Sustainable Development Goals
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]
My Lords, we are indeed supporting the Global Partnership for Education. We look forward to co-hosting the replenishment conference with the Government of Kenya next year and we will announce our support for GPE in due course.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
[Inaudible.] the UN sustainable goals is threatened by lack of investment in some of the emerging markets in Africa, South America and the Middle East. Is it possible for us to concentrate more investment in this area?
Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]
[Inaudible.] and we will continue to do so. I point the noble Baroness towards the UK-Africa Investment Summit, which we held at the end of last year and which set out what further moves we will take to increase our investment within Africa.
Nagorno-Karabakh: Genocide Emergency Alert
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]
My Lords, we have seen a number of reports highlighting some terrible incidents affecting civilians. We will continue to monitor that carefully. Over the weekend, we announced new UK aid support, which is directly targeted to help thousands of people who have been affected by the conflict. That support includes urgent medical supplies, food and safer shelters. It is a £1 million aid package in response to an appeal through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s assistance for aid. Almost a month ago Canada halted arms sales to Azerbaijan’s backer and ally, Turkey, in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Will the UK do likewise?
Baroness Sugg (Con) [V]
My Lords, we continue to monitor developments in the region closely and consider all export applications thoroughly against a strict risk assessment framework. We keep all licences under careful review. The UK complies with the OSCE arms embargo relating to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This is considered as part of our export licensing process.
Covid-19: Access to Vaccine
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, getting vaccinated against preventable diseases is of course the right thing to do to protect others. The UK Government take the issue of disinformation very seriously; it is really important at this time of national emergency that the public have accurate information. We are working at pace with partners to help combat false and misleading narratives about coronavirus, making sure that the public have the right information they need to protect themselves.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, following on from the question from my noble friend Lord Collins, how are we are going to ensure that larger nations such as America do not try to buy all the vaccine, thereby taking it away from other countries, as we have read about in the press recently? What could Britain’s role be in that?
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, as the noble Baroness says, COVAX does not prevent countries signing up to their own bilateral deals, but we really believe that bringing the world together through the COVAX Facility is going to be the best way to prevent vaccine nationalism. We will continue to work with our friends and partners around the world to encourage all countries to sign up to COVAX.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg (Con)
The noble Lord rightly highlights the situation in which many civilians find themselves in this conflict, which is why we are keen to do everything we can to de-escalate it. On relations with Turkey, on 28 September, the Prime Minister spoke to President Erdoğan. They agreed on the importance of a return to dialogue. As I have said, we will do all that we can to urge the parties to avoid any external interference.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, war crimes do not justify further war crimes. The talks have been going on since the early 1990s, so is it not time that we had a new round of peace talks with the parties? I call on the British Government to be one of those leading parties at a round table with NATO and with women from the locality who are on the ground. There can be no peace without women. It is really important that we start the talks afresh.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, I agree completely with the noble Baroness on the importance of including women in the peace talks. As she will know, when women are involved, we see longer-lasting peace. The international community is fully behind the Minsk process, which we think is the correct mechanism to bring the parties to the table and to see some progress on this.
Belarus: Presidential Elections
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for his support. The Magnitsky regime, as he will know, is relatively new. As I said, we are looking at what more we can do to strengthen it, and there will be further developments on that in due course. I also agree with the noble Lord on the importance of keeping up cultural relationships with countries all around the world, and we will continue to support the BBC World Service and other cultural organisations.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, I very much welcome the Government’s Statement. Belarus is the only country in Europe not to be part of the European Convention on Human Rights. The United Kingdom would become the second if we were to move on to the second round of Brexit, and it would cease to be a full party to the convention, as many Conservatives wish. I do hope that this will be reconsidered.
As many colleagues have said, Belarus is the only country in the world where the President is inaugurated in secret, and he is very close to his ally, President Putin. I hope that we will consider the whole question of how women are being treated in Belarus, with sexual violence, imprisonment and having other rights taken away, because the women are leading this campaign, and it is vital that they are given support.
