UK Leadership on Sudan

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Monday 2nd December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I think the noble Lord is absolutely right: we cannot afford for Sudan to fail. It is absolutely important that we focus on ensuring that we can have a return to proper civilian rule. It is because of that that I do not suggest that the conflict is simply about two generals. That is the consequence of it, but the conflict has other roots within it, and that is why it is important to focus on that civilian resolve to bring people together.

When I spoke to the Taqaddum leader, what he stressed to me and I stressed to him was to have an inclusive process to ensure that all groups are brought together to find a solution. He is absolutely committed to that, even though it is difficult because he is sitting down with people who are not easily friends. It is very difficult to build that situation together. The noble Lord is absolutely right that we have to build consensus and see the solution in much broader peace-building ways. He is also right that we cannot allow people to act with impunity. He knows that, since 2003, we have supported the ICC investigation and we are committed to continue that. We are certainly committed to ensuring that violations of international humanitarian law are properly monitored, and evidence gathered, so that we can eventually hold people properly to account for their crimes. At the end of the day, what we have done is consistently condemn such violence.

As the noble Lord knows, our long-standing policy is for competent courts to determine whether genocide is taking place, but that does not stop us acting to ensure that we prevent such crimes and actually hold people to account, so that they know that if they continue to commit such crimes, we will hold them to account. So, he is absolutely right. One thing that we have to keep stressing is the importance of our peace-building and development efforts, which are all about creating a much more secure world. If we are really to address migration, we have to focus on that, and certainly that is what this Government are determined to do.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, this Statement from the Government is obviously extremely welcome, as my noble friend Lord Boateng has said. The Minister’s own leadership on this is exemplary. Clearly, bringing an end to this conflict is where we ultimately want to be. Alongside the humanitarian efforts—which we are obviously putting in and which are laudable—what avenues are there for diplomacy? This might go along with the kinds of questions that the noble Lord, Lord Alton, asked, about the fora in which we might be able to discuss these matters.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My noble friend is absolutely right: we cannot simply focus just on the humanitarian situation, as desperate as that is. Our efforts should go into not only trying to establish an immediate ceasefire but longer-term diplomatic work to ensure that that ceasefire is sustainable and that we can return to civilian rule.

Of course, we have seen the talks in Geneva where RSF turned up but SAF did not, and there was engagement. Our first step was at the Security Council, where sadly there was the cynical application of that veto by the Russians, but that does not stop us in our determination to seek other diplomatic means. Our beginning is to ensure that those parties follow the commitments that they made at Jeddah, and that they have confidence in a mechanism where they can stick to their commitments.

It also means that we have to work with all our allies to ensure that people understand how important that ceasefire is, and how important it is for it to be sustainable. We are working with all our allies to ensure that we can put maximum leverage on those parties to stick to the commitments they have made and achieve a ceasefire. I assure my noble friend that we are using all diplomatic levers to ensure that.

Sudan

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for the range of questions. There are very good reasons for the difficulties with the no-fly zone, in terms of security and escalation. However, I will give a strong commitment to raise the Secretary-General’s commitment on the protection of civilians in November at the Security Council. We want to ensure that all his statements are actively implemented by all parties. I reassure the noble Lord that, in terms of our commitment to supporting the humanitarian situation, we are spending £113.5 million this financial year. This includes our bilateral ODA, which now stands at £97 million. We are not cutting aid. In fact, I suspect that in the forthcoming year, because of the terrible situation in Sudan, we will be increasing our support.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, could I press my noble friend a little more on the question of food insecurity? Given what we all know about the levels of people facing starvation, what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking? Going forward, is there the possibility of protected zones to ensure that crops are actually sown and can be harvested, not laid waste by the warring factions?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We are taking a series of actions. Our first focus is to look strongly at humanitarian access and getting in support, in relation to the UN decisions. On 18 October, we led a joint statement with 10 other donors to condemn the obstruction. On broader support, we are providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter through both the WFP and UNICEF. But be under no illusions that the situation in Sudan is dire because of a civil war conducted by two generals. We need to ensure that we put immediate pressure on those two people to stop the war, so that we can get the sorts of actions in place that my noble friend referred to.

