Sudan

Debate between Lord Collins of Highbury and Baroness Blower

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for the range of questions. There are very good reasons for the difficulties with the no-fly zone, in terms of security and escalation. However, I will give a strong commitment to raise the Secretary-General’s commitment on the protection of civilians in November at the Security Council. We want to ensure that all his statements are actively implemented by all parties. I reassure the noble Lord that, in terms of our commitment to supporting the humanitarian situation, we are spending £113.5 million this financial year. This includes our bilateral ODA, which now stands at £97 million. We are not cutting aid. In fact, I suspect that in the forthcoming year, because of the terrible situation in Sudan, we will be increasing our support.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, could I press my noble friend a little more on the question of food insecurity? Given what we all know about the levels of people facing starvation, what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking? Going forward, is there the possibility of protected zones to ensure that crops are actually sown and can be harvested, not laid waste by the warring factions?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We are taking a series of actions. Our first focus is to look strongly at humanitarian access and getting in support, in relation to the UN decisions. On 18 October, we led a joint statement with 10 other donors to condemn the obstruction. On broader support, we are providing nutrition, safe drinking water, medical care and shelter through both the WFP and UNICEF. But be under no illusions that the situation in Sudan is dire because of a civil war conducted by two generals. We need to ensure that we put immediate pressure on those two people to stop the war, so that we can get the sorts of actions in place that my noble friend referred to.

Middle East

Debate between Lord Collins of Highbury and Baroness Blower

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

As I said, our immediate steps are to ensure that the law passed by the Knesset a few days ago, which we condemned, is not implemented and to continue to ensure that there is proper support through UNRWA. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has made it clear that there is a mandate to support the Palestinians. We will go back to the United Nations to ensure that there are the means to deliver the necessary support.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, for the avoidance of doubt and to be clear, there is support for UNRWA from all Benches around this House. I was delighted to hear the Government say that UNRWA has an indispensable role in assisting the Palestinians. My question would have been that asked by the noble Baroness opposite. I have seen the extraordinary work that UNRWA does, in very difficult circumstances, in providing education for children who are themselves in very difficult circumstances. It is more than a matter of profound regret that the Israeli Parliament is considering shutting down UNRWA’s operations. Is the Minister able to say anything further about UNRWA’s range of activities, which I am sure the British Government would want to support?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear my noble friend. I have visited many UNRWA facilities; I have seen schools and health centres and how they deliver. I believe that it is an essential mechanism for delivering support. During the last Government’s suspension of financial support for UNRWA, we were channelling funds to other NGOs to try to mitigate that. It was clear from the statements of the last Government that that would never be sufficient to provide the necessary support that UNRWA gives. It is the responsibility of the United Nations. We will raise it again and support the Secretary-General’s call.

Gaza and Lebanon

Debate between Lord Collins of Highbury and Baroness Blower

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

We are taking all possible action to defend, protect and not take anything for granted. We are in an incredibly volatile situation, with other actors intervening. We are determined to work with our allies to properly de-escalate the situation. We are prepared for the worst, but we are trying to ensure that it does not happen.

[Baroness Blower (Lab)]

My Lords, at the briefing I attended with my noble friend Lady Lister, we heard that for surgeons who wish to go to Gaza to assist in the terrible situation, to provide surgery and so on, it is now impossible for them to go for less than a month. Often it is six weeks, because they have to take a week to get in and a week to get out. Is my noble friend the Minister prepared to meet with some of these organisations, with me and my noble friend Lady Lister, to hear at first hand what they have been telling us, in order to try to get at least some medical care into Gaza—and to press the case for a humanitarian corridor so that those needing medical evacuation can go to the West Bank?

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I assure the noble Baroness that I have been meeting organisations. I am fully aware of the situation. I have an open-door policy when I am here. The reality is that the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Secretary when he visited the region on 14 July, have announced additional funding—£5.5 million to UK-Med for operating its field hospitals in Gaza, extending the medical facilities. During her visit on 7 August, Minister Dodds announced a further £6 million to UNICEF, which is supporting families in Gaza. No one should underestimate the desperate situation. We can all see it; the evidence is quite clear. The only way we can do this is by working with our allies to ensure that the Israeli Government respond to our calls to open the routes in, to ensure that we get proper humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza.