Russian Shadow Fleet Vessel Leruo
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(5 days, 11 hours ago)
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Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)
My noble friend is right that, for those who dislike British policy and those who support British policy, there is usually no doubt that we are a leading figure in the strong opposition we provide. We think Putin has spent about $14 billion to establish the shadow fleet. We have now specified nearly 650 vessels under the sanctions regime, including more than 600 oil tankers. We have sanctioned more than 3,500 individuals, entities and ships under the regime, more than 3,300 of which have been sanctioned since Putin’s full-scale invasion. This country is proudly leading an aggressive but warranted response to Russia’s continuing brutal attack on Ukraine, and we should be proud of it.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, on the subject of feebleness, can the Minister say what the effect of the United States’ unilateral decision to lift sanctions on diesel exports has been so far? Is it having any effect on the market at all?
Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that question. It is early days to look at any effect on the global price. The calculation made at the time, a couple of weeks ago, was that it would have a negligible impact on global prices. As I and my ministerial colleagues have said before, it is not a choice that we would have made. But our challenge now is to work with the United States, because without the United States there can be no long-run solution to a conflict that supports a peaceful, stable Ukraine.
Israel and Palestine
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Noble Lords
Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for those questions. He is absolutely right that the cause of the overwhelming majority of decent Palestinians has been neglected for too long. I hope this starts to correct some of that. On global human rights reforms, we are beefing up the existing regime—by the way, this is a universal regime rather than targeted on specific countries—to include not just those who abuse human rights but those who violate international humanitarian law in Palestine and throughout the world. That does not stop us using existing global human rights regimes to target individual settlers. That is why five individuals were targeted yesterday.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, do the Government consider that the Government of Israel have the right to order us to close the consulate in east Jerusalem, given that it is situated in east Jerusalem, which is recognised by the United Nations and practically all its members as being occupied Palestinian territory over which Israel does not have sovereignty? Can he say whether we are going to contest the attempt to order us to close the consulate, which is both disproportionate and ultra vires?
Saudi Arabia: Nuclear Power Programme
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for those kind comments. It is a real pleasure that the first Question I answer is from, if not my noble friend then my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Lamont. On his Question, as the deal has not been published, we cannot comment on the nature of the detail. However, it is reassuring that the United States and Saudi Arabia are parties to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Saudi Arabia has a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, so there is reason to have confidence that the process in place will provide the safeguards that the noble Lord looks for.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box. Does he agree with the noble Lord, Lord Lamont, that this agreement would be greatly strengthened if it made it quite clear that it would not cover enrichment or reprocessing of spent fuel, both of which would be a serious risk to non-proliferation and likely to lead to even greater proliferation in the Gulf?
Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for that and share with him a concern in general, of course, that all parties to the non-proliferation treaty exercise their obligations. The UK has long supported strong and effective safeguards arrangements, including the IAEA additional protocol, which the noble Lord mentions. We do not know what the nature of this deal is because, as I said before, it has not been published and we cannot really comment on it, but in addition to the fact that both parties are states parties to the NPT, and that Saudi Arabia has a comprehensive safeguards agreement, we know that there are bilateral safeguards agreed as part of this deal.
Ukraine War: London Talks
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
My noble friend is a wily operator in this House. We agree with the President of the United States in that we want to see peace and we want to see this conflict resolved. I would not characterise the nature of the conversations that Prime Minister Starmer has with President Zelensky as advice, and nor would I wish to comment on the similarities and differences—or anything else, really—in the nature of those private conversations.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the objective of President Putin in these matters is to bar Ukraine from ever being a member of NATO—in eternity—because were it to be encapsulated in an agreement under international law, Russia would have a veto on it? If that is the case, how does she consider that consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, which says that a member of the United Nations has the right to determine its own allies when it wishes?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
As we have said in this Chamber many times, the intention of Russia is clearly to prevent Ukraine behaving as an independent sovereign state: it wants to choose Ukraine’s future for it, and that really is what this war is all about. We are firm in the view that Ukraine and the Ukrainians get to decide the future of their country, not Russia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We support the role of the high representative and the use of his executive powers as the situation has required them. This role remains vital for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s future prosperity and stability. We are clear that the current political crisis was caused by Republika Srpska, President Dodik, his supporters and their secessionist actions. We will continue working to find the right way forward.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, will the Minister go a little further than she did in replying to the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, about peacekeeping in Bosnia and any role that the United Kingdom might play in that? Does she not agree that this ought to be on the table in discussion of the security pact currently being considered between the UK and the EU? A resumption of British involvement in that would be a very important signal.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We see EUFOR as vital for maintaining peace and security, and upholding the military aspects of the peace agreement. The UK regularly engages with the EU delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are committed to supporting security through NATO and our bilateral defence co-operation. While the UK does not currently participate in any EU common security and defence policy missions, it is open to exploring future opportunities for co-operation.
