Red Sea: Houthi Attacks

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

My Lords, as my noble friend would expect, we are committed to making sure that our military, be that on air, land or sea, is adequately equipped and has everything it needs to do its important job. We currently spend around £54 billion on defence and are working hard to get to a point where we can meet our commitment to spending 2.5% on defence.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is beyond urgent to put global pressure on the parties in the Middle East to bring the conflict to an end, given the devastation, loss of life and instability, as in this case, that it has produced? What action are the Government taking?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The implication of that question is that somehow the behaviour of the Houthis regarding shipping is related to the instability and the war in Israel and Gaza. We do not accept that. The behaviour of the Houthis needs to stop. It is a threat to security and stability more widely in the Middle East. We do not accept the Houthis’ contention that their behaviour is in any way related to the situation in Israel, Lebanon or Gaza.

Ethiopia and Somalia

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I note the noble Lord’s support for a special representative on sexual violence. There will be announcements about that. He is absolutely right to raise the issues of Tigray and sexual violence, and of food insecurity in the region, which we are equally concerned about. All this gets resolved only through dialogue and de-escalation, and that is what the UK seeks to support.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, conflict over water is likely to intensify so, following on from the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, what is the Government’s assessment of Ethiopia damming the Blue Nile? That obviously has beneficial effects for the Ethiopian economy but negative effects for the Egyptian economy, fuelling conflict. What kind of resolution can be brought forward here?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We completely understand why Egypt and Sudan would be concerned about access to water through the Nile and the dam, but the only way that this gets resolved is through dialogue between Ethiopia and Egypt, and we support any work that can happen to resolve this in as amicable a way as possible in the circumstances.

Middle East Update

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I should make it clear to the noble Lord that this is not, as he suggests, an embargo. It is a restriction on a very small number of pieces of equipment and it is in order for us to comply with international law. That is the extent of it. UK-Israel co-operation on defence and security remains vital. We will work together to deter malign threats from Iran, protect mutual security interests and develop capabilities, ensuring critical national infrastructure and mutual resilience in cyberspace. We will work together. Israel is our ally. We support its right to defend itself. This is not an embargo.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

I am sure that the Minister is aware that on 16 August an FCDO official, Mark Smith, resigned on the basis that:

“Ministers claim that the UK has one of the most ‘robust and transparent’ arms export licensing regimes in the world, however this is the opposite of the truth”.


He went on to say:

“To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that”.


I am sure that the Minister will not comment on the case of Mr Smith, but can we be reassured that the Government will apply the rules without fear or favour as to the country in question?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is correct that I am unable to comment on the case of an individual, but she can be assured on her latter point. I invite her to read the summary that we published yesterday alongside the Statement.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [HL]

Baroness Northover Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 29th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I also welcome the Minister to her position. I think that she may be focusing on Latin America—she is nodding. Our engagement there is vital if we are going to combat climate change, and I look forward to further engagement with her on that. I also want to take this as my first opportunity to thank the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, for all his work and his inclusive approach to those in the Opposition. He was always willing to respond to messages in relation to the numerous conflicts and challenges that have arisen in foreign affairs. I also came to realise on Zoom during Covid what the noble Lord’s attire must be when his young son came into the background, duly wearing a white shirt, tie and jacket just like his dad, and swimming shorts—just like his dad no doubt, just unseen.

It has also been excellent to work with the noble Lord, Lord Collins, who has made his party’s support for this Bill very clear. I am impressed that Labour has moved so fast in reintroducing this Bill as a Government Bill, and I commend it for that. As we have heard, this Bill started as a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Maria Miller in the other place; the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, introduced it into this House in May, and I commend them for their efforts. The Bill’s aim is to treat the CPA and the ICRC in a comparable manner to international organisations of which the UK is a member. The Minister and others have laid out why that needs to be done, and its implications. They have pointed out that the ICRC and the CPA would not otherwise be considered as international organisations because they are not intergovernmental, hence the gap.

As we all know, the ICRC is impartial, with an exclusively humanitarian mission. It engages all parties to conflicts and assists vulnerable groups in conflict situations, and its independence and confidentiality are essential for its effectiveness. Unfortunately, with global crises as they are, it has much work to do in the most difficult circumstances. So we support its promotion and implementation of international humanitarian law, which has been seriously under threat. Trying to ensure that there are international rules and that they are respected is absolutely vital.

As my noble friend Lord Purvis and others have noted, it is surprising that we have not agreed these provisions in the Bill before. The Explanatory Notes state that over 110 states have already done so, including all the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, so we obviously need to catch up.

