Ukraine Update
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, I was glad to hear that the Statement gave quite a bit of space to the very important agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds. This is the first sign of a slight concession on the part of Russia. It is also of extreme importance to some of the poorest people in the Middle East and north Africa, including some of those living in refugee camps or displaced people.
Can the Minister confirm the figure given in the Statement of 2 million tonnes already exported and apparently having reached their destinations? Of course this is only a small proportion of the total foodstuffs in store in Ukraine—maybe 10%—so it is still extremely important. Can she tell us anything about the current 2022 harvest in Ukraine? How badly has it been affected by the fighting? Is it being successfully stored?
I repeat what I have mentioned previously: we should not just settle and plan for a long drawn-out war. Anything that can be done to shorten it must be done. Are the Government therefore working to make the maximum use of the possible and available channels of communication, including through our diplomatic staff in Russia?
Baroness Goldie (Con)
On the specific question about the 2 million tonnes of grain, I do not have information as to where that has gone or which countries have received it. I can undertake to make inquiries and if an answer is forthcoming, I shall write to the noble Lord.
He is quite right that the consequence of all this is impacting desperately on the poorer countries of the world. It may be a considerable time before there is a manifest expansion of the grain exports that would both provide food to sources that need it and reduce the price and cost of the food supply. That may take a little time.
In the meantime, we as a country have produced £372 million pounds for the countries most impacted by rising global food prices, which was announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in June. The UK and partners also secured the largest ever World Bank financial commitment of $170 billion for low-income countries around the world. That is supporting countries facing economic hardship as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On the final point, this war is going, I am afraid, to be a protracted affair. At the end of the day, how it unfolds and what the consequences are will very much depend on Ukraine’s decisions about what Ukraine wants to do. That is not for others to interfere in. They must come to their own view, when they think they can, as to what options are available to them.
On the final question about communications with Russia, it is very difficult to maintain diplomatic relations with a country which has behaved as appallingly as Russia has. What I can say to the noble Lord is that at defence level, MoD maintains communication with the Russian MoD to try to ensure that we understand the escalation and implications of any military activity. At that level there is engagement, but I am afraid that diplomatic engagement in the current situation is almost impossible to contemplate.
Ukraine: UK Military Support
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton(2 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Goldie (Con)
As I have indicated to the Chamber before, in the light of the settlement that was made for defence and which was examined in detail under the comprehensive spending review, defence has enjoyed an extent of resource which has been unknown for many years. As my noble friend will be aware, there is a very ambitious shipbuilding project under way for naval craft, not least Type 26s and Type 31s and the other embryonic versions of more sophisticated destroyers and frigates. We are in a good place. As I have said before, there will be differing views of what constitutes an effective military in future warfare. As was clear from Future Soldier, all the evidence shows exactly what the shape of that needs to be. Quite simply, with technology we can do a lot more with fewer people.
Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, do the Government agree that Russia is breaking international law by blocking the export of Ukrainian food across the Black Sea? Will they seek agreement on how to make such exports possible?
Baroness Goldie (Con)
I have noted the noble Lord’s observations. These are matters which fall under the responsibility of my colleagues in government, but I am sure that his comments will be noted.
Gaza
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton
Baroness Goldie (Con)
My Lords, we regularly discuss the situation in Gaza with the Israeli and Egyptian Governments. This includes the Minister of State for the Middle East raising our concerns with the Israeli authorities during his visit to Israel in May, as well as discussions with the Egyptian ambassador on 16 May. We are gravely concerned about the recent escalation of violence in Gaza. We welcome the Egyptian and United Nations brokered ceasefire and urge all parties to make progress towards a long-term agreement.
Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her reply, but is it not intolerable that violence has continued for 12 years, providing an excuse for worldwide terrorism? The blockade also continues, although it has not prevented violence from both sides. Will Her Majesty’s Government call for an end to the blockade and for the normalisation of all relationships? Would an independently facilitated analysis of the causes of strife be helpful in this?
