Mindanao Earthquake
Debate between Baroness Sugg and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I pay tribute to my noble friend for the work that he has done in the Philippines over many years, particularly in the Bangsamoro region. He has been involved for more than a decade, I think, and that has been a remarkable commitment where he has achieved and contributed to real change.
The UK has provided humanitarian assistance in recent years to support the Philippines Government’s response to the major natural disasters that have impacted the country. My noble friend is right to say that these are often climate-related. The Philippines is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate-related disasters, and we have been strong supporters of it. We also have a modern development partnership with the Philippines.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, are the Government having discussions about deploying emergency response teams to assist on the ground, such as the excellent Hazardous Area Response Team or UK-Med, which have been trained in providing life-saving assistance in these cases?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
As I say, we have not as yet been asked to provide support, and we are strong supporters of the response of the Philippines Government. I make that it clear that we are close partners of the Government of the Philippines and we would mobilise the resources that the noble Baroness mentioned if they were felt to be necessary. There is no resistance at all at our end.
West Papua: Deforestation
Debate between Baroness Sugg and Lord Lemos
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble and right reverend Lord for his question on this important issue. The UK respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the region of Papua. We support the efforts of the Indonesian authorities and civil society to address the needs and aspirations of the Papuan people. All Papuans need to benefit from the development of the region. Where we have human rights concerns, we raise them, as we have done at both ministerial and senior official level. We continue to support a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the region. Our UK mission in Geneva raised this with the high commissioner’s office in April 2025, and we have encouraged both parties to agree dates.
Baroness Sugg (Con)
My Lords, over the last two decades, we have seen the development of large-scale palm oil plantations in West Papua, and that has led to the clearance of vast swathes of primary rainforests, which are some of the most biodiverse in the world. What assessment have the Government made of the environmental and human rights impact of palm oil production in West Papua, and what steps are they taking to ensure that UK imports of palm oil are not linked to deforestation or associated abuses?
Lord Lemos (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. The UK is supportive of the implementation of the Indonesian sustainable palm oil standard to support Indonesia’s sustainable economic, social and environmental objectives. Agricultural expansion for a small number of commodities, as the noble Baroness rightly notes, is the biggest driver of forest loss. We need to improve the productivity of existing land to reduce pressure on the forest frontier. We need to realise more economic benefits for forest countries from preserving forests than from deforestation. The UK is supporting small farmers and the Government of Indonesia in their commitment to greater food security, and working to improve supply-chain transparency internationally. This includes supporting international partnerships and initiatives such as the Tropical Forest Alliance. The UK ODA programme promotes sustainable farming in countries such as Indonesia by working with national Governments.