Israel and Gaza: Ceasefire

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Wednesday 19th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

The UK has a robust arms export licensing regime, and all export licences are assessed in accordance with it. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that the UK takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously. I would also remind him that Israel is responding to rockets fired at it from an organisation closely associated with Iran. We would urge all nations to take their arms export responsibilities as seriously as the UK does.

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he is working with international counterparts on calming tensions in the region and bringing an end the violence, to ensure that all sides can move towards a peaceful dialogue? Can he also give assurances that he will work to ensure that the hard-won Abraham accords between Israel and the Gulf nations remain intact?

[James Cleverly]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. I can assure him that the conversation I had this morning with representatives of the Arab nations, including the representative of the Palestinian people here in London, was balanced, thoughtful and productive. I can assure him that our friends in the region share our desire to see peace come quickly to the region, and we are all working closely with one other to pursue that particular goal.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Cleverly]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for putting forward ideas he believes may be useful to bring about the goals that we all want. I am unsure about the effectiveness of that one, but I am willing to receive any ideas from him. We will continue working, and to explore ideas with whoever puts them forward. I commend the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn for engaging with us regularly. Ultimately, we are all—across party and right across the House—trying to achieve a resolution and to have the British dual national detainees returned home.

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his commitment to Nazanin’s case and for taking such a clear position that she should not be sent back to jail. Does he agree that Iran’s attempt to exploit dual nationals for political gain is unacceptable and that we should continue to lobby strongly for their release?

[James Cleverly]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Ultimately, he is right: the responsibility lies with the Government of Iran, the Iranian regime. We remain committed to securing immediate, full and permanent release. While we are pleased that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has not been returned to Evin prison, that is not the end of the matter. We will continue to work to have her and the other detainees return home.

Persecution of Christians and Freedom of Religion or Belief

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) for all his tireless work on this cause and for having secured this debate. I also thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and congratulate him on the birth of his grandchild, who will, I am sure, bring much happiness.

I read with concern the deeply depressing final report submitted by the Bishop of Truro, which set out in stark terms the persecution faced by Christians around the world. It seems perverse that Christians face greater oppression now than at any other point in recent history. It is also an uncomfortable reality that the persecution of Christians is largely unacknowledged by leading Governments, for various reasons, but while we prevaricate, Christians across the globe are being attacked, harassed and killed because of their religious beliefs. As Members will know, I believe freedom of religion to be a central pillar of our civic society. As a Catholic, I can see the ways in which people of Christian faith enrich discourse and dialogue in the United Kingdom every single day. However, in many countries, Christians are regarded with suspicion, contempt, and often outright hostility.

The persecution of Roman Catholics in Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China are crimes that I have been following closely. Maira Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Catholic girl in Pakistan, was recently abducted, raped, married to her abductor, and forcibly converted to Islam. She is now on the run and at risk of being killed. This is a disgusting situation. Regrettably, Pakistan’s recent record of protecting religious minorities, including Christians, is woeful. I understand that Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon raised freedom of religion or belief with Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights and with the Governor of Punjab, but I urge the Government to keep up the pressure on our Pakistani counterparts to ensure that authorities there seek justice for Maira, and guarantee her future safety.

In the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist party is waging the most severe, systematic suppression of Christianity in that country for decades. In the past few years, the CCP has been destroying crosses, burning Bibles, shutting churches and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith. Only state-approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association churches are allowed to exist, and Catholics have been driven underground at great personal cost. It is no wonder, then, that the Holy See recognises the Republic of China as being the true representative of China: Catholics can worship freely and openly in Taiwan, but not in the PRC. Many Catholics are worried that the renewal of the secretive agreement between China and the Church damages Rome’s moral authority and puts Catholics in danger through its acquiescence to Beijing’s terms. I entreat this Government to work with the Vatican and the PRC to stop the oppression of Catholics, and to legalise the Church in that country.

Set against that background, the Bishop of Truro’s review was welcome and timely, and the Government’s commitment to its recommendations will bring real improvements to the lives of those persecuted because of their faith. I am pleased to note that more than half of the recommendations have already been implemented, or are in the process of being implemented. I am particularly encouraged by the creation of a UK global human rights sanctions regime, responding to the recommendations in the report that we must impose sanctions against those who persecute Christians. Furthermore, the launch of the John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion and Belief has funded 15 research projects to look at the challenges facing different religious communities among those Christians. That is great progress.