European Convention on Human Rights: 75th Anniversary
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights would have merited a celebration, even if the noble Lord, Lord Alton, that tireless champion of human rights worldwide, had not given us an occasion to do so in this Chamber today. For that, he deserves the utmost thanks.
Three things about the convention must surely not be forgotten. First, while it was the work of the collective responsibility of many European parliamentarians and lawyers, there was a major input by the British contingent, many of them Conservative members, following the lead of Sir Winston Churchill, who played such an important role in the establishment and early years of the Council of Europe. I am saddened to see that this involvement seems now to be more a cause of shame than of pleasure.
Secondly, as many noble Lords have said, the convention was drawn up in the dark shadow of some of the worst crimes against humanity, including the Holocaust—crimes perpetrated in our own continent by our own citizens. Its aim was to ensure protection for all our citizens against crimes committed, often by their own Governments.
Thirdly, when, at the end of the 1980s, the Cold War drew to a close, the convention and its court were available to provide the countries of central and eastern Europe— including at the time the Russian Federation and Belarus—the freedoms and legal protection they had never previously enjoyed under Communist Party rule. These are three achievements to be proud of and to treasure, however irritated some may feel at some of its court’s rulings.
I am afraid that I am no lawyer but my father was one, and he taught me that hard cases make bad law. It is lamentable that now, after these 75 years of achievement, some politicians and parties in this country and elsewhere in Europe are sharply critical of the convention and its court. The main bone of contention is the impact on immigration cases, as all our Governments struggle with the challenges of illegal migration and asylum seekers. It is odd, and I find it hard to justify, that these challenges are often quantifiably far greater and more acute in other European countries than in our own, but we seem to be making quite a meal of it.
Many critics here seem to be blissfully unaware of the extent to which the European Convention on Human Rights underpins fundamentally important parts of our constitutional structures and international agreements—most prominently, the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland and some of the most valuable parts of the trade and co-operation agreement between the UK and the EU, in particular those dealing with justice and home affairs. These are clearly additional reasons for all, right across the political spectrum, to share the Government’s view that withdrawal cannot be contemplated. It would be good if more voices were raised to that effect.
I have one final point. Our previous Prime Minister, the right honourable Rishi Sunak, got into the habit of calling the Europe Court of Human Rights a “foreign court”. That lamentable, dog-whistle nomenclature is not even accurate, since the court has had many admirable British judges down the years. But in any case, the terminology of speaking of a foreign court is all too typical of populist politicians of many of the main parties. It would be good if it could be taken out and buried on this 75th anniversary.
G7
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I have a very good relationship with my colleagues at the Ministry of Defence, and I am happy to discuss any issue with them, but operational decisions such as that one probably would not fall within my remit. I am sure they will note what the noble Lord has said. They are free to make the choices that they have made, and they have more information on which to base those choices than we do here today.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister tell the House whether the United States Secretary of State raised either the G7 becoming the G8, by the addition of Russia, or the G6, by the subtraction of Canada? If her answer to that question is “No” or “I don’t know”, can we stop being distracted from the mass of important matters that the G7 must address in the months ahead?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
I am not aware of any such discussions. I believe that the G7 has been focused on, as the noble Lord said, the vital issues that it faces.
United Kingdom: Global Position
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, it is customary to congratulate the holder of a debate such as this one, and I do so with all the more enthusiasm on this occasion, since that person is the noble Lord, Lord Howell, who was instrumental in setting up your Lordships’ International Relations and Defence Committee and was its first chair. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Pitkeathley, on his thought-provoking maiden speech.
As for the timing of our debate, that too is pretty good. With the publication of the global strategy review from the noble Lord, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, only a few weeks away, that report and this debate are together linking Britain’s hard and soft power, which must always be considered together if we are to get a full picture.
The first thing to be said is that the word “global” in the title of today’s debate has nothing whatever to do with that silly slogan of “global Britain” dreamed up by Foreign Secretary Johnson to characterise post-Brexit Britain. Britain’s global role has existed since the 16th century and had nothing whatever to do with whether we were inside the EU or outside it, even though we had a lot of pretty tempestuous relationships with the other countries of Europe along the road. Nor does it have much to do with that other emanation of Johnsonian imagination—the Indo-Pacific tilt, which overlooked that, if you tilt towards something, you necessarily tilt away from something else, in this case Europe. President Putin’s aggression against Ukraine has upended that tilt comprehensively.
