Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(3 days, 16 hours ago)
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Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests.
When announcing these measures, the Foreign Secretary said that the Government would “absolutely ensure” that this regime
“does not hit green-line Israel”.—[Official Report, Commons, 8/9/26; col. 887.]
and that trade with Israel would continue to be supported. That trade is worth around £6 billion, with UK exports worth more than half of it—a trade surplus in Britain’s favour of roughly £1 billion. Over the past five years, more than 400 Israeli companies have been established or expanded in the UK, creating 4,000 jobs and bringing in £1 billion of investment. This makes a huge contribution to the UK economy; they are highly skilled and well-paid jobs, and I am sure the Minister will agree that none of them should be put at risk.
Despite the Foreign Secretary’s commitment, the Minister will know that businesses involved in UK-Israel trade, people in Israel and—as we have heard from a number of speakers in this debate—many people in the Jewish community want to be reassured about the precise impact of these measures and that they will not affect trade within Israel’s pre-1967 lines. Will the Treasury and the Foreign Office issue clear guidance, so that banks know that ordinary trade finance and payments to Israeli businesses are not to be affected? What assurance can we give to Palestinian banks which clear shekel payments through Israeli correspondent banks? Given claims by Members of Parliament that a recent event recruiting Jewish doctors to work in Israel would have contravened these regulations, will the Minister make it clear that lawful healthcare, medical recruitment and Jewish communal events are not within scope?
Only last night, these regulations were cited when Birmingham City Council’s Lib Dem and Green coalition —supported by Labour councillors, I have to say—passed a motion on divestment from Israel, including a review of pension fund investments and the council’s banking relationships. This is a city that has had to be rescued from bankruptcy by taxpayers, where rubbish has been piled high in the streets and that is the youth unemployment capital of Britain. Yet the clowns on the council are more concerned—obsessed—with a war 3,000 miles away that they know next to nothing about and can do even less to solve. So will the Minister make it clear that this is not government policy? Will he confirm that the Government’s opposition to boycotts of Israel applies to Labour councillors too? Will he commit to monitoring whether UK banks and businesses are withdrawing from lawful trade with Israel, and to act to deal with that if they are?
Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, while we are on the subject of antisemitism, is the Minister aware that Parliament has been discussing Israel more than any other issue—not just international issues such as Yemen or Sudan, but even domestic issues such as the cost of living, the NHS and immigration? Does she share my concern that this obsessive focus on the world’s only Jewish state is bound to drive hostility towards people who are identified with it, which is the vast majority of Jewish people in the UK? I think Parliament and the media are playing a large part in the explosion of antisemitism that we are seeing here in Britain.
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)
The noble Lord makes an important point about the role of the media and Parliament in discussing these issues. However, I feel that, as a Parliament, we have to back the work of the special envoys, for example, so that we are supporting that work and endorsing the actions that are taken.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Yes, it absolutely is. I am careful not to make comments that might pre-empt or get ahead of negotiations. That would not be a good idea for me as a Minister. The issues that the noble Lord raises are incredibly important and he is right to raise them, but they are probably best dealt with through a process of negotiation, which I hope we can enter into sooner rather than later.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, the central problem in the progress we all want to see in the peace process and the two-state solution that the Government and the Opposition are committed to has been Palestinian terrorism, its attacks on Israel and Israel’s concerns about its security. As I understand it, section 4 of the MoU details security co-operation between the UK and the Palestinian Authority. Can the Minister tell us more about what confidence the Government have in the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to address the growing threat posed by Palestinian extremist groups and terrorists in the West Bank?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
My noble friend asks about the capacity and capability of the Palestinian Authority. It is fair to say that it does not today have the capability that he describes, and I do not think it would claim to. That is why we have set about this work on long-term security in the region and the understanding that the Palestinian Authority needs reform. Our support is designed to help it address the very real challenges, which I think we all recognise, through concrete reforms. That includes democratic renewal, widening civic space, improving accountability and transparency and fighting corruption. He is right to make that point; that is why we are undertaking the work that we are.
