Ministers give evidence on UK’s work to protect women and girls from conflict
On Tuesday the International Development Committee will hear from government ministers on the UK’s progress in protecting women and girls around the world.
Meeting details
In the final evidence session of its inquiry into the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, MPs will consider how the UK could demonstrate leadership on protecting women and girls in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan.
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, enacted through a United Nations Security Council resolution in 2000, aims to tackle conflict and build peace by promoting gender equality.
While some commentators say the UK has demonstrated leadership on WPS, witnesses have recently told the Committee that this could be undermined without guarantees of future funding, and that the UK should commit to not supporting those rolling back rights for women and girls.
Hearing evidence from ministers at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Ministry of Defence, MPs are likely to ask how much progress the UK has made on implementing the WPS Agenda and how the UK will guarantee its international leadership in the future.
They are also likely to ask what impact cuts to aid spending will have on women and girls around the world, and how it decides which programmes to cut. More specifically, MPs are likely to ask what more the UK could do to support women and girls in Afghanistan, and to impose sanctions on Sudan.