Zimbabwe

Debate between Lord Bishop of Southwark and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Thursday 27th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The noble Lord is right to raise this issue as well. The UK is working closely with international partners to encourage the Zimbabwean Government to live up to their own constitution and commitment to electoral reform, including by implementing the recommendations from the 2018 electoral monitoring reports. We recognise that there has been only very limited progress to date on the electoral reforms recommended in the 2018 paper. Key outstanding areas include a transparent voter registration process, publication of an accurate voters roll, transparent use of state-owned resources and more effort to demonstrate the independence of the electoral commission. This remains a priority in our discussions with not just Zimbabwe but neighbouring countries as well.

[The Lord Bishop of Southwark]

My Lords, the diocese of Southwark is linked with four of the five Anglican dioceses in Zimbabwe and the neighbouring diocese of Rochester with the fifth, Harare. Does the Minister agree that the systemic corruption and long-standing poor level of governance in Zimbabwe continually undermine civil society and reduce the well-being of the people and all the institutions there, including the Church?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, Zimbabwe is a country with extraordinary potential and an extraordinary history, and of course it is right that the current political approach inhibits that potential. The UK is a long-standing partner of Zimbabwe and we provide significant levels of ODA. However, I want to be clear to the House that we do so in a way that avoids government-to-government bilateral financial aid. In other words, none of the money that we provide is channelled through the Government. Instead, we work through multilateral organisations, and wherever we possibly can we support civil society and NGOs in the private sector.

Ukraine and Neighbouring Countries: ODA

Debate between Lord Bishop of Southwark and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Thursday 16th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

It is not possible to give a precise answer because a lot of the funding that we have provided is destined for neighbouring countries but going through, for example, UN agencies. For example, the £25 million we have given to the UN Refugee Agency is designed to support refugees in those neighbouring countries, but I cannot give the noble Baroness an exact breakdown of which country has received which amount of money. As I mentioned in my earlier answer, we also have well over 320 staff working on the ground, helping those countries deal with an escalating refugee crisis.

[The Lord Bishop of Southwark]

My Lords, does the Minister recognise that among the devastation of whole towns and cities in Ukraine is included the destruction of churches, mosques and synagogues, and the looting of museums? Will Her Majesty’s Government fund technical assistance in the rebuilding of religious centres and aid Ukrainian authorities in the listing of stolen artefacts and antiquities with the Interpol stolen art database?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

That is an extremely important point. Our priority at this moment is to do what we can to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself against Russia’s illegal aggression and to help those people who have been immediately caught up in the crisis—refugees but also others. We know that there will be an enormous rebuilding requirement across the board, and the UK is at the heart of the discussions as to what that process will look like, who will fund it and what the UK’s role will be.

Hong Kong: Arrests

Debate between Lord Bishop of Southwark and Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Thursday 12th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, the Government monitor the operation and functioning of the financial sector and its participants on a regular and ongoing basis, across a wide range of matters. Fundamentally, it is for businesses themselves to make their own judgment calls and the Government do not comment on issues relating to individual companies. The sentiments and the message of the noble Lord will have been heard by colleagues in the Foreign Office.

[The Lord Bishop of Southwark]

My Lords, given that the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund did little more than fund legal aid for protesters from the 2019 pro-democracy movement and closed its operations in 2021, is it not an outrage that one of those arrested, along with other trustees, should be 90 year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen? With Cardinal Zen being, as the noble Lord, Lord Patten, has said,

“one of the most important figures in the Catholic Church in Asia”,

I ask the Minister to state in his own words, as clearly as possible, that this is utterly unacceptable and further undermines the rule of law in Hong Kong. What interventions have been and will be made to protect religious freedom or belief in the territory?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I strongly echo the right reverend Prelate’s comments. I know that any government Minister would willingly do so as well, were they standing at the Dispatch Box. What has happened to Cardinal Zen is truly appalling on every conceivable level. It fundamentally undermines every aspect of the agreement we reached with China at the handover and any sense of plurality or freedom of religion in Hong Kong. We are committed to defending freedom of religion for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Freedom of expression, religion or belief is explicitly included in the joint declaration, which China agreed to uphold. China is in clear breach of that declaration. We have seen its use of the national security law to curtail freedoms and suppress any dissent.