Sri Lanka

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Monday 16th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, in the context of the UNHRC we have continued to work with our friends and supporters to ensure the processes, and to work directly with the High Commissioner’s office so that evidence can be collected and justice rightly served for those who for too long have not seen justice served. At this time, our focus in the current crisis is on the immediate needs of Sri Lanka, its people and its welfare. That is why, with the appointment of the new Prime Minister and a new Cabinet, we are working constructively to ensure that human rights—as I said earlier, the rights to protest and of media reporting on the current crisis—are sustained and maintained while, at the same time, working towards the vital reconciliation that is required, with Sri Lanka’s historical legacy, to allow all communities to move forward together as one.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, this is becoming a desperate state of affairs, as we all agree. Is there a concern that Sri Lanka’s plight, with all the shortages, could be an indicator, globally, of a stark new world order that will affect many emerging countries in a similar manner? The point has been made about China. Is it conceivable that a future Chinese military base could be stationed in Sri Lanka and therefore be at the centre of our Indo-Pacific priority?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, the current crisis that Sri Lanka faces did not happen all of a sudden. It is important to look at steps such as the IMF’s intervention. With hindsight, I am sure many voices in Sri Lanka are asking whether it should have been sooner or earlier—but we are where we are, and it is important now that, through the IMF and the World Bank, we look at ensuring, first things first, that this debt can be restructured in a way that allows Sri Lanka to move forward.

On the wider issue of China’s reach in the Indo-Pacific, we need to work constructively with our key partners. That is why, when it comes to infrastructure development, as I said when I visited Sri Lanka, through our own initiatives with key partners we need to offer an alternative method that allows a country not to be indebted but to service its debt and, at the same time, to move forward constructively.

Ethiopia

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Monday 4th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we are looking at all elements of funding over a three-year period. The situation in Ukraine has meant that we are reviewing all our funding support but, as I have indicated, we have stood by our commitment to the people of Afghanistan. That is the right way to move forward. On the specific issue of Ethiopia, as I have indicated, the humanitarian convoy reached Tigray, but of those 20 trucks, just under half the contents, including fuel and humanitarian aid, came directly through British support. Tigray, and the wider situation in Ethiopia, is an important priority, and once I have the full details of our funding package, I will share them with noble Lords.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

Somalia and Somaliland have been mentioned. Is the Minister aware that those two countries share a common three-letter code designation? I do not know whether it is in the Minister’s brief but when he is at the UN, he may wish to draw attention to that point, because there is a difference between the two areas. Is he in discussion with the Horn of Africa peace initiative of the African Union? If he is, can he say how that is going and what the union can do to help with the process?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we are working very closely with the African Union. As the noble Viscount may be aware, we have a special envoy to the Horn of Africa who is looking at the situation strategically, not just how we can promote all our interests but specifically how we can support the work of the African Union, complementing what we are doing bilaterally and through the UN.

Falkland Islands

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Monday 4th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

I strongly agree with the noble Lord. I think that the position of the UK Government, and our historic position, in relation to countries that are part of our family is a model for the world to follow. Where those arrangements are based on genuine consent, I think the relationship will always be a happier one. It is a model that many other countries would do well to learn from.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, individual overseas territories have differing needs. Nevertheless, there are similarities, which the Minister, along with others who have contributed today, has identified in his remarks. But what is the status of the current negotiations regarding Gibraltar between the Governments of the United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar, and the European Union? If there is an agreement, will it need to be ratified by the respective legislatures?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Viscount for his question; I will follow up with a letter. This issue is obviously associated with but not directly relevant to this Question. I am confident that an update will be provided in due course, but I just cannot tell him when.

Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kramer (LD)]

My Lords, I raise again with the Government the issue of cryptocurrencies. Effectively, Russians cannot now transfer roubles into dollars, euros and pounds sterling but they can transfer into cryptocurrency. The Minister will know that the Ukrainian Minister of Finance on Monday called on all the decentralised finance—the DeFi exchanges—to remove Russia from their schemes. Some, such as Coinbase, have done so, but others—Binance is the big one that comes to mind—have decided to sanction only the 100 names on the sanctions list and otherwise to allow free translation of roubles into cryptocurrency. We have heard from the Ukrainian Government that this is a serious mechanism for evading sanctions. Binance, which I mentioned, is registered in the Cayman Islands and therefore falls into the UK financial family. What more will the Minister do to prevent what may have looked like a loophole from becoming what is now growing into—a major escape hole?

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, these are dark days. I am delighted to follow and identify with the initial remarks of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Garnier, and the noble Lord, Lord Austin. Our hearts are with the brave people of Ukraine. The Russian people will suffer long-term hardship but nothing compared to that befalling the extraordinary people of Ukraine.

It is no fault of the Russian people that they have no understanding of the reality of why they are being fully penalised. It is quite astounding that, from my calls to Russia, their perception of what is going on in Ukraine borders, frankly, on the fanciful. Disinformation is rife. These measures are very necessary and the UK Government are doing exactly what they have to do. They have my full support.

[Lord Clarke of Nottingham (Con)]

My Lords, I fully support these sanctions and I congratulate the Government on the packages brought forward. I look forward with interest to the replies to be given to several of the detailed points raised about exactly how firmly they will be enforced.

I will look forward a little. The medium to long-term reality is that we are applying these sanctions against Russia, but Russia is almost certain in the end to achieve some degree of military success. A new reality will dawn, probably with a puppet Government in Ukraine, and the whole issue will start fading from international debate, from the media and so on. What are the Government’s plans for the medium term and, if necessary, the longer-term future in sustaining these sanctions and this level of pressure on the Russian regime?

In reality, there will be quite rapidly a tendency to put pressure on the Government to allow people to return to a new normality: to allow Russian companies to have access to the City of London again and to ease sanctions causing financial losses to lawyers, accountants and firms here. Is the Minister able to assure me that, as far as the British Government are concerned, we intend to retain this degree of sanctions until some satisfactory solution to the political problem is achieved, with a genuine agreement with a respectable Ukrainian Government who have proper regard to international law and national sovereignty? Will the British Government remain one of the more robust in the western lands? There will be considerable pressure to stop doing so much once we have, as it were, done our best to protect the Ukrainian regime during the conflict.

The sooner we start addressing that problem, the sooner we will start facing up to realistic problems that we must plan for. The Russians will undoubtedly, for example, try to ensure that the sanctions do quite a bit of damage to western economies, and will start trying to use their influence on the oil and energy markets to demonstrate that they can cause us some continuing loss unless we begin to lose interest—shall we say?—in the crisis that has so shocked the world. Are we determined to be one of those western countries that will seek to maintain the fullest force of sanctions we can unless and until a satisfactory solution is reached with the Russian regime?

Taiwan

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Grand Committee

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, there is no turning back. The genie is out of the bottle, with the global community having arrived at a crossroads. Accountable governance is showing itself to be sacrosanct and resilient, with democratic ideals that will be defended in a world that will not stand idle nor allow encroachment. Self-serving government by the few, for the few, is reaching the end of the road. Military dominance alone will never prevail in our interdependent world. Russians will know that they have been taken down a cul-de-sac in a world that can cripple a country without the use of lethal force and weapons. China should be encouraged to reflect carefully before it takes the world to the abyss over Taiwan.

During his closing remarks in the debate on Ukraine the other day, the Minister observed:

“Blessed are the peacekeepers”.—[Official Report, 25/2/22; col. 523.]


In Latin, it is “Beati pacifici”; it is the motto of my family, coincidentally. A bridge must be opened to allow for an exit mechanism—a face-saving bridge, if you will. It is being suggested that China could become the Ukraine peacemaker, with the ability to pull Russia in. Nothing would be more welcome at this terrible hour.

While too much is often expected from the United Nations, the Security Council may in part be the problem. Fundamentally, the United Nations is supposed to keep us safe. It has not worked. Urgent reform is required. It needs change. In a world where shared resources and shared responsibilities must become the norm, no single member should be allowed to manipulate the process for self-serving national purposes, yet in its current form, that is exactly what the UN allows. At the very least, majority decision-making is now an imperative. If that be a challenge too far—remembering that both the United Nations and the League of Nations before it came into existence in response to wars that changed the global status quo—the alternative is to now consider a successor to the United Nations that creates a process fit for tomorrow’s world and places world preservation and co-existence first.

Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 24th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

Could I ask my noble friend what assessment the Foreign Office has been able to make about the extent of internal opposition to President Putin? Were there any signs that sanctions have strengthened that internal opposition to him?

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

I wish to be identified with the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, and the Minister in particular, and all other noble Lords who have spoken today. I am prompted to ask a question in response to a remark made by the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes: that it is up to the people of Russia to determine the country’s future. Of course, he is right. However, I am tempted to ask the Government whether nothing short of regime change would be a practical solution. The Minister might wish to at least consider that point at some stage.

I think that a message ought to be passed to the British ambassador in Moscow that the time has possibly come when her husband might wish to relinquish his post as the executive director of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, both in Moscow and London. It probably does not stand well with the issues with which we find ourselves in today’s world.