As we are all aware, and as others have said, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association seeks to build and strengthen support for parliamentary democracy. As the noble Lord, Lord Howell, has just said, so much of the future is with the young people of the Commonwealth. It wishes to have the freedom to undertake wider activities in promoting democracy and protecting the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth charter.

At the moment, the CPA operates as a UK-registered charity regulated by UK charitable law. Prior to the coalition, I was vice-chair of the CPA and, like many noble Lords and Members of the other place, I have benefited from engagement with parliamentarians across the world through the CPA and the IPU. We learn a great deal from each other. I recall in particular a visit to Pakistan led by the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, where we met women parliamentarians from right across the political spectrum. Led by their Speaker, a woman, they had worked deep into their own parties and with brave survivors to help criminalise the awful practice of acid attacks. This showed that it was possible to work together, even across political divides and cultures, for such outcomes. We parliamentarians from the UK stood in awe of what had been achieved by our fellow parliamentarians. This kind of engagement assists all parliamentarians.

The Bill will enable the Government to treat the CPA and the ICRC in a way that is comparable to other international organisations, such as the IPU under Swiss law. As others have said, these organisations help to uphold international law and democracy, and they are badly needed. I therefore welcome the Bill and lend it the support of these Benches.

President of Iran: Death

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, commentators have noted that these deaths are not likely to change the direction of the Government of Iran. Could the Minister update us on discussions that the Government may be having with the EU and whichever US Administration may come in after its elections on what can be done to take forward the curbing of Iran’s nuclear programme?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is quite right to draw attention to the issue of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. She will be well aware that we kept the JCPOA on the table, notwithstanding America’s withdrawal. We have seen increasingly—coming back to the point my noble friend articulated—Iran going directly against this by, for example, immediately prohibiting IAEA access to Iran. We have pressed on that; my noble friend the Foreign Secretary recently met Mr Grossi to assess the levers we currently have to ensure that Iran’s nuclear capability is not weaponised. We continue to be focused, including in our discussions with both the United States and European partners, and, I also add, with other key partners in the region.

Israel and Gaza

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, on the noble Baroness’s last point, I disagree with her. On Yemen, we have announced additional funding of £139 million. On Syria, we have announced further funding of £89 million, so we are very much seized of the humanitarian plight of those suffering across the region. On Congo, the situation is desperate. I myself visited Congo with Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Edinburgh on the prevention of sexual violence in conflict, so the noble Baroness is wrong to say that. I cannot speak for others, nor will I: I speak for the British Government and our country. We are very much focused on that.

On the casualty figures, yes, the UN revised them because they are based on casualties that it is now finding. I fear, and I do not want to add to speculation, that we need to make a full assessment on the ground. I agree with the noble Baroness inasmuch as we need to have these figures established and verified. To do that, we need the UN agencies and we need the verification process to take place, because what is undoubtedly true is that much of Gaza is currently in ruins and we need to ensure that those souls who have been buried under that are given dignity.

At the same time, I recognise that we hold Israel to a high standard because it is a democracy with a rule of law. We do not have the same standard for Hamas. It is a terrorist group. When we hold Israel to account, we do so as a friend and constructive partner. It is important that we continue to focus on that.

On recognition, and I am sure the noble Baroness will, on reflection, agree with me, I have said repeatedly that stability, security and peace will be possible only once there is stability, security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

The Statement refers to

“a political horizon for the Palestinians, providing a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution”.

Is that not a mountain the top of which will never be reached? Why will the Government not do as the Foreign Affairs Select Committee does—of course, now Norway, Ireland and Spain are added to the 142 countries—and recognise the state of Palestine? My party has long argued for this so that we can move forward in the way that the Minister describes, to a peaceful and just existence for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

I am proud of the work done by the late, lamented Lord Goodhart and many other British lawyers to bring about the ICC. Is it not important that we do not undermine its work?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I agree with the noble Baroness about the importance of international law and the role that the ICC has played. We have seen this in areas such as Russia and Ukraine. As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, articulated, it allows a pre-trial process to be followed and it is important that that process is now undertaken. Many have expressed their personal perspectives on that, but when it comes to legal processes, less is more. Let the ICC get on with its process. There will be an opportunity to discuss it further at an appropriate time.

It is very clear that we continue to engage with Israel as a constructive partner. There are those in Israel who recognise the same credible, irreversible pathway to the two-state solution. On recognition, I have articulated the United Kingdom’s position. We will continue to work constructively with Israelis and Palestinians, and do so in quite a dynamic fashion, between my noble friend the Foreign Secretary’s engagements and my own. We have been working in tandem on this.

The noble Baroness mentioned a mountain, the top of which will never be reached. If there is one commodity one must have in abundance when it comes to public service, it is to never give up on hope.

Conflict-induced Food Insecurity

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 21st May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)]

My noble friend is completely right about that. We can see from the statistics that acute food insecurity is at a five-year high. The Global Report on Food Crises this year indicated that over 281 million people worldwide faced high levels of food insecurity. I agree that climate change has an impact and population can have an impact, but what is driving this insecurity at the moment across Africa and elsewhere is conflict. Trying to unlock some of the peace processes in those conflicts is where we could have the biggest influence.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, the ICC chief prosecutor has said that there are reasonable grounds to accuse the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel of a potential war crime, as we have heard. That war crime is the:

“Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”.


I note that the noble Lord said that he will respect the ICC process. Does he agree that 90 trucks via the sea bridge hardly matches up to the 4,500 trucks prevented from entering via Rafah? Does he agree that, as a first step, funding must be restored to UNRWA, on which the aid agencies heavily depend for logistics and delivery capacity?

[Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)]

I will answer both parts of that question. On the entry of aid into Gaza, it is absolutely right that Israel has not met some of its promises, like the 500 trucks a day, but there are other areas, like having this new pier on the beach in Gaza, from which aid, including British aid, has been distributed. That is a step forward, as is opening Ashdod port, where flour for bakeries has been delivered. Those do not look to me like acts of a nation embarked on genocide and war crimes, but of course we must keep up the pressure elsewhere.

I totally understand and respect the fact that UNRWA is vital for the onward distribution of aid—I discussed this with the head of the World Food Programme just last week—but we have to be cognisant that reports that UNRWA staff were involved in 7 October need to be properly investigated and properly dealt with. Two reports have been commissioned, but we have had only one. I want to see that second report and I want really strong undertakings from UNRWA so that we know our money is going to the right cause.

Israel and Gaza

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 7th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, the Government’s position has always been that we need all sides who come to the negotiating table to recognise the other side’s right to exist. Therefore, we have been very clear as part of my noble friend the Foreign Secretary’s conditions, and as my noble friend Lord Leigh has laid out, that Hamas can no longer be in control in Gaza.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, have the UK Government seen any evidence that the Israeli authorities have put in place serious provisions to ensure that the Palestinian refugees in Gaza are being protected? If they do not see any such serious evidence—the Minister mentioned that he looked for it—what action will they take?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I have already answered the first question; we have seen no credible plan as to where people would go. I assure the noble Baroness that we are pressing the Israeli authorities to ensure that their obligations in this regard are fulfilled if the full-scale Rafah operation goes ahead.

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 30th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I do. At the TNFD’s early adopters moment at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, 320 institutions from 46 countries publicly confirmed their commitment to adopt the TNFD recommendations. Of those early adopters, 46 were UK- headquartered organisations, which is more than in France, Germany and the United States combined.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

ShareAction has reported on insurance companies. The insurance industry is obviously very big here in London, but the report shows that they are very weak across this sector, despite some of the things that they have been saying. Does the noble Lord agree that the insurance industry should be brought into this, and that they need to disclose in the way that other businesses are expected to do?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I entirely agree with the noble Baroness. A sector whose currency is risk should be at the forefront of this. This is about making sure that investments of whatever form are investable, and if an insurance company is not thinking about that, it is way behind the curve. This will not just be imposed on them; they would need to do it even if we were not pushing it, and insurance companies are key.

UK-African Investment Summit

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Northover]

To ask His Majesty’s Government why the UK-African Investment Summit scheduled for April has been postponed, and when they plan to hold it.

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to maximising the success of the next UK-African Investment Summit. The successful 2020 summit laid foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations, based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. The Government are committed to building on that, ensuring attendance from Governments and British and African businesses eager to harness the benefits of our trading relationships. New dates will be announced in due course.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I have heard the reasons why the summit was postponed. When this date was chosen, it was known that there were multiple elections this year, which was an excuse for why it was changed, and that there were other conferences around this time, particularly between Europe and Africa. Until recently, those plans were going ahead, and the Minister seems to imply that they still are. However, if the UK is indeed to engage fully with a continent of the future, which he indicates that he wishes to—obviously, the middle classes there are growing rapidly, and the EU, the US, Russia and China are fully engaged—then postponement, or, in effect, cancellation, does not really show the United Kingdom in the right light, does it?

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

We are committed to this event, but it should not be seen as the only action we are taking. It is part of a continuous engagement with African businesses and with British businesses that want to trade more in Africa, and to build on the success of the recent past. She is right: by 2050, 2 billion people will live on that continent, half of them under 25. They will all want the kind of lifestyle that they see happening elsewhere, and we want to assist that through trade. The UK is the largest investor in African countries by investment stock. Direct investment flows from the UK to the continent were more than £2.4 billion in 2022, and we want to see the increases in bilateral trading continue in future years.