Baroness Cox — To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the joint report by the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, International Organisation for Peacebuilding and Social Justice and Christian Solidarity International Breaking Point in Central Nigeria? Terror and Mass Displacement in the Middle Belt, published in March.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park — We welcome this report and its recognition that the underlying drivers of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are complex. The Minister for Africa visited Nigeria in February 2022 and raised rising insecurity and its impact on the Nigerian people in meetings with the Vice President, Foreign Minister and several State Governors. The Minister was pleased to be able to meet with a range of interlocutors, including faith and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) leaders, who are working towards peace in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. In all these meetings, the Minister reiterated the UK’s commitment to working with actors across Nigeria to address violence, protect human rights, and promote dialogue and respect between different ethnic and religious communities. We continue to encourage the Nigerian Government to take urgent action to implement long-term solutions that address the root causes of violence.

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