The Government should visibly and robustly stand up for the rights of Christians everywhere. We must face down oppression wherever we find it and protect the world’s most vulnerable, regardless of race, background or creed. I pray for my fellow Christians and will continue to fight for them in this House.

Sudan

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2020 Westminster Hall

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

It is a rare delight to speak in this House on Sudan, a topic that we do not often debate. When I visited the country a few years ago I discovered a beautiful land with a rich history, many UNESCO world heritage sites and a warm and friendly people. However, the Sudanese have been failed; they have suffered systemic poverty, an earth-shattering civil war and Government repression. Members will be all too aware of the terrible massacre of 3 June 2019 when security forces opened fire outside a military headquarters in Khartoum on protesters who were calling for the generals to hand power to a civilian Government. Countless innocent people died. Opposition doctors claimed that 130 people were killed and hundreds more injured. That was a disgusting and sickening crime against people who were standing up for democracy, and this country and its Government must stand with those who died and support them and their relatives.

After the massacre, the UK summoned the Sudanese ambassador to the Foreign Office to register its concerns and called for the establishment of an independent inquiry into the massacre. The Government also made it clear that there must be an agreed transfer of power, as demanded by the people of Sudan. Today I am pleased that significant progress has been made as a result of the constitutional declaration of August 2019, and that the UK’s statement has been heeded. I appreciate the fact that the Government has stepped in to protect people and move things forward.

The agreement secures the creation of a council of Ministers and a legislative council. Encouragingly, 40% of seats on the legislative council are reserved for women, which is a remarkable statistic for the region. The agreement also includes a commitment to an independent investigation of the atrocities of the June massacre. The transition really does promise a bright new future for Sudan, and it gives the Sudanese people a real stake in their country for the first time. We have heard passionate descriptions by my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin) and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) of what has been done in the transition, but clearly a lot more needs to be done and words need to be backed up by actions on the part of the current regime in Sudan.

The UK’s support for Sudan’s democratic transition remains resolute and steadfast. In June’s aid conference, we committed £150 million to Sudan for humanitarian aid, social programmes, new infrastructure, Government reforms, and, in addition, the coronavirus response. At the conference, the Minister for Africa repeated that the UK Government would work with the Sudanese Government for successful democratic transition. However, as we have heard, things have not always gone to plan and not always gone smoothly, so we must press the Government to go further and faster with the Sudanese Government.

Considerable challenges remain for Sudan, and there is more that the UK must do to secure the country’s future. This month’s peace agreement, signed by the transitional Government and armed rebel groups, was welcome news. However, it needs to be fully implemented and must be expanded to include all armed actors. Sudan must undertake serious economic reform, building on the help already offered by UK experts, and must ensure greater transparency in governance, a robust environment for media freedom and improved healthcare provision.

Of particular interest to me is the religious freedom of Sudan and the protection of Christians there. In the recent past I have been deeply concerned by the persecution of Christians in the country, with Open Doors ranking it the seventh worst nation on earth for that crime. There are nearly 2 million Christians in Sudan, an important minority in a nation of 30 million Muslims. However, religious conservatives have been pushing for a sharia state so that they can enforce a strict Islamic regime. Thousands of Christians have been killed and displaced indiscriminately. Many churches have been demolished, Christian leaders have been arrested, and blasphemy laws have been used to criminalise Christian-born citizens and converts alike.

The civilian-led Sudanese Government must take urgent steps to protect Christians, their faith and their culture in accordance with the rights and freedoms promised by the constitutional declaration. As we have already heard, promises have not been matched with actions, and the UK Government must intercede and press the Sudanese Government on that. Nevertheless, I am optimistic about Sudan’s prospects under a civilian Government, with marked improvements in governance and security. I would love to see tourists visiting Sudan from all over the world. I very much believe that tourism and opening it up Sudan to the world will reduce many of its problems and increase its wealth as more people come in and see the wonderful sights. It is a place that many know little about, despite the fact that Sudan has so much to offer, which is something that I discovered when I visited a few years ago.

