Risk Management Strategy. The Environment Agency and local partners are now in the process of developing an advanced approach to managing flooding in tidal areas by the River Humber for the next 100 years.

It will be a long-term investment that will contribute to securing the viability of Hull and the wider Humber region, ensuring it retains its place as the eastern gateway to the UK economy.

This long-term investment will contribute to securing the viability of Hull and the wider Humber region, ensuring it retains its place as the eastern gateway to the UK economy.