International Widows Day

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 26th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

I echo the noble Lord’s compliments in recognition of the noble Lord, Lord Loomba, for the work his foundation has done. The noble Lord is right to make the point that, in many respects, the sustainable development goals are particularly relevant to women and girls, especially elderly women. I am afraid that the second national review is something I am not directly involved in, so I do not know when it will be produced. I have very little doubt that when it is produced, it will encompass all the issues raised in both the previous questions.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, at the heart of this Question is the status of women and the recognition of all the work that has yet to be done to improve their status in every country across the world. Can the Minister assure the House that the Government are doing everything they can to address these issues?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, at the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2019, the UK directly helped secure the first-ever UN-level recognition of the need to invest in adequate measures to protect and support widows. The UK also helped to ensure that widows’ rights were recognised in the 2022 Commission on the Status of Women’s agreed conclusions.

Global Refugee Forum

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 7th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I am not familiar with the case the noble Baroness describes, but I assure her that I will convey her message back to both the Foreign Office and the Home Office. We will do whatever we can.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, in Ukraine, there are a number of orphanages where there are helpless children, who cannot do anything for themselves. Could the noble Lord assure the House that thought will be given to how we can protect these children, who have the least in the world?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The noble Lord makes a hugely important point. The answer is yes: this is something that both the Home Office and the Foreign Office are looking at. I would add that the UK has committed an additional £120 million of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region. That money will be used in many different ways, but particularly in supporting those at the front line in terms of vulnerability, of the sort that the noble Lord just mentioned.

Russia: Human Rights

Lord Laming Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

First, I assure my noble friend that we take these matters incredibly seriously. The subject was raised by the Prime Minister at the highest level at the G20 in St Petersburg, and it was also raised at the margins. It was raised a few weeks later by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary with Foreign Minister Lavrov at the UN General Assembly in New York. We also have an annual human rights dialogue; in fact, we are one of the few countries, if not the only country in the European Union, to have that particular dialogue with Russia. We had our latest dialogue in May of this year and, in that, we raised the issue of LGBT issues. So it is a matter that we continue to press on, and one that we have raised at both a political and an official level.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

My Lords, will the noble Baroness remind the House that the Russian Parliament recently passed legislation that is punitive towards gay people and that there can be no question of gay people being accorded equality in that country while this legislation remains on the statute book?

[Baroness Warsi]

It may be inappropriate for me to comment on a particular piece of legislation in a particular country but it seems fairly obvious from an initial reading of how this law has been drafted that it is in stark conflict with what the Russians say is part of their constitution.