Middle East

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

As I said, our immediate steps are to ensure that the law passed by the Knesset a few days ago, which we condemned, is not implemented and to continue to ensure that there is proper support through UNRWA. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has made it clear that there is a mandate to support the Palestinians. We will go back to the United Nations to ensure that there are the means to deliver the necessary support.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, for the avoidance of doubt and to be clear, there is support for UNRWA from all Benches around this House. I was delighted to hear the Government say that UNRWA has an indispensable role in assisting the Palestinians. My question would have been that asked by the noble Baroness opposite. I have seen the extraordinary work that UNRWA does, in very difficult circumstances, in providing education for children who are themselves in very difficult circumstances. It is more than a matter of profound regret that the Israeli Parliament is considering shutting down UNRWA’s operations. Is the Minister able to say anything further about UNRWA’s range of activities, which I am sure the British Government would want to support?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear my noble friend. I have visited many UNRWA facilities; I have seen schools and health centres and how they deliver. I believe that it is an essential mechanism for delivering support. During the last Government’s suspension of financial support for UNRWA, we were channelling funds to other NGOs to try to mitigate that. It was clear from the statements of the last Government that that would never be sufficient to provide the necessary support that UNRWA gives. It is the responsibility of the United Nations. We will raise it again and support the Secretary-General’s call.

Gaza and Lebanon

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We are taking all possible action to defend, protect and not take anything for granted. We are in an incredibly volatile situation, with other actors intervening. We are determined to work with our allies to properly de-escalate the situation. We are prepared for the worst, but we are trying to ensure that it does not happen.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, at the briefing I attended with my noble friend Lady Lister, we heard that for surgeons who wish to go to Gaza to assist in the terrible situation, to provide surgery and so on, it is now impossible for them to go for less than a month. Often it is six weeks, because they have to take a week to get in and a week to get out. Is my noble friend the Minister prepared to meet with some of these organisations, with me and my noble friend Lady Lister, to hear at first hand what they have been telling us, in order to try to get at least some medical care into Gaza—and to press the case for a humanitarian corridor so that those needing medical evacuation can go to the West Bank?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I assure the noble Baroness that I have been meeting organisations. I am fully aware of the situation. I have an open-door policy when I am here. The reality is that the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Secretary when he visited the region on 14 July, have announced additional funding—£5.5 million to UK-Med for operating its field hospitals in Gaza, extending the medical facilities. During her visit on 7 August, Minister Dodds announced a further £6 million to UNICEF, which is supporting families in Gaza. No one should underestimate the desperate situation. We can all see it; the evidence is quite clear. The only way we can do this is by working with our allies to ensure that the Israeli Government respond to our calls to open the routes in, to ensure that we get proper humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza.

Sudan

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Friday 13th September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on tabling this debate and on his particularly good opening speech. I echo the words of my noble friend Lord Browne: it has been a privilege to sit in the Chamber and listen to some remarkable speeches from your Lordships, illustrating such a depth of experience, knowledge, understanding and passion about the situation in Sudan.

During the debate, we have heard detailed historical analysis, figures and information available from organisations such as the World Food Programme, the Mercy Corps, CAFOD, UNICEF, the Norwegian and Danish Refugee Councils, and others, about the numbers of people facing starvation and, critically, famine. We have also heard that these hunger crises of enormous proportions are absolutely human-made and that, far from being a by-product of the conflict, they are a categoric choice by the warring parties in their disregard for human rights and international law. Hunger and starvation are being used as a weapon of war, as many noble Lords have said.

Children are very much to the fore in this. Of the 25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, over 13.5 million of them are children. Nearly 4 million children under five are malnourished; as the noble Lord said, 750,000 are suffering from severe, acute, life-threatening malnutrition; and nearly 2 million children under one need vital vaccinations.

These figures are, frankly, hard to comprehend but are an absolute call to action for us in the UK to ensure that, as penholder at the UN Security Council, we strain every sinew to rise to the challenges of mitigating the immediate impacts of the conflict. If a ceasefire in Sudan at a national level seems far off, there are still initiatives that need to be taken. Communities in Sudan seek flexible humanitarian assistance—cash, as described by the noble Lord, Lord Oates, to enable them to buy basic necessities in the local markets, which are still functioning—and, of course, to support farmers to boost food production. The briefing we received at the APPG this week was titled If Bullets Miss, Hunger Won’t. That is a very stark title. Remarkably, though, the speakers from all of the organisations at the APPG agreed that all is not yet lost and that there is hope, although this will evaporate without absolutely determined mitigation and action from the international community.