Ukraine: Military Support
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 1 month ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I am not going to say anything more about Storm Shadow today—noble Lords will understand that it would be a gift to President Putin were I to do so. However, I note what the noble Lord has said, and he is right to draw attention to the conversations in Kyiv yesterday. It is our intention to support Ukraine in achieving its objectives. We are closely engaged with Ukraine on what those objectives are and how we may be best continue to support them.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I welcome and support every word of the Minister in answering this Question. Iran is not just fuelling Russia in this conflict; it is behind all the conflicts in the Middle East and it organises attacks in Europe and the UK. Can the Minister update the House on when the Government will proscribe the IRGC, which was a commitment made in their recent election manifesto?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I do not have an update on timing, but I will ask questions about that and get back to the noble Lord. I do not know when that will happen, but I note his concern and he is right to raise it.
President of Iran: Death
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness, as I am sure she recognises, of the action that the Government have taken. It was the United Kingdom, together with the US, that led the campaign to ensure that Iran was removed, for example, from CEDAW, an organisation very much focused on the rights of women. We remain focused in that respect.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, as I understand it, the Government have not proscribed the IRGC because they believe that we have to keep open channels of communication so that we can moderate Iran’s behaviour. Given that this is a state that exports terror right across the Middle East and here in the UK, kidnaps British citizens and launched an appalling attack on Israel just a few weeks ago, can the Minister point out what benefits the Government’s policy of engaging with Iran has brought?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, as my noble friend the Foreign Secretary has said on a number of occasions, we have incredible differences and challenges, and we have held Iran to account. Importantly, the engagement that we have had even in recent weeks, in advance of the attack on Israel which the noble Lord referred to, ensured that representations were made so that we did not see an increase in Iran’s destabilising influence. Those were conveyed not through any third party but directly to the now deceased Foreign Minister. It is important, as my noble friend has indicated, that when we are required to deliver those very direct messages, as we do consistently, we can do so directly to the particular representative of that given state.
UNRWA
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)
My Lords, we will hear from the non-affiliated Bench, followed by the noble Baroness, Lady Helic.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
I thank the Government Chief Whip. In February, the Hamas data centre was discovered underneath UNRWA’s headquarters and, just yesterday, UNRWA terrorists were discovered using an UNRWA school as a base from which to launch their attacks, so it is absolutely clear that UNRWA still has very serious questions to answer. In the meantime, there are other agencies with whom we should be working to get much-needed humanitarian aid in for the poor people of Gaza, who have been so terribly affected by the war Hamas deliberately launched on 7 October, when it raped, kidnapped and murdered so many civilians.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I assure the noble Lord that we are doing exactly that. Notwithstanding that, the funding that we have given has also been focused on other agencies like the World Food Programme, UNICEF and others. I come back to this point: I am sure the noble Lord recognises that mitigations are necessary, and we are pressing on those, but, equally, UNRWA has the most effective structures in Gaza. We need to ensure that those are not just revitalised, but that they are done so to allow for mitigation of the issues that were previously raised.
Russia: War Crimes in Ukraine
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab)
My Lords, I do not think that the Labour Benches have yet had a chance, so if I may.
As we are talking about war criminals and crimes committed by the Russians, there is a matter of concern that the International Criminal Court Act 2001 confines prosecutions of war criminals coming into this country to people who are nationals or who have residency here. I wonder whether we are making any progress on amending that legislation so that we can prosecute people who come through here, often coming to look at schools or universities for their children or to shop at Harrods. Can we do something about providing the ability to arrest those people?
Israel and Gaza
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that aid is being admitted into Gaza by the Israelis more quickly than the UN and the other agencies can distribute it? One day last week, for example, 222 trucks were admitted but only 158 were distributed and only 86 of those by the UN, so the barrier is not Israel admitting aid into Gaza. Furthermore, can he explain to the House how it is possible for him to say that the Government support Israel’s right to defend itself but then for them to threaten to withhold arms exports on which that defence may depend?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
On the noble Lord’s second point, about threatening to withhold arms exports, I do not believe I have said that. On his earlier point, I am sorry, but I do not agree with him. As we have seen directly through the exchanges we have had with COGAT, there has been a real challenge. British trucks with British aid have been waiting on the borders of Gaza. He quoted the numbers; I quoted greater numbers than he did. We have seen a change—an uptick, but it is a small uptick—in the number of trucks entering; perhaps he has not visited to see the backlog of trucks. Let us be clear what has happened in Gaza. There is no infrastructure. The UN itself is not getting the visas it needs. The noble Lord shakes his head, but this is fact. We have been lobbying on this and this is our advocacy.