Is the time now coming when we should prepare the people of this country for war? What action, therefore, are the Government taking to protect the security of the UK’s energy, cyber networks, food and general defence, given the complete breakdown in relations with Russia?

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I have a quick question for the Minister. It is a little wide of the regulations but related to it: the hole in the dyke could be Switzerland. Have we had conversations with Switzerland, and are we going to close any holes there?

Ukraine: NATO Membership

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 24th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I have already outlined the Government’s position on Ukraine’s NATO membership, as and whenever that might take place. Of course, there are certain criteria, which have been detailed and shared with the Ukrainians. If they meet those criteria, it is a choice for Ukraine to join NATO and for other member states to agree its membership. However, at this particular juncture, I agree with the noble Lord that our focus should be very much on the situation as it is unravelling. We offer Ukraine our full support in every respect and are working, together with our NATO allies and our partners across the European Union, in the context of the United States and others, to ensure that this message is received in Moscow very clearly: its actions were not just unprovoked but are an act of aggression against a sovereign state. Pull back, and pull back now.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister spoke of the importance of a unitary voice; of course, he is absolutely correct as far as this place is concerned. However, in his initial response he also touched on matters relating to the European Union. Is he aware that, yesterday, both Italy and Austria prevaricated in their support for sanctions? Indeed, Hungary is directly opposed to sanctions. What will the Minister do to encourage these states to come in line with what is the right thing to do?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I can share that, among my meetings at the United Nations yesterday, I met the Foreign Minister of Germany. We welcome the decision made by the German Chancellor to pull back on Nord Stream 2. That shows the real sense of unity prevailing across Europe. It is my understanding that, later today, there will be an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which will discuss the very issues that the noble Lord raises.

Ukraine: OSCE Special Monitoring Mission

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, there is no question but that the behaviour of Russia in Ukraine crosses numerous red lines. There is no question either about the seriousness with which we and our allies take that, as is reflected in the package of measures announced earlier by the Prime Minister. We are committed to extend this package as far as is necessary to hit Russia where it hurts.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, in the light of the Question and given these uncertain times, should not sanctions—or something similar—be seen as a deterrent, rather than as a punishment after the event? What is the Government’s plan if the Russians attack Kyiv?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

The noble Viscount makes a good point. As he knows, in the run-up to recent events, the UK, the US and their allies were very clear about threatening sanctions. We had hoped that this threat would deter Russia. Russia has taken the action that it has, and we have responded with sanctions, as we said we would. We have also been clear that the package of measures which we are willing to take and for which we are making preparations will go much further than that announced earlier by the Prime Minister. I am sure that all noble Lords hope, as I do, that the threat of a greatly extended package of measures will act as a deterrent to Russia.

Oil Tanker “FSO Safer”

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Monday 7th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, the UK is using every avenue we can. The noble Lord mentions one; there are others. The UK is now playing an important role in supporting a commercial initiative to resolve the issue. We supported local Yemeni partners to develop a feasible initiative, which they have been negotiating directly with the Houthis in a way that others would struggle to do. Along with the Dutch Government, the UK has been foremost in rallying the international community behind that commercial initiative, including securing support from Saudi Arabia and the Government of Yemen.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, following on from the two previous questions, it is also worth noting that we must use every endeavour to ensure that no rockets or missiles land in Riyadh or any city in the Emirates. Is the Minister minded to say a word about that situation?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Viscount makes a very good point, and that is of course foremost in our minds.

Autocrats, Kleptocrats and Populists

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Grand Committee

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, I hope the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, will accept a cup of tea to serve as an apology for my jumping up before time, as I do to all noble Lords for speaking in the gap, but will speak for no more than two minutes.

Democracy stands for accountability to the people, expressed by popular mandate. The noble Lord, Lord Browne, drew attention to the upcoming meeting between Presidents Xi and Putin: a joint security statement will be forthcoming. I suspect that it will be a statement of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. While both aspire to a different form of communism, an alliance between the two will attract others into an axis—Iran is the most likely candidate—driving a wedge between two forms of governance: democracy over autocracy.

Leading on from that, we have just witnessed events in Kazakhstan. During the time of his presidency, it was said that President Nazarbyev commanded great popular support. Fast forward and, with the recent mayhem, it is abundantly clear that that support was entirely artificial. Autocrats do not have the support of the people, which is why an exit route must be found whereby they should be encouraged to leave, otherwise they will surely stay. A way must be found for free and fair elections as the only solution in everyone’s best interest.