For instance, I am sure the House knows that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt. The majestic Nubian pyramids at Meroë and Nuri are every bit as impressive as their Egyptian cousins, but are completely forgotten by some. General Gordon’s Nile gunboat lies distressed, alone, in the Blue Nile Sailing Club in splendid isolation, and the imposing confluence of the mighty White and Blue Niles sees little fanfare. The ancient city of Naqa is one of the largest ruined sites of Sudan. It once served as a bridge between Africa and the Mediterranean world and boasts gems such as the Temple of Amun. Even, as the House will know, my passion for the Emperor Justinian of Byzantium was sated when I travelled there and discovered that the Nubians were converted by missionaries despatched by the emperor in the 6th century. That shows that Sudan has been at the centre of our world, the Mediterranean world, for a long time, and it is a shame that we have let it go away and not embraced it as much as we should have. We should return to the days of embracing it.

Sudan truly is a wonderful and exciting country. I urge Ministers to listen to what we have heard today and take it on board to help push everything forward. I look forward to returning soon to witness Sudan’s democratic rebirth.

Yemen

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Leicester East (Claudia Webbe), although I do not think that the Government are acting in a criminal way in the slightest. It was quite disingenuous to say that. The Government are acting under international law. Indeed, we are a fan of international law, so we are abiding by it.

Members of this House will know that I have a deep interest in middle eastern affairs. It is a part of the world that boasts great beauty, a rich history and a warm talented people. Yemen is of particular interest as an important bridge between the horn of Africa and the Gulf nations. However, the House will also know too well that the middle east has been deeply troubled in recent times, with political instability, terrorism, dictatorships and civil war. We should not talk about Yemen without mentioning its influential place in history. It was the mighty Ma’rib dam built in the 8th century BC that collapsed, causing a migration of 50,000 people into the Arab peninsula, which affected and influenced so much of the world’s great events. We also have to look at the great UNESCO sites, such as Shibam, which is known as the skyscraper city. Its 500 mud brick buildings over 98ft high are at risk from the civil war, so we must think about the cultural as well as the humanitarian losses during the civil war.

Hon. Members have spoken passionately in this debate about the dreadful human suffering currently taking place in Yemen. Nearly 250,000 Yemeni people have died since 2015 and 24 million people are in need of aid, with almost 4 million people having been displaced. Cholera and other diseases are omnipresent and health services and vital infrastructure are on their knees. These numbers are almost too great to fully comprehend. This is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, but unbelievably things are getting worse. Fighting has not let up and the casualties, especially among children, have increased. Furthermore, Yemen is especially vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus.

This crisis is one that should move every parliamentarian to action in a bid to stop this devastating conflict. I am therefore pleased to say that the UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to deliver aid and broker a peace deal. Only last week, the Foreign Secretary co-hosted an international meeting in Yemen, calling on the international community to step up its funding and humanitarian response and to pressure Yemeni parties to agree to the UN peace proposals. This is a civil war. Our duty is to broker a deal between the people.

My right hon. friend the Foreign Secretary has also announced a further £5.8 million contribution to the UN humanitarian response, bringing the total UK aid commitment to Yemen since the conflict began to £1 billion. That is us stepping up, and rightly so, to broker peace in the middle east.

Our efforts must be wholly focused on achieving peace in Yemen, and I welcome the opportunity for Members to press the Government today to ensure the implementation of the Stockholm agreement and to guarantee our continued assistance to the Yemeni people. Yemen is a wonderful, beautiful country. Yemen is a country to which we, in Britain, have a long history of connection. It is a country to which we have great affinity and it is right, therefore, that the Government are stepping up to the plate. I do think that it is disingenuous for us to be divided across this House while we are trying to broker a peace deal. When we are dealing with arms sales and other such issues, we obey international law, as we should. It is absolutely critical that the international community, led by the UK, secures long-term peace and stability in Yemen.