We have a very strong relationship with Israel. When Mr Gantz visited London, the Foreign Secretary and I made clear the importance of this issue, and Israel recognises its responsibilities. It is a democracy and it has international obligations, including adherence to international humanitarian law. Because of the advocacy of countries such as the United Kingdom, we see that there has been some movement. We have seen an increase in aid going in, but this is not enough. We have looked in detail at the 500 or 600 trucks. Let us also be clear: certain produce was produced in Gaza and that is no longer happening. What is needed right now, as the report we discussed only a few days ago made clear, is to avert a humanitarian famine, and Israel has an important role to play in this.
Gaza: Hunger Alleviation
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that, as we have all said from various parts of your Lordships’ House, land routes are the most important and need to be utilised; indeed, all border crossings need to be fully operationalised. The delivery of aid through maritime and air, while important, delivers only a fraction of what is required. We are talking about more than 2 million people who need food, medicine and basic nutrition. I read the report briefly, and we agree with some of the recommended actions about restoring humanitarian access to the entire Gaza Strip. We agree with the calls to stop the deterioration of food security, health and nutrition, and for the restoration of health, nutrition and WASH services, and we stand ready with other partners to do just that. I have been to the Erez border point near Gaza and have seen the backlog of trucks. That issue needs to be resolved right now. Both the Foreign Secretary and I stressed that point to Minister Gantz when he visited recently; indeed, Minister Gantz heard that point very clearly from across the pond in the United States as well.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, how is it possible to ask or answer a Question about the situation in Gaza without mentioning Hamas? It bears responsibility for this because it started the war, it hired weapons and terrorists in densely packed civilian areas, and it steals food and fuel meant for humanitarian relief. The quickest way to get food into Gaza is for Hamas to lay down its weapons and stop the fighting. Failing that, Israel has to defeat the terrorists for there to be any prospect of peace in the future.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I believe that I, my right honourable friend and indeed His Majesty’s loyal Opposition, if I may speak for them, have all been consistent in our line on this. We need this fighting to stop, which means that Hamas needs to stop launching the missiles, which it has done consistently. We agree that the events of 7 October were shocking and abhorrent—I have been very clear about that. Of course, we have met consistently with hostage families. As I left the Foreign Office today, my noble friend was meeting with hostage families, and I and the Prime Minister met with some of the hostage families two weeks ago. We know the pain directly from them, because they tell us quite directly. But I can also say, from the hostage families I have met, that they are also clear—I am sure the noble Lord agrees with me—that we need this fighting to stop now.
Gaza: Humanitarian Aid
Lord Austin of Dudley Excerpts(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
What I would say, as I think Minister Mitchell said in the House of Commons, is that these are very disturbing pictures and reports that have come out from this hospital. We need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened; we need answers from the Israelis. When we have those, it will be easier to comment.
Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-Afl)
My Lords, this crisis has been caused by Hamas, which hides terrorists and weapons in densely packed civilian areas and steals food and fuel meant for humanitarian relief. It is absolutely clear that there will be no prospect of peace —let alone the two-state solution that the Government want to see—until Hamas is completely removed from power in Gaza. This is why the Government should be doing all they possibly can to ensure that Israel has all the support it needs to win this war.
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. We completely agree that we will not have a two-state solution if the people responsible for 7 October are still running any part of Gaza. Obviously, what we would like to see is an immediate pause, the hostages released and a series of conditions put in place to make sure that the pause turns into a permanent ceasefire without a return to fighting. One of those conditions would be that the people responsible for 7 October—the leadership of Hamas—would have to leave Gaza and the terrorist infrastructure would have to be dismantled. If that did not happen through a process of negotiation, the noble Lord is no doubt right that there would be a return to fighting. That needs to be understood by people.