Middle East: Syrian Refugees

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right about the scale of the challenge here and about the fact that most refugees have stayed in the region. Many of them, of course, wish to return home when it is safe to do so. That is why pursuing the peace process is the most important element here and why, in the mean time, we have to make sure that we provide as much humanitarian aid as possible. He will know that we have taken in, as of yesterday, refugees from the most vulnerable categories but, clearly, trying to tackle the crisis as a whole has to be our main strategy.

[Lord Wright of Richmond (CB)]

My Lords, now that it appears that the Syrian Government are increasing their control over much of the country, have we or our partners had any discussions with the Government in Damascus exploring the scope for refugees to return to their homes?

[Baroness Northover]

It seems to me that a few steps will be needed before we reach such a situation. The first thing is to try to get the Syrian Government to allow humanitarian access and to respect the UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian access. There are many steps that the Government of Syria can take to try to ensure that security in their country is greater and therefore that refugees would be keener to return.

Syria: Aid

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

I cannot give the noble Lord specific answers on Save the Children and Oxfam, but he will know that both of those organisations are major recipients of aid. In answering a previous Question I was asked about Hand in Hand. It is receiving aid from DfID via Save the Children. I can provide detailed answers on that in due course. We are working with a number of international organisations to try to get aid into every part of Syria. As I emphasised before, access is exceptionally difficult.

[Lord Wright of Richmond (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister is, I am sure, aware that I asked a Question on 2 December calling for resumed contact with the Government of Syria. I received a rather guarded reply from her colleague. Can the Minister update us on where we stand on direct consular and diplomatic contact in Damascus?

[Baroness Northover]

I am aware that the noble Lord thinks that this is extremely important. It is important to engage with everybody in this conflict, both within Syria and in the countries around, and those countries which appear to have an interest in its continuing instability. It is extremely important that the United Kingdom is involved in widespread engagement.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

There are a number of groups suffering in particular in Syria and the noble Baroness is right to highlight the particular plight of Christians. We are emphasising their particular need. I will get her an update on the situation in relation to the Archbishop but she can be assured that the UK Government are well aware of the situation affecting these groups within Syria.

[Lord Wright of Richmond (CB)]

Can the noble Baroness tell the House what steps we are taking to re-establish direct bilateral contact with the Syrian Government in Damascus, if only to enable us to help persuade President Assad’s Government to provide secure access for much needed humanitarian assistance within Syria itself?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord will know about the UN Security Council presidential statement issued about three weeks ago seeking better humanitarian access and putting particular responsibility upon the Syrian Government. There are a number of things which the Syrian Government could do to make sure that visas are granted more readily and that travel permits are granted so that humanitarian aid can get in. Efforts are being taken forward to try to bring forward the peace process and I am sure he will know that UN Special Envoy Brahimi is leading an intensive period of preparation to try to ensure that there is a meeting in November for the Geneva II process.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right. States made very generous pledges in Kuwait earlier this year to the UN appeals for Syria and the region. However, not all pledges have yet been translated into actual contributions. Given the scale of the challenge— 4 million people are in need, of whom 2 million have been forced to leave their homes—that is extremely worrying. We call on donors to expedite the transfer of funds without delay and are actively encouraging that.

[Lord Wright of Richmond]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that providing lethal weapons, as the Government appear to want, to the deeply divided Syrian opposition can only exacerbate the civil war in Syria and lead to a further deterioration of the appalling humanitarian crisis which is affecting both Syria and her neighbours?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord speaks with great wisdom. He will know that there are already huge dangers of instability in the region and that any action, or inaction, can promote further instability. We have no current plans to send arms to any groups in Syria, but, as again he will know well, others are arming groups in Syria. As the noble Lord will also know, nothing is off the table, but we are doing our very best to try to bring about a diplomatic resolution to that, which I am sure everybody would welcome. In the mean time, DfID’s key aim is to assist in relieving the humanitarian disaster that has come into existence there.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Tuesday 18th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that the dire situation in Syria is very much in our minds. The United Kingdom is a major donor in this situation. I imagine that he is aware that the United Nations will issue a revised appeal tomorrow for further support. One of the problems here is that the UN appeals so far are severely underfunded. However, the United Kingdom is well aware of the significance of this crisis and, as I say, is a major contributor.