As we all know, Yemen was a hub of foreign languages before the civil war. Many people from Britain went to Yemen to learn Arabic. I myself learned Arabic not in Yemen, but in England—I would have loved to go there. It is a travesty for the whole world that we cannot embrace the country as it is. Therefore, I am pleased that the UK is stepping up to improve the situation and trying to work with all the parties involved. We owe it to the Yemeni people and to the country’s proud history and heritage. I know that we all look forward to Yemen’s emergence from the dark days into the sunlight of prosperity.

--- Later in debate ---

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in this debate, having—along with my SNP colleagues—raised this matter and participated in debates on it a number of times over the years. The awful gravity of the situation in Yemen means that it is a matter of profound regret that we so often have to raise these matters and so often have to repeat the harrowing suffering of the people in that country. One of the points that comes up again and again—in fact, it is impossible to have any discussion about Yemen without talking about it—is the shameful fact that the UK Government continue to persist in their sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, which is committing sickening atrocities on Yemeni civilians. Independent reports from a number of sources have shown over the years that by doing so, the UK Government are aiding and assisting war crimes. Yemen has long suffered a deep humanitarian crisis.

The UK Government, as we have heard again today from the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford), obfuscates, equivocates and pettifogs about the legality of arms sales to the Saudis, when it is as plain as the nose on your face that Saudi is a barbaric regime which has perpetrated appalling massacres on the Yemeni people. It is beyond sickening, it really is.

[Alexander Stafford]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Patricia Gibson]

No, I want to make some progress: other people want to speak.

It really is putting profit and trade in death before due and proper consideration for the sanctity of the lives of the Yemeni people and the huge suffering that they have encountered. We have heard today of “heavy diplomatic engagement” by the UK Government, but the arms sales to Saudi undermine and indeed mock any efforts by the UK to pretend to be an honest broker.

Despite the legal and ethical considerations, we have heard today that since 2013 the UK has sold £5.4 billion-worth of arms to Saudi. Let us not forget that the country we are selling arms to is the same country that punishes its homosexual citizens with public whippings, beatings, vigilante attacks, chemical castrations, imprisonment— possibly for life—capital punishment and many other forms of torture. Why do we not take a much firmer line with a mediaeval regime like that in the first place, instead of selling it arms so that it can perpetrate its own forms of barbarism? It is a country based on sharia law where women are legally the property of their oldest male relative. Is it any wonder that Saudi has no respect for the human rights of the Yemeni people when that is how it treats its own civilians?

The Government’s trade and foreign policies are contradictory. They sell arms to that regime so that it can slaughter civilians, while trumpeting their subscription to the global human rights sanction regulations on selling instruments of torture to the Yemenis. It really is time for the UK to stop the warm words, which will not save the lives of the Yemeni people. It is time to stop selling arms to the blood-soaked regime in Saudi, stand up properly, in practical terms, against the slaughter of the Yemeni people, and play a less equivocal role in this conflict.

Xinjiang: Uyghurs

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

As well as oppressing the Uyghurs, the Communist Government of the People’s Republic of China discriminate against almost 100 million Christians. Last year alone, over 5,500 churches were destroyed, closed down or confiscated. Does my hon. Friend agree that freedom of religion and belief should remain a major global campaign for the Government, and what is he doing to ensure this is maintained?

[Nigel Adams]

It is absolutely the case that the Government remain committed to defending freedom of religion and belief for all people—for people of all faiths or none. The Prime Minister has his own special envoy, my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti), working on this issue, and through our extensive diplomatic network we continue to lobby Governments for changes in laws and practices, and raise individual cases of persecution. We also continue to use our influence to speak up for persecuted Christians and individuals of other faiths in multilateral institutions, including the UN and the OSCE.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2020 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 22 April.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have been asked to respond on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, and I am pleased to tell the House that he is making a good recovery and is in good spirits.

The coronavirus pandemic presents us with one of the biggest challenges we have faced as a country in decades. Our message to the British public is clear: please stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. As a Government, we continue to take the right measures at the right time, guided by the science and the medical experts. I pay tribute to the enormous contribution that our NHS and other frontline workers have made to tackling the virus. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude, and we will continue to do whatever it takes to support them. Our aim has always been to protect the NHS and save lives, and with the public’s incredible support, we are doing that by flattening the peak of this virus.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, for all your efforts to ensure that Parliament can meet and apply the scrutiny to Government that we expect and embrace. The House meets in challenging times. Together we can and will defeat this virus.

Persecution of Christians

Alexander Stafford Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I had a quick look through Hansard and discovered that I first started speaking on this subject 20 years ago in a debate on the persecution of Christians in Egypt. Frankly, there was little interest from the Government then, but we see much more attention now, which I welcome. There is a special envoy for freedom of religion and belief. Numerous charities, such as Aid to the Church in Need, Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide, work on the frontlines and raise awareness here, and Red Wednesday, of course, has become an annual fixture. However, I believe that the Government, for all their efforts, could still do more.

We continually underestimate the clout that we have. We gave £463 million to the Government of Pakistan in 2016. The Department for International Development’s planned budget for Nigeria in 2018 was £235 million. We have a long history and tradition of humanitarianism, which we want to continue. These countries have problems and we want to help them, but how are we helping when we are sending hundreds of millions of pounds to Governments who completely fail to protect their Christian citizens? We should not be afraid to turn off the tap when lives are on the line. We need to question countries with Islamist Governments on why they will not allow the total freedom of worship and religion and equal rights. Surely people everywhere, in every country, province and land, of every faith and denomination, should be able freely to practise their religion or belief in accordance with their conscience—it simply does not happen in the world today. How can we say we really think that if our aid budget does not reflect our thinking and we are not prepared to use our clout?

We sit here today in the heart of a country renowned across the world for our resilience in the face of challenge, and our magnanimity, fairness and concern for the vulnerable—that is all very good. We command one of the most capable militaries on the planet. We are a financial heavyweight, giving hundreds of millions of pounds each year to countries that are poorer than ourselves. That is fantastic, yet in the face of another radical threat to stability in the developing world, our resolve appears to have dimmed and our desire to help been neutralised.

Aside from questions of war fatigue, which I entirely sympathise with, we ought to consider how much more difficult it will be to solve this crisis in 10 years’ time if we do not act swiftly now. Some of us were in the Chamber as our predecessors decried the actions of Saddam Hussein against his own people and the malicious rule of Gaddafi, and we took action. I ask the House: where is that same commitment when it comes to the persecution of Christians? Where is the same loyalty to the victims of the repressive proto-caliphate that is developing in the Sahel?

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that we should use our aid budget to help persecuted Christians and give more money to the minority groups who are being affected, such as the poor Christians in Syria and across the middle east?

[Sir Edward Leigh]

That is a very positive suggestion. Perhaps we should take some money away from the Governments who are not doing enough and give it directly to people on the ground.

We could spend hours going over many countries in the world but I want to talk about Nigeria, to take one example. It is a wonderful nation on the west coast of Africa. It is a close partner in the Commonwealth. It is forecast to be the continent’s “bread basket” within a generation. The UN predicts that Nigeria’s population could be 411 million by 2050 and 794 million by the end of the century. We have many people born in Nigeria or of a Nigerian background living in Britain today, and we welcome all this. However, in the same way that the recent expansion of ISIS in Iraq and Syria could not have been so easily predicted, we should be careful not to exclude from our view the painful reality that parts of Nigeria are now ripe for an ISIS takeover. I will talk about a few distressing examples—all well documented—from Open Doors and other organisations.

Some 1,300 Nigerian Christians have been killed in the past year, in addition to the more than 6,000 deaths since 2015. The Islamic Fulani, a nomadic ethnic group of about 20 million people across 20 west and central African countries, are, I am afraid, largely responsible for this new wave of attacks. In the last four or five years, growing numbers of them have adopted a land-grabbing policy—motivated by an extremist belief system and equipped with sophisticated weaponry—leading to the massacre of thousands of people and the permanent displacement of vulnerable rural communities.

Despite centuries-long tension between sedentary farmers and the nomadic Fulani herders, recent attacks have exposed the Fulani’s improved military capability and ideological fervour. The Global Terrorism Index in 2016 and 2017 named Fulani militia as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world, with only Boko Haram, ISIS and al-Shabaab considered deadlier. Targeted violence against predominantly Christian communities suggests that religion and ideology are key drivers in the massacre, which is going on in our time and, we might say, on our watch.