The Committee is today publishing the Government response to its
September report on the Conflict,
Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). That report, published
just weeks before the outbreak of renewed and extreme conflict in
Israel and Gaza, concluded that ‘cuts to ODA-funded programmes
within the CSSF are likely to impair the ability of the UK
Government to anticipate conflict, prevent escalation, and
respond effectively to areas of known instability across the
world.”
In its response the Government insists that the “Israel and
Occupied Palestinian Territories programme was largely protected
from previous reductions in overall allocations, given the
fragility of the situation and the importance of this region to
the UK’s security”, and the Government’s recent White Paper on
International Development says “Early action should be
prioritised to prevent conflict and mass atrocities” as well as
“Action on conflict needs to start with prevention rather than
response”.
However, the CSSF budget allocation for Israel and the OPTs in
2020-21 was £13 million, and, following cuts, only totaled £9.3m
in 2022-23. ’Prevention’ would require restoration of funding but
that is inevitably much less costly - in every sense – than
responding to conflict.
The Government did not respond at all to the same concerns
expressed regarding Sudan, where the CSSF programme was not just
cut but closed entirely at the end of 2020-21. Violent new
conflict broke out in April this year and has escalated, with the
displacement of millions of people within Sudan and across its
borders into neighbouring countries.
Dame , Chair of JCNSS,
said:
“In September the Committee warned that cuts to UK ODA had
impacted parts of the CSSF at an extremely bad time, with deep
cuts to programmes in the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn
of Africa appearing particularly short-sighted and damaging. The
Government itself has been quite good at foretelling the
consequences of an insufficient approach to conflict prevention
but not so good at heeding or acting on its own warnings; at
putting its money where its mouth is. This is a false economy and
in the Occupied Palestinian Territories we are now seeing the
terrible, unacceptable price that is exacted when conflict erupts
in a region already struggling with failing governance and
infrastructure.
“Most of the world’s poorest people are concentrated in countries
afflicted by conflict: conflict reduction must be at the heart of
tackling extreme poverty. But while development and security used
to sit evenly in the Fund, the security element is now dominant.
The Government is silent on its previous commitment to report
progress against the Sustainable Development Goals in the ODA
funded portions of the Fund and it has outright rejected our call
for quarterly updates. This is also a mistake. Those reporting
arrangements are key to tracking and enhancing the impact of
reduced spending. The SDGs provide a clear index and measure of
progress and demonstrate whether funding is at least at the level
necessary to achieve stated aims or to actually provide value for
UK taxpayers’ money. We will hold the Government to its
commitment to inform the Committee of ‘major developments’ in the
expectation that this should translate into regular, proactive
updates.” /ENDS
Notes to editors
- The CSSF programme for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories was renamed and in 2020-21 was called the Middle East
Peace Process programme