I will add just a few words about education. According to UNICEF and the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee, and as we have heard from other noble Lords, 19 million children are out of school and missing education, which is of course their human right. They are also becoming vulnerable to child labour, child marriage and recruitment by armed groups. UNICEF is none the less providing what it can in terms of formal and non-formal education programmes and psychosocial support. This is vital work but, as in other respects and as the noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, said, it is not enough. UNICEF, like all others, is calling for a ceasefire and steps towards a lasting peace, and, like other agencies and organisations, is deeply concerned that the 19 million children who are out of school, including 5 million who are displaced, have little or no access to education now and going forward. This loss of education will leave a post-conflict Sudan, when it comes, without the skills, capacity and resilience to rebuild.

I do not need to ask the Minister to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to keeping the war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan high on the UK’s agenda and the international agenda. He gave that commitment in his opening speech. However, I plan to press the case for urgent consideration of the asylum situation of Sudanese nationals in this country, and for safe and legal routes for the Sudanese people who wish to come here, as I have asked previously in this Chamber. I need not elaborate on that, as the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, made all the points so eloquently. I simply endorse them.

Covid-19

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

The noble Lord is right. As he says, the self-isolation regulations expire on 24 March. In the other place, the Prime Minister said yesterday that he expects them not to be renewed. Obviously, a final decision will be made nearer the time, but that is the intention. We will continue to provide free lateral flow tests for as long as is necessary. As the noble Lord rightly said, testing has been one of our most important lines of defence, and we continue to issue record numbers. At a later stage in our response, free tests will end, but there will have to be a balance; it is not something that will be happening imminently. We completely understand the value of lateral flow tests—all of us have seen it—but, as I said, as we start to move towards treating this as an endemic, things will need to change. That is something we will have to consider further down the line.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, ventilation remains a distinct problem in very many schools up and down the country. So concerned have some teacher friends of mine been that they have bought their own air purifiers, given that the Government have not filled the gap. The Minister said that 8,000 cleaning units will be rolled out—that seems to me to be an extremely small number—but can she also say over what period these will be rolled out?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

They are being rolled out currently and will continue to be so. As I said in response to a previous question, 350,000 CO₂ monitors have been rolled out. Notwithstanding the comments the noble Baroness made, feedback has shown that, in most settings, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.

European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

Baroness Blower Excerpts

Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard) & Report stage & Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 21st January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, I will be brief but I am moved to speak on this issue, particularly as the speeches have piled up. First, though, I commend the right reverend Prelate on talking about this as a moral bell-wether. In my earlier speech on this matter, I also said that this is as much a moral and ethical issue as it is a political and legal one. I genuinely believe that. The issue of trust that we are now getting into is difficult for us, but it is not just about trust; as the noble and learned Baroness opposite and the right reverend Prelate said, it is a matter of priority and of urgency. Why do we need a two-month delay, as the noble Lord who has just spoken asked, if there is a commitment from the Government to maintain the position?

In the manifesto on which this newly elected Government went to the country, there were commitments on refugees but not specifically on child refugees, and not beyond what was set out in the 2018 Act. It seems to a number of us on these Benches, both those who have spoken and many who have not, that this is not only a moral issue but an extremely urgent one that must have priority. Those who heard the remarks made in this debate by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, where she read the words of a child in a classroom in this country, will know that it is important to understand the profound sense among British people that we must do our utmost to deal properly with child refugees. I believe that there is a profound commitment to make sure that these children, who have come through some of the most difficult circumstances that can possibly be imagined and have the prospect of being reunited with members of their families—that is the group of children we are dealing with in this amendment—can look forward to a much better life. It seems to those of us on these Benches, along with the Cross Benches and I am sure among some Members opposite, that we cannot let go of this lightly. I therefore urge us all to vote for the amendment.

[Baroness Ludford (LD)]

My Lords, to sum up briefly, the Minister will have heard the strength of feeling in this House and the state of perplexity and bewilderment at the legislative record on this: the section is in the 2018 Act and there was no provision in the first version of this Bill to delete it. Therefore, in terms of continuity, the position would point to the Government accepting the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, which would surely be the graceful and gracious thing for the Government to do. The strength of feeling no doubt indicates to the Government that they might otherwise have to deal with a vote in this House. There is a way out for them, and I very much hope that the Minister will be able to take it.