Baroness Goldie
I reassure the noble Lord that we are deeply concerned about the recurring violence in Gaza and the surrounding region, and we regularly lobby the Israelis about the damage that their restrictions are doing to the lives and livelihoods of ordinary Palestinians. We have also raised concerns with the Egyptian authorities, but there is no excuse or justification for terrorism. We utterly condemn the violent acts of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. The firing of rockets towards civilian areas is unacceptable and must stop. I agree with the noble Lord that all parties should work together to agree a long-term sustainable plan to improve the situation with help from the international community, and we welcome efforts by those who are working to develop solutions that will ultimately lead to peace.
Khan al Ahmar
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton
Baroness Goldie
I think that there will be a lot of sympathy with the sentiments expressed by my noble friend. No one can view these events with anything but a very heavy heart and profound concern about what the implications will be—as the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, correctly pointed out—for the negotiation of a peace process. We expect people to be treated humanely, we expect them to be treated with compassion and, above all, we expect law to be observed and human rights to be respected.
Lord Hylton (CB)
Does the noble Baroness agree that the Khan al Ahmar school represents an amazing example of community self-help and shows how the Bedouin community values education? Will the Government consider, and act urgently towards, a supranational court to decide legal issues of this kind that occur in long-occupied territories?
Baroness Goldie
The noble Lord raises an interesting suggestion. As he is aware, there is already a global framework of legal fora for determining issues where there are either transgressions of human rights or breaches of acceptable state activity. I am not aware of any recent discussions by the United Kingdom Government on the point that he raises, but I will certainly undertake to make further inquiry and, if there is information that I can share with him, I will do so.
Turkey: Kurds and Yazidis in Syria
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton
Lord Hylton
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of allegations of genocide by Turkey against the Kurds and Yezides of Afrin province in Syria, made by 13 organisations, including the Kurdish Red Crescent; and what action they will take.
Baroness Goldie (Con)
My Lords, we have followed the situation in Afrin closely. We are aware of the displacement of large numbers of civilians and of reports of civilian casualties in Afrin. It is vital that those civilians who have been displaced from Afrin are able to return safely and voluntarily. We continue to make this point strongly in our close dialogue with Turkey about Syria, and Turkey has assured us of its commitment to respect international law in its operations.
Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, I am glad to hear about dialogue on return, but is it not the case that more than 100,000 locals have been driven out of Afrin? Kurds and Yazidis are being murdered while Turks from Turkey, Syrian refugees from Turkey and displaced Syrian Islamists from elsewhere are being settled there. Is that not strong evidence of genocide and of conduct unworthy of a NATO ally, partly executed by ex-members of Isis and al-Nusra and paid for by Turkey? Will the Government use all their influence to stop this?
Baroness Goldie
The UK has called for de-escalation and the protection of civilians while recognising Turkey’s legitimate interest in the security of its borders. In relation to allegations of genocide, it has always been the position of the UK that that should be determined by the judicial authorities. I should make it clear that the UK has seen no credible evidence of genocide, but, on the general point made by the noble Lord, the UK has a close engagement with Turkey and that manifested itself most recently in exchanges between the Prime Minister and President Erdoğan when he visited this country between 13 and 15 May.
Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton
Lord Hylton
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Saudi Arabia about the recent withholding of wages due to migrant workers by large and medium-sized companies.
Baroness Goldie (Con)
My Lords, the Government take the rights of migrant workers very seriously, as the Prime Minister made very clear in her speech at this year’s United Nations General Assembly in September. Where we have concerns over legislation or regulatory protections for migrant workers, we raise these with Governments. However, we cannot intervene in specific labour disputes, including investigating reports of third-country migrant workers not receiving payments due to them.