[Lord Wright of Richmond]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of recent press reports that armed gangs have been thieving aid and donations from displaced Syrians in Syria and Turkey? Does she agree that this makes it all the more important that all our aid, from HMG and the European Union, should be channelled through the international agencies? Does she accept that there is a potential contradiction between exploring all options to help the Syrian Opposition and—to quote from the Prime Minister’s Statement yesterday—giving further,

“support for the protection of civilians”,

many of whom are subject to discrimination and worse from elements within the Opposition and at least two of whom are now officially classified as terrorists by the United States Government?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord will be well aware from experience how difficult it is to work in Syria at the moment. We pay tribute to those who are doing so. We note, for example, that the UN has had to pull back a number of its workers from Damascus. We are aware of challenges and, as he says, it is extremely important to work through the international organisations which are best placed to get in the aid that is required. We are assisting, in terms of peace-building, training and so on, the National Coalition for the Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces but we are aware of how diverse the members of that group are. We are emphasising that they should work together inclusively for the benefit of all the people of Syria but we are aware of the challenges there too.

West Bank

Lord Wright of Richmond Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wright of Richmond]

My Lords, I also congratulate the noble Baroness on introducing this important debate and I thank her for her very moving personal account of her visit to Palestine.

I first point out that access to water in this part of the Middle East, as elsewhere in many parts of the world, is a critical issue for all the countries of the region, and has been the subject of dispute between many of them for years. For instance, there are problems between Turkey and its Iraqi and Syrian neighbours, let alone the problems around access to water for Israel and Palestine, much of it flowing from countries that are still at war with Israel. Indeed, it has often been said that water may be the cause of the next serious conflagration in the region. One of the tragic consequences of the present crisis in Syria and the so-called Arab spring is that it has diverted the world’s attention from the problem of water supplies.

I turn to the subject of this debate and, in stark contrast to the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Winston, the statistics available to me from international sources are truly horrendous. At the risk of repeating some of the points that have already been made, one crucial fact behind many aspects of this problem is the continuing illegal settlement of the West Bank by the Israeli occupying power. The settler population continues to grow, in spite of ineffective attempts by the Government of the United States and the European Union to persuade the Israeli Government at least to freeze their growth, if not to reverse it. At approximately 500,000, the growth rate of Israeli settlers on the West Bank and in east Jerusalem has averaged 5.1% a year, compared with an Israeli population growth as a whole of only 1.9%. What is called the mountain aquifer on the West Bank is hugely overexploited by the Israelis, who take 80% of the water, thus leaving only 20% for the Palestinians. More than 190,000 Palestinians live in 134 West Bank villages without any running water. In recent years during the summer months, the Israeli army has stepped up pressure on Palestinian border communities to force them out of the Jordan valley by confiscating their water tankers and depriving the villagers and their flocks of water at the height of the hot season.

Others will no doubt disagree with these facts and figures, but surely we cannot dispute the illegality of the Israeli settlement policy on the West Bank. What we have, in effect, is 500,000 Israelis who, under international law and the Geneva Convention, should not be there at all, using 80% of the available water and leaving only 20% for the indigenous population. For a Government who pride themselves on being not only the sole democracy in the Middle East but one who accept the rule of law, this is a shameful story. Even if, as it appears, the United States is unable or unwilling to do anything about it, surely the European Union should be doing something to correct this flagrant injustice. Mr Netanyahu may not have blood on his hands, to quote a frequent accusation against the Syrian regime next door, but he should certainly have water on his conscience.