The decision at the end of last month to substantially increase defence spending deserves full support, but the decision to finance that exclusively by a massive cut in our overseas aid budget, which had already been plundered to pay for Ukrainian refugees in this country, is going to inflict great damage on our soft power and influence around the world. The least the Government should do now is to commit themselves to increasing the 0.3% of GNI as soon as growth picks up.
One of the biggest challenges we face around the world is the damage being inflicted by the Trump Administration’s withdrawal from multilateral organisations and programmes, from the World Health Organization to the Paris climate accords to the UN’s Human Rights Council—and there could be more to come. Together with the cuts in US aid, these are serious decisions which will weaken western influence, whether or not it is replaced by Chinese involvement, and they will impact some of the poorest people in the world. We will need to do what we can to sustain and strengthen these multilateral organisations, moving ahead, if necessary, without the US, in a plurilateral framework with other like-minded countries; for example, at the World Trade Organization for the proposed pandemic convention, and at the UN. Can the Minister say whether that is the Government’s policy?
In all this we will need to work in close co-operation with and keep in sharp focus our European partners, with the Prime Minister’s aim of a security and defence pact with them at its heart. What is the proposed timetable for moving ahead with that and how does it relate to the handling of the fighting in Ukraine?
To conclude, in all this we will need international partners. Britain is no longer a great power, as it thought it was, perhaps for a little bit too long. But we are a significant middle-ranking power, so we need representation around the world, and that will need to be taken into account in this summer’s spending review, avoiding such pretty useless substitutes as regional representation. We must nurture our main instruments of soft power, such as the BBC World Service, which should be financed by the taxpayer and not the licence holder, and the British Council.
In all this, we should show awareness of how others see us and not just of how we see ourselves.
Syria
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
That is a really interesting question. It is wonderful that we are in a situation where we can even begin to have those conversations, when you consider the journey that Syria has been on. It is early days, but we will work with whoever we need to to enable the reconstruction and rebuilding of Syria, not just physically but of the society in Syria. There is still a long way to go—we are in the early stages—but the suggestions made by the noble Lord are good, and I will follow them up.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, I think the Minister recognises the very—perhaps disproportionately—central position of Syria in Middle Eastern politics over many years. Will we not allow ourselves, as we have sometimes in the past, to be a bit marginalised? One way of ensuring that we keep our finger on the pulse in Syria is to reopen the embassy in Damascus at the earliest possible moment. I know there is a special representative, but that is not the same as having somebody on the ground who is able to keep an eye on what is happening. Will the Minister say what action the Government are taking about the Government of Israel’s action to extend part of the Golan Heights beyond what was originally dealt with in Security Council resolutions to occupy some parts of Syrian territory?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
On the issue of reopening the embassy, which closed I think in 2012, that is quite difficult. I do not have an update on that for the House today. The noble Lord will appreciate that these are very early days. As he would expect, we keep these things under review. On Israel, it would be right for what we hope will be the inclusive, politically diverse new Government in Syria to make those decisions when they are elected. It is right that we allow them time for that process to complete and for a new, fully representative Government in Syria to make their position known on behalf of the Syrian people when it comes to those issues.
Gaza: Humanitarian Situation
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
What is important is that the reconstruction of Gaza is led by the people of Gaza—yes, with support. There is a huge difference between the people of Gaza and Hamas. We want to work with international agencies to make sure that the people of Gaza are given the support that they need. Let us be under no illusions about how difficult that will be, partly because of the issues that the noble Lord alluded to, but also because the majority of the homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The extent of the work needed means that it will take many years; we will have to support this work for quite some time.
Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister confirm whether the Government have made any representations to the Government of Israel about the law that is about to come into force to remove the possibility of UNRWA having any access to the State of Israel? Can she say what rough impact assessment we may have made of the likely effect of that move, which is of course to frustrate a mandate given to UNRWA by the United Nations General Assembly? Can she also cast light on the discrepancy between the views of the Government of Israel that they have in fact provided evidence about the nine members of UNRWA staff who were thought to be acting with Hamas and were dismissed, and the view of UNRWA itself that it has not received any evidence whatever from the Government of Israel as to the guilt of these people?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
It is our view that the best way to get aid in as efficiently as is needed is through UNRWA. It is good that some aid has started to get in over the past few days but, without UNRWA, it is very hard to see how that will be sustained. To answer his specific question, yes, we have made that case very clearly to the Government of Israel.