Chagos Islands

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Tuesday 10th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, we will consider all these factors once the consultation is finished. As I said earlier, the feasibility study concluded on schedule. As there were still uncertainties about how any resettlement could work, and potential costs, we went into the consultation system. That is also why we are examining the results of the consultation very carefully.

[Lord Avebury]

My Lords, will the Government publish a draft of their decision for consultation with the All-Party Group on the Chagos Islands? Will they also give both Houses an opportunity to debate the review before a final decision on resettlement is made?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, I draw attention to the dedication of the all-party group on this issue over many years. Whether or not there will be an opportunity for this to be debated at some stage will depend on whether noble Lords try to get parliamentary time for it. Once the analysis is made, the Government will make an announcement. I will write to the noble Lord about whether it will be published.

Yemen

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Thursday 29th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Avebury]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on restoring peace in that country.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, the United Kingdom Government are in regular contact with the Saudi authorities, including through our embassy in Riyadh and our Yemen office based in Jeddah. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week and underlined the importance that the United Kingdom attaches to finding a political solution to the current crisis as soon as possible. He also reinforced the necessity of full compliance with international humanitarian law and of facilitating access for humanitarian and commercial shipping.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, the Yemen operation has left 5,000 dead, 26,000 injured, 2.3 million internally displaced and 21 million in need of humanitarian assistance. If we agree with the Brookings Institution that al-Qaeda is the principal local winner of this war and with Human Rights Watch that Saudi attacks on IDPs and humanitarian aid are violations of the laws of war, will the Government use our presidency of the Security Council in November to promote a truce and to call for the withdrawal of all foreign forces in Yemen?

Civilian Translators and Interpreters

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

I think the figure my noble friend mentions is fairly close. Around 130 of the locally engaged staff have successfully come to the United Kingdom with their families, which amounts to 460 people.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, are Ministers still unaware of any case of a translator or interpreter in Afghanistan being killed following intimidation, as they were in August? Might an alternative to the suggestion made by the noble Baroness be for the Security Council to invite the UNHCR to survey the schemes for the protection of civilian translators and interpreters that have been developed by the various NATO countries in Afghanistan, in order to identify best practice and make recommendations on meeting the obligation to protect?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, I cannot comment on any individual cases but I can say that we continue to lobby strongly at the United Nations for measures that will improve the protection of civilians as a whole in conflict areas. This requires a greater compliance with international laws by state and non-state actors, an improved response and action by the international community, and support to states to develop their capabilities to protect their own populations.

Sudan

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

The noble Baroness, who also has experience in this area, brings attention to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. This has a wide range of helpful provisions that, if implemented, could help promote stability in Darfur and contribute to a political settlement. We are therefore disappointed that it has not been implemented fully and that, as a result, the terrible conflict continues, as she highlighted. We continue to monitor the DDPD process, including through the attendance of Her Majesty’s Government at this week’s implementation follow-up committee meeting in Qatar. However, given the urgency of the situation in Sudan, it is right to also pursue other avenues towards peace, including the efforts of the AU high-level implementation panel.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with Amnesty International that the atrocities committed by the Sudanese armed forces in South Kordofan, including deliberate attacks on civilians, hospitals, schools and NGOs, constitute war crimes for which the leaders of the junta should be indicted? Could we propose to the UN Security Council that a task force be appointed to collect the evidence that would allow such prosecutions to be made at the International Criminal Court against any of the criminals who might stray into the jurisdiction of countries that believed in the rule of law?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises the terrible issues in Darfur, including two areas where nearly 5.5 million Sudanese remain in need of humanitarian aid. He mentions the ICC, which I know is keeping a very close watch on this issue, but the UN has also extended the use of UNAMID, which is operating in extremely difficult and challenging environments and is basically there for the protection of civilians.

Death Penalty: Worldwide Abolition

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Monday 20th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Baroness mentions a particular case in Indonesia and legal representation. It has been the policy of all Governments in the past not to fund legal costs for those in this position, but we will work as hard as we can both bilaterally and multilaterally to protect individuals who end up in this situation.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, the coalition Government produced the Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-2015, but that does not appear to have been succeeded by another strategy covering the years 2015 to 2020. Will that happen? Perhaps I may also ask the Minister about the case of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office website points out that 100 executions have taken place there so far this year and that we raise the matter on every possible occasion, bilaterally and through the European Union. When we do that, can we concentrate on the safeguards developed by the United Nations that are recommended for use in death penalty cases, in particular those regarding the ingredients of a fair trial?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned Saudi Arabia. We frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities both bilaterally at the highest levels and through the European Union. The noble Lord also mentioned the 2010 to 2015 plan. I can tell him that we are still funding projects through the Human Rights and Democracy fund in the US, China and south-east Asia, the Middle East and north Africa. We provide training for defence lawyers in the United States and we have supported a regional organisation in the greater Caribbean area, as well as providing support for defence lawyers in the Caribbean. We also fund important work to support abolitionists. These works are ongoing.

Care Sector: Apprenticeships

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Lord Avebury

Monday 6th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

The noble Baroness is quite correct that the quality of care in these roles is so important, as is the fact that so many young people are coming into this area. According to the overall apprenticeship figures, covering the whole employment workforce, there are now more than 119,000 apprenticeship starts for those under the age of 19, which is an increase of 4.6%.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

Can the noble Earl tell us the cost of employing agency nurses in the health service in the current—