Lord Hylton (CB)
I thank the noble Baroness for her reply, but does she agree that this issue is a British one, as a British doctor working at the Saad hospital in Khobar has lost wages? It is also a Commonwealth issue because hundreds if not thousands of migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent have also lost their pay. Will the Government arrange the strongest possible protest to Saudi Arabia, which I note is able to wage two wars at the same time in neighbouring countries?
Baroness Goldie
I must apologise to the noble Lord; with some difficulty, due to the background noise, I heard only part of his question. If I may deal with the first issue, which I think concerns British nationals, I can confirm that officials in the British embassy in Riyadh have been in contact with the British nationals in Saudi Arabia who are in a similar situation as third-country migrant workers not receiving payment. The advice of the British embassy, which I encourage anyone experiencing problems to follow, is to seek legal advice by engaging an independent lawyer qualified in local law who can advise on rights and methods of redress. That is not something that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can intervene upon.
I think the latter part of the noble Lord’s question concerned the role of the Commonwealth. He makes the point that there may be migrant workers in Saudi Arabia from Commonwealth countries. With respect, it is for these Commonwealth countries to determine how they wish to address these issues and what steps if any they wish to take on behalf of their citizens who are in the position of being in Saudi Arabia and may not have been paid their due wages.
Israel: Children in Military Custody
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton
Lord Hylton
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the Government of Israel the implementation of the recommendations of the 2012 Foreign and Commonwealth Office report Children in Military Custody and of the 2013 UNICEF report Children in Israeli Military Detention; and, if so, what was the result of those discussions.
Baroness Goldie (Con)
My Lords, we are deeply concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons and have made repeated representations to Israel on its treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including child detainees. We have raised both reports in these discussions, and we continue to press for full implementation of their recommendations, in particular on ending the use of single hand ties and on ensuring that Palestinian children are informed of their legal rights.
Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, I believe that only one out of 40 of the recommendations of the British report has so far been implemented. Is the noble Baroness aware that the handcuffing and shackling that she mentioned continues even during the questioning of these children? Is she also aware that more than half of them suffer physical abuse of one form or another while in custody? Many are forced to sign declarations in Hebrew which they do not understand. Will the Government, who have a direct interest in the British report, press Israel to implement the six urgent points made in July by Military Court Watch?
Baroness Goldie
I thank the noble Lord for raising an important issue that I know is of universal concern to the entire House. I emphasise that we have pursued a course of active ministerial and diplomatic engagement. The noble Lord may be aware that the UNICEF report was followed by information from UNICEF that some positive steps had been taken towards addressing the recommendations in the 2012 report, including making changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint. The Israeli military has also started piloting the use of summons instead of night-time arrest. The noble Lord is right to signal his concerns, which also remain the concerns of the UK Government. I can only reassure him that determined engagement and dialogue are being effected by the United Kingdom Government.
Syria: Aleppo Ceasefire
Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Hylton(8 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Goldie
The noble Baroness eloquently and poignantly raises a very important issue, one that I think has touched the hearts of all of us looking at the ghastly footage on our television screens. We are committed to doing everything we can to support humanitarian aid to Aleppo, which is why we fully support pauses in fighting to get that aid into Aleppo and to ensure that those in dire need of medical evacuation can access treatment. The recent deal has a very important role to play in that. I reassure the noble Baroness that the United Kingdom Government are working in conjunction with global partners, not least the International Syria Support Group. Very recently, the Foreign Secretary hosted a meeting of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee, so we are doing our very best at every level to facilitate attainment of the objectives which the noble Baroness desires.
Lord Hylton (CB)
My Lords, on 3 and 4 September, I was in Aleppo with parliamentary and other colleagues. It was obvious that normal life continued there, at least in the government-controlled areas. Will our Government press hard for effective monitoring of the present ceasefire and for severe penalties for ceasefire breaking?
Baroness Goldie
The short answer is yes: we shall do everything we can to monitor progress. Although we are at an early stage in the cessation, the indications are perhaps encouraging, and we very much hope that it will be sustained and that therefore the concerns which the noble Lord expressed will be assuaged.