Belarus has had arrests on a huge scale. The United Kingdom must go beyond recognising the Belarusian regime—we must review our relationship at every level, and we must pursue sanctions; otherwise, our credibility will be at stake. We must demonstrate solidarity continually with everyone, including those in the trade union movement. I end where I began: human rights are the heart of this matter.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness rightly highlights many of the reasons why the people of Belarus continue to protest for a better future. She mentioned the European Convention on Human Rights; we are committed to that and to protecting and championing human rights at home and abroad. I hope the noble Baroness is reassured that we are pursuing sanctions, and we will continue to demonstrate solidarity with the brave protesters. I spoke to our ambassador this morning, who talked me through all the different ways she is supporting the protesters: both laying wreaths and hosting some of the protesters at the embassy to give them a safe space to talk. Also, UK diplomats have attended the trials of political opponents and independent journalists to show solidarity. I agree with the noble Baroness that human rights are at the heart of this matter.
Aid Impact
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, I welcome the review. I very much hope that as part of it, unlike what has happened previously, the gender and disability lenses are looked at along with culture, and that there is respect for all countries in the projects that we are working on. I feel that this is very important. Further, I know this is not quite right, but there is spending in Scotland and Wales on development, and maybe we could include this in some way as an exception.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, ICAI’s reports have led to much substantive action in key areas, including the use of data and the preparation of results, as well as helping us to mainstream our policies on gender, making sure that all our policies are inclusive and that we reach the poorest and leave no one behind. We will encourage ICAI to continue to assist us on those measures. I also take the opportunity to reiterate the point that advancing gender equality and women’s rights are of course a core part of the new Government’s mission.
Covid-19: UN Sustainable Development Goals
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg [V]
My Lords, I can assure the noble Lord that the sustainable development goals remain central to the Government’s plans, both internationally and domestically. We remain strongly committed to responding to Covid-19 and, in parallel, it is of course important to consider how we will recover. The SDGs are an important lens to help shape policies that will help us build back better from Covid-19 both here in the UK and in our international work.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, in what ways are the UK Government ensuring that their rebuilding and recovery efforts are guided by local partners and in line with the national SDG strategy, including working with the private sector globally?
Baroness Sugg [V]
My Lords, it is of course important both that we work with the private sector and that we champion localised action as well. We work very closely with front-line responders and southern women’s rights organisations; we know that those people are best placed to ensure that the response is informed by the voices and needs of those being affected.
East Africa: Food Security
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg
I thank the noble Baroness for highlighting the Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. We will be supporting that appeal; I think we will be making an announcement on it tomorrow. The noble Baroness also referred to support for refugees and internally displaced people. Today we are making an announcement that we are supporting 5,500 teachers to ensure that refugees, over half of whom are young people, will be able to continue their education throughout the crisis.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, the situation in Sudan is so awful that one can hardly imagine it. Women play a crucial role with vulnerable people in the global food system as producers and workers and at processing plants. In the present situation, it is almost impossible to buy food. We have to think about how the right and proper nutritional food is available and can be bought and consumed or given as aid. We know the importance of the right nutrition from gestation for the mother and for the child during the growth of the brain, the lungs and the body, and none of this can wait until later. It is important that there is a proper diet. I want to know how we can ensure that food is getting directly to mothers and children on the ground. We must look at the metrics through a gender lens.
Baroness Sugg
The noble Baroness refers to the situation of women in Sudan. We welcome some of the recent reforms that will support women in Sudan. Gender inequality of course plays a significant role in food security and the nutrition status of individuals. Entrenched sociocultural norms and practices are placing women and girls at greater risk. We are working with the World Food Programme and others to ensure that we are targeting vulnerable groups, including women and girls, as the response continues and as we help to increase food productivity and the diversification of crops and livestock for women farmers.
Gavi: Covid-19
Debate between Baroness Goudie and Baroness Sugg(4 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg
The noble Baroness is right to point out the importance of malnutrition and making sure we provide children with a good-quality diet, so that they are not affected more in the long term. I am afraid I am still not able to announce any future funding for nutrition, but I acknowledge—as I did previously—that we must ensure there is no cliff edge to funding.
Baroness Goudie (Lab)
My Lords, I see two challenges to developing the vaccine. It is no less challenging for us to ensure that, once the vaccine is available, everyone has access, with equal distribution, and that it is not too expensive for developing countries, such as Afghanistan, and for refugee camps. Gavi’s advance market commitment is required. I hope that no country has priority before other countries. I would like the Minister to assure me that we will encourage every country that can afford to give more money to Gavi to do so and that, at every bilateral meeting that our Ministers have or the Prime Minister has, they raise this among the other key issues that are affecting the global community now.
Baroness Sugg
We are encouraging others to step up and donate to Gavi. It is high on our agenda in bilateral calls. We have already made our commitment and have seen lots of other commitments, both from countries and private companies, which are welcome if we are to achieve our aim.