To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answers by Lord Bates on 23 February (HL Deb, col 411), who is coordinating international efforts to help the victims of the famine in South Sudan; and what meetings the Minister and Secretary of State have convened with their international counterparts to ensure an effective response to the famine.
Answered on
8 March 2017
International efforts are coordinated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UK is engaging at all levels with the United Nations to push for a swift and effective response. We are calling on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to lay down their arms and allow unrestricted humanitarian access.
During his visit to South Sudan in February Minister Wharton met with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General, David Shearer, to discuss the immediate and urgent response to the humanitarian situation as well as steps that need to be taken to bring an end to the conflict.
The Secretary of State and DFID officials have called and written to many of their counterparts to push other donors to follow the UK’s lead and step up with funding for the UN appeal and to take part in a coordinated response to this crisis.