Ukraine (International Relations and Defence Committee Report)
Lord Sahota Excerpts(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Lord Sahota (Lab)
My Lords, it is conventional wisdom across all cultures and societies that when someone visits your home as a guest, you treat the guest with utmost respect and courtesy; it is only good etiquette. You do not berate, bully, belittle or humiliate your guest in public.
President Zelensky’s country has been invaded by a tyrant, and he is travelling across the world pleading for help to save his nation. He is not the invader or the aggressor. He is simply asking for the invaders to leave so that his people can live in peace with their neighbours. Therefore, I appeal to the President of the United States to reinvite his guest, listen to his plea and then stand firmly in support of Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is indeed a wake-up call for all of us in Europe. After the Second World War and during the Cold War we all knew where we stood. On one side we had Warsaw Pact nations and on the other NATO. No country dared cross another’s border for fear of nuclear conflict. Each side watched the other. Our spies followed theirs, and their spies followed ours. We disapproved of their political system, and they disapproved of ours. Yet, in this strange reality, we coexisted.
Then, at the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. We thought we had won the Cold War—indeed, we had. Out of the ashes of the Soviet Union, 15 new nations emerged, finding their own voices, including Ukraine. In the Balkans, after a brutal and bloody civil war, seven more nations found their independence. We celebrated, we breathed a sigh of relief believing that a new world order had arrived, that liberty and liberal democracy had triumphed and that we could let our guard down. How wrong we were.
As some of the new European nations applied to join NATO, our numbers grew, but in the shadows, a Russian bear, an ex-KGB officer with a secret agenda and historical grudge was plotting his rise to power. When he finally took control of Russia, we welcomed him with open arms believing we could do business with him. How wrong we were. In 2014, when he felt secure at home, he invaded Crimea. Our failure to act emboldened him and led him to plan his next move. Three years ago, he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Only then did we wake up to the grim reality of a new era in Europe.
Yet even now some right-wing populist politicians in NATO countries are allying with Putin. They are questioning the very existence of our alliance. If they succeed in gaining power in their respective countries, Europe will face yet another terrifying threat. Credit must be given to Sweden and Finland, nations which share hundreds of miles of border with Russia, for recognising the danger and immediately applying to join NATO. The time has come for us to make tough decisions. If Russia can deploy North Korean troops to protect its border, why should Ukraine not have the right to invite NATO forces to protect its borders? At their request, we must stand by them not just in words, but in actions. Welcome to a new world order.
King’s Speech
Lord Sahota Excerpts(8 months ago)
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Lord Sahota (Lab)
My Lords, it is a real honour and a privilege to take part in this debate. I am pleased that our Labour Government will reset our relationship with European partners, which can only mean prosperity and security for our country and better border controls. As the American poet Robert Frost puts it,
“Good fences make good neighbors”.
As the Labour Party sets out to govern the country after 14 years, the challenges it faces internationally are daunting and many. In the last 14 years, the world has changed a great deal and become much more dangerous. To overcome and deal with this new “more volatile and insecure” world, as the manifesto puts it, our country needs a strong, robust and ethical foreign policy.
In recent years, dogmatic ideologies, extreme nationalism and religious fanaticism have destabilised the world. International border disputes have become a regular occurrence. There is geopolitical tension in almost every continent. Look at the Middle East: almost every country there is affected by war, and those that are not have human rights abuses off the scale. Even if a country is not directly involved in war, so-called proxy wars are going on everywhere. There are also long-running historical disputes in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Look at India and Pakistan: both are nuclear powers and they are locked in a dance of death.
The people of Sudan are starving due to internal conflict, and people of Africa are on the move due to the combination of corrupt Governments, conflict, poverty and environmental degradation. Poor people of the world are on the move, seeking better lives. Simultaneously, the Governments and populations of wealthy western countries are becoming increasingly selfish and insensitive to their plight. These immigrant refugees are often labelled “invaders”, when all they seek is sanctuary and sustenance. Many men, women and children are drowned in the sea while searching for this. We must find a safe route for asylum seekers, as we did for the Ukrainian families, and put people smugglers out of business.
What has happened to our humanity when we treat our fellow human beings with such disdain? The moral fabric of our global society is fraying, and it is incumbent upon us to mend it. We must not turn a blind eye to suffering and injustice. Instead, we should extend a hand of compassion and solidarity to those in need.
Our new Labour Government must adopt a new ethical stance to value all human life equally. We must invest in an international aid and development programme aimed at the root causes of migration and conflict: poverty, inequality and climate change. Our foreign policy should reflect our values of compassion, fairness and justice. We must lead by example, showing that it is possible to balance national security with humanitarian responsibility. Only then can we truly claim the esteemed title of Great Britain. Because of our history and the impact we have had on shaping the world, we have a special responsibility to lead in fostering a global community where every human being can live with dignity and hope.
Armed Forces: Troop Levels
Lord Sahota Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Goldie (Con)
When I refer to “whole force”, I am referring to the holistic contribution to our capability from our three Armed Forces and all our other ancillary areas of support. I think the mindset now has to be not of the size of any one individual service, because that is not how we are amalgamating and deploying the capability. That is not how we are now aligning with NATO and fitting into the new modernised, transformed NATO. For example, if you take troops in particular, and Future Soldier 2021, we have an Army force of 73,000 regulars and 30,100 reservists. We are satisfied that these, in conjunction with the investments we are making in armed capabilities, deep effects and sub-threshold capabilities, do enable the UK to continue to force generate and modernise an expeditionary land force, for example, as NATO demands.
Lord Sahota (Lab)
My Lords, as has been raised from time to time by various newspapers and by some Sikh historians, given the fact that Sikhs have served diligently in the British Army in both world wars and have proven their loyalty and valour, and given that there is a large Sikh community in the UK, there is talk that the British Army may create a Sikh regiment in the future. Does the Minister know anything about that?
Baroness Goldie (Con)
First, I do pay tribute to the very distinguished contributions that Sikhs have made in our British military history. In relation to the Armed Forces across the piece, we are blessed with—indeed, the Armed Forces are enhanced by—having members from many faith backgrounds. Our objective within MoD is absolutely to deliver proper inclusivity, because what all these representations from different faiths have in common is that they swear allegiance to the monarch and to uphold the safety and security of our country. That is a very strong bond that unites them all. We approach this on a holistic base: we take with pleasure all those who wish to contribute to our Armed Forces’ endeavour and, yes, we are very proud to have contributions from all the faith communities.