UN Mission in Mali: Armed Forces Deployment
Debate between Baroness Morris of Bolton and Baroness Goldie(3 years, 11 months ago)
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The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Goldie) (Con)
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, and the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, very much for their helpful and constructive comments. On behalf of the Government, I also thank them for their tribute to our Armed Forces personnel and, as the noble Baroness so rightly pointed out, their families. Our thoughts are certainly always with our Armed Forces personnel and their families when there is any deployment at all. The noble Lord and the noble Baroness raised a number of points, which I shall try to deal with as comprehensively as I can.
The noble Lord, Lord Touhig, raised the issue of encouraging political dialogue and how we might contribute to the need for construction and engineering skills. I say to him that the whole reason that the United Kingdom is contributing to this United Nations mission in Mali is that the underlying instability means that it is very difficult, in the face of that turbulence, to move on to the more positive and constructive issues to which he refers. We recognise that while our contribution to the security response is important, security interventions alone will not address the instability in the Sahel. We continue to advocate for state-led progress on the peace process in Mali, and for political and institutional reform in the wider region, with greater ownership and leadership of reform efforts by G5 Governments. I reassure the noble Lord that he raises an important point, but the priority at the moment is trying to address the issues of instability and lack of security.
The noble Lord and the noble Baroness also raised the issue of women. It is the case that women have been badly impacted by the consequences of the instability and turmoil. However, it is also the case that there is some cause for optimism. Over the past five years, we have seen progress. Widespread fighting between the parties has not returned, the reconstitution of a national army from members of the former armed groups and—this is the important point—the inclusion of women in the peace process, including MINUSMA’s role as mediator, have been critical to this relative stability. Important points were made about the position of women, how such civil unrest can impact on them and how we can do our best, as a contributing country, to encourage a more enhanced role for women.
The noble Lord and the noble Baroness asked what our objectives are. The Foreign Secretary recently chaired a review process looking at all the strands of the UK ODA budget. The review safeguarded support for five ODA priorities: the very poorest—that is, poverty reduction for the bottom billion; climate change; girls’ education, which will, I hope, reassure the noble Lord and the noble Baroness; Covid-19; and the role of Britain globally as a force for good.
The noble Lord also raised the important issue of how we work with other forces from contributing countries and allies. Indeed, the noble Baroness also talked about that and about our security relationships. I commend them both: they have touched on something really significant. At the heart of this is the fact that we are part of a United Nations mission and we are proud to play our role. We want to be a positive influence to help those countries that have suffered such insurgency and insurrection, particularly Mali, to move on to a better and more stable course. We want that because it is good not just for Mali but for the broader security of the region and the world at large. As the noble Lord alluded to, if we can bring greater stability to that area, we can begin to introduce more robust political processes. If we look at the country’s infrastructure, a great deal of progress has been made in taking the country forward.
The noble Lord and the noble Baroness will be aware that we work closely with France in particular. We are part of the Operation Barkhane mission, which is operative in the Sahel. Unlike MINUSMA, Barkhane is a counterterrorism mission, of course. It has a different purpose but it is an example of the importance of working with allies whom we know well, with whom we get on and with whom we are very proud to work in partnership to improve the overall situation.
I think that I have managed to cover the points made by the noble Lord and the noble Baroness. If I have omitted anything, I shall have a look at Hansard and undertake to rectify it. Again, I express to both the noble Lord and the noble Baroness my appreciation of their constructive comments, particularly their recognition of the tremendous role that our Armed Forces are asked to play.
The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Morris of Bolton) (Con)
My Lords, we now come to the 20 minutes allocated for Back-Bench questions.
Khan al Ahmar
Debate between Baroness Morris of Bolton and Baroness Goldie
Baroness Goldie
As the noble Baroness is aware, there is a regular diplomatic exchange between the United Kingdom and Israel—indeed, in the repeat of the Answer that was made crystal clear. What is beyond doubt is that demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and, frankly, call into question Israel’s commitment to a viable two-state solution. That is profoundly regrettable, because everyone desires to see progress made, but both entities have to be committed to taking forward that process.
I would also point out that these demolitions and evictions, in all but the most exceptional cases, are contrary to international humanitarian law. The United Kingdom, as I indicated, will consider these matters further with our European partners as they progress. We think that a threat of demolition is imminent but, as I speak, there is no evidence that the demolition has happened. We will respond to events as they take place, in concert with our European partners.
Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. I applaud the Government’s stand on this and the very strong stand taken by our ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, and our consul-general to Jerusalem, Philip Hall. The people of Khan al Ahmar, where I have been, are delightful people. They have been plagued by settlers trespassing on their land, lighting fires and trying to take away the small livelihood that they eke from some rather meagre land. I very much hope that the Government will be able to stop this demolition—but, if they are not, these lovely people are going to be moved next to the municipal rubbish dump. I hope that we can do something to ensure that, if their village is demolished, they can go somewhere far better than that.
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.