India: Democratic Freedoms

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Thursday 14th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I assure the right reverend Prelate that this Government, with our partners, are fully committed to defending freedom of religion or belief globally. Any reports of discrimination against religious minorities are investigated by the Indian police. We have raised direct concerns about forced conversions, and I assure the right reverend Prelate that we will continue to raise these in a productive and constructive way with the Government of India.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, before the United Kingdom Government push again for India to join the permanent five, will we look for an improvement in India of the treatment of minorities and the democratic process?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I said in previous answers that we continue to recognise India’s valuable contribution internationally, but, equally, we raise concerns constructively where we see them.

Nova Kakhovka Dam

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I can give the noble Lord that assurance. In a previous Question, we talked about the importance of Ukraine’s supplying the world’s economies with grain. We have yet to see how this will impact, for example, the Black Sea grain initiative. The Dnipro river goes straight into the Black Sea, so of course there are implications. As the noble Lord, Lord Browne, pointed out, many mines have been washed through and that assessment has still to be made, but specific parts of the conference are allocated to agriculture. Half a billion people used to get their grain from Ukraine, so there is a major task ahead of us.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, further to my noble friend Lord Selkirk’s remarks about drinking water, is it right that this reservoir provided drinking water for Crimea, and what are the implications long term for that?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I assure my noble friend that we are seeking to make early assessments of the full implications. What is clear is that this provided water to many parts of Ukraine, including those areas currently occupied by Russia. Frankly, a full assessment cannot be made until we get full and unfettered access. I regret to say—I would be glad to be proven wrong—that I do not think we will be able to make that assessment until Russia does the decent thing and withdraws from Ukraine.

India: Missionaries of Charity

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Thursday 6th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as I alluded to in my response to the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, India is a key partner and ally. It is also a democracy with a constitution and that constitution provides protection for all communities, including those of different faiths and, as the noble Lord pointed out, the Dalit community. I assure the noble Lord that we continue to make the case for strengthening human rights constructively with the Government of India. We believe we are strong partners and friends of India, which allows us to make these representations in a constructive manner and strengthen the work we do ourselves with NGO partners in India, to ensure that representation of those such as the Dalits is supported, particularly through specific funding programmes funded by the British Government.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, how does the Indian respect for human rights tie in with the caste system?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, as someone who knows that part of the world well, what we have seen in India over time is increased representation of different castes and communities within different parts of the Government and in society. Human rights is never a done deal or a completed job; we need to be ever vigilant across the world and stand up for the human rights of all communities.

Covid-19: Vaccine Donations

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 14th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, one thing that the challenge of Covid-19 has shown is our interdependency and the need to work together. We have certainly demonstrated that. On the noble Lord’s first point about short-sightedness, on the contrary, when my right honourable friend the Prime Minister returned from his own challenge with Covid-19, the first thing he did was to spearhead the COVAX facility. That is doing exactly what the noble Lord suggests in ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported. I shall follow up on his specific question about the Livingston facility.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, there have been reports in the press that the problems in sub-Saharan Africa relate not to supply but distribution. Which is the difficulty, supply or distribution of vaccines?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, there is a need to do more on supply to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines. However, as I have said in earlier answers, there is equally a real challenge with infrastructure in developing parts of the world to ensure that, once vaccines arrive, they can be distributed around the country.

Falkland Islands: Landmines

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I am sure many are full of admiration for the noble Lord and the work he did in Her Majesty’s Navy. I agree with him on the important role that the Navy played during the Falklands crisis. I am sure my colleagues at the Ministry of Defence have noted carefully his suggestion about our current capacity. It is important that we look towards all our military across the piece, whether it is our Air Force, our Army or our Navy, to ensure they are fit for purpose for 2019 and beyond.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that there is a great danger of conflating this issue with the very valuable work done by Diana, Princess of Wales, who was mindful that the landmines she was trying to clear were in areas of high population? This does not apply to the Falklands, where all the anti-personnel mines are fenced off. There is a minimal population there and people avoid going near the area where the mines are.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend is correct that in the Falkland Islands the areas containing mines are clearly and carefully designated, but important work continues to ensure that we can rid the islands of mines altogether. I emphasise the point that the work done by Princess Diana, currently being led by His Royal Highness, provides focus on this important issue, to make it a priority for all countries that can assist in this area.

Iran and Gulf Security

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Monday 13th May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As the noble Lord knows, we are not only committed diplomatically to the JCPOA but have been working in co-operation with our European partners on the special purpose vehicle. That is part of our side of the bargain—to coin a phrase—to ensure that there is sanctions relief for the Iranian people. Our fight—or anybody’s fight—is not with any citizen or country, and nor should the United States view it as such. Indeed, Secretary of State Pompeo has repeatedly emphasised the importance of keeping in mind the Iranian people. That is why we are committed to ensuring that the work that is being done on the special purpose vehicle continues—because it provides a degree of respite for the Iranian people.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, the Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord West, refers to Iran restarting its nuclear programme. Does he really believe that Iran abandoned its nuclear programme altogether?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

What was important in the Question from the noble Lord, Lord West, was that Iran stopped further development of its nuclear programme. The letter from President Rouhani made clear their intent that after 60 days they would restart their efforts in that regard. We need to ensure that we avert that threat, and we continue to work to keep the JCPOA alive. This was not a perfect deal; as I have said before, issues around ballistic missiles were not covered. However, it is the best deal we have, it has kept the peace, and it has kept Iran from progressing on its path to obtaining a nuclear weapon. That is why the United Kingdom, along with other international partners, remains committed to it.

Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 5th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Lord is right to raise concerns. The United Kingdom and Her Majesty’s Government have raised these concerns directly. When it came to the Iran nuclear deal, notwithstanding the United States’ decision, we were firm and strengthened our co-operation with our European allies to ensure that that treaty remains alive. We will continue to work with all allies—including, particularly, NATO—to ensure that proliferation can be addressed.

The noble Lord asked about the UK’s position across the piece on nuclear weapons. We have made it very clear through our actions that we are a responsible nuclear power. We have over the years reduced the number of our own nuclear weapons and we will continue to work with key partners, most prominently NATO, to ensure that any challenges and security risks are worked through to ensure that we can work towards the reduction of nuclear weapons. That said, the risks are real. Those countries which do not abide by their obligations put such issues at risk and therefore we implore Russia to take note. I hope that this six-month period provides a moment of reflection for Russia.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend has pointed out that reservations about this treaty were expressed by the Obama presidency, long before President Trump was elected. Surely if one side breaks a treaty, it is time to abandon it altogether. On the point that the noble Lord, Lord Collins, made about bringing the two sides together, surely 60 days’ notice is quite long enough for the Russians to indicate that they are prepared to discuss this matter, and I believe that they have not done so.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend speaks with great insight on these matters and I agree with him. Since October, there has been some hope of notice being given. The United States has shown that it acted in line with its obligations—it continued to abide by the treaty—and it has to be made absolutely clear that it is because of Russian actions that we have reached this point. However, there remains a window of opportunity. In line with the details of that treaty, there remains a six-month window, during which there is an opportunity for Russia to step up to the mark and fulfil its obligations. However, I agree with my noble friend, bearing in mind that the first occasion on which its non-compliance was brought to light was in 2014 and it took another three years before there was even a basic acknowledgement by the Russians that these weapons existed. The challenge remains real and the UK supports the United States’ actions.

Commonwealth: Discriminatory Legislation

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Monday 21st May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

First, I thank the noble Lord for chairing that meeting, all three APPGs which convened the meeting and all who attended. When we look at blasphemy laws around the world, they were in many ways a legacy of the days of Empire. It is important that we take a lead responsibility in ensuring that those who are now using laws that were intended to protect religions to discriminate against minority communities, such as the Ahmadi Muslim community and Christian communities, are met on the front foot and that we deal with it directly and bilaterally. Equally, when those laws are used to discriminate on important issues such as excluding people from elections, as they are in Pakistan, they should also be called out for what they are: they are straightforwardly discriminatory and should be eliminated and eradicated.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, one minute we are being told that we should beware of the ills of neo-colonialism, and the next moment we are telling sovereign Governments in the Commonwealth how to conduct their affairs.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

All I will say to my noble friend, whom I listen to attentively on every occasion, is that I used and stressed the words “in partnership with”.

Daesh: Raqqa

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend made the point that we continue to be at the heart and centre of the fight against Daesh in both Syria and Iraq. I think that some of the media reports were speculative. However, to put the noble Lord’s question into context, the deal was not not known to people as there were two press releases at the time highlighting that the evacuation was taking place. It was not a question of not knowing. We continue to monitor all aspects of any Daesh fighters fleeing from the territory. We continue to monitor their movements very closely.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

Can my noble friend confirm that many foreign Daesh fighters have burned their passports, so in the case of British fighters it will be quite difficult, but not impossible, for them to find their way back to the United Kingdom?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My noble friend raises a point and I am sure there are cases where that has happened. I suggest to him that anyone making themselves known to the authorities on the ground will be held to account. There are measures in place to ensure that those who somehow, through various efforts, return to the UK are held to account. It is ultimately for the CPS to take forward any prosecutions which may occur.

Transport: Pedicabs

Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Hamilton of Epsom

Thursday 27th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

As my noble friend is aware, cycle lanes are primarily a responsibility of the Mayor of London. I know that views have been expressed in this House and elsewhere, and I am sure those will be taken into account if reviews are carried out of cycle lanes and their operation in London.

[Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)]

Can my noble friend assure the House that the pledge he has made to legislate on this matter will not become a manifesto commitment?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Again, I am not going to pre-judge the commitments in a manifesto. I have made as clear as I can at this juncture the intention of the current Government and my personal view in this respect, as someone who oversees legislation and indeed the operation and co-ordination of such activity in London with the Mayor of London. Whoever the Government are, I am sure they will continue to work with the Mayor of London in ensuring that we regulate this industry in the years to come.