Jailing of Hong Kong Pro-democracy Activists

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the concerns of his constituents. Such concerns have indeed been articulated by others in this Chamber. Either the Minister for the Indo-Pacific, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West), or I would be delighted to meet him to discuss this.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)]

Last month, the Foreign Secretary told the House that he had made the release of Jimmy Lai his priority, yet the official Downing Street read-out of the Prime Minister’s meeting with President Xi just says that they discussed “different perspectives” on human rights, and does not even mention Jimmy Lai by name. How can the release of Jimmy Lai be a Government priority if, on the eve of his show trial, the Prime Minister’s official read-out cannot even mention his name, after he met the man responsible for his arbitrary detention?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I would respectfully refer the hon. Gentleman to the footage, which is widely available and which makes the point extremely clear.

Israel: UNRWA Ban

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Tuesday 29th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

The UK Government have been very clear that we are extremely concerned about the situation in northern Gaza that my hon. Friend referred to. It is unacceptable that this month will potentially see the lowest level of aid delivered since the beginning of the crisis, yet the need is even more intense now than at any point. People’s resilience is completely destroyed in many cases, so we are very clear about the need to provide aid. We will also continue being absolutely clear about our adherence as a Government to international humanitarian law.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)]

The Knesset’s decision to brand UNRWA a terror group was very well signposted, so the question now is: what leverage are the Government prepared to use to prevent this decision from being enacted? I think we can all agree that another round of hand-wringing, head-shaking and soft, whispered words of disapproval will be as successful as they have ever been in the past. Perhaps it is time to summon the Israeli ambassador and tell them in no uncertain terms that if this goes ahead, the UK will have no choice but to immediately end all arms sales to Israel, specifically the F-35 components on which its military campaign relies so heavily.

Gaza and Lebanon

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

It is very important that the UK takes its responsibilities seriously. The hon. Member talked about some of the reports that we have seen—the UK Government are looking very closely at them and we are determined to ensure that we play our part in ensuring that international law is upheld. He talked about sanctions policy; as I mentioned before, we will always keep that under review, but he should be aware that the UK has already sanctioned eight people responsible for perpetrating and inciting human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the west bank. We will continue to keep these issues under review.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)]

Does bombing a hospital and having patients on IV drips burn to death in their beds constitute a war crime?

[Anneliese Dodds]

As I mentioned, the UK Government are looking carefully at all reports. There has been considerable footage that is extremely disturbing—not just the footage that many of us have seen, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, but other types as well. It is very important that the UK Government look at them carefully and make proper assessments. There is a legal regime for doing that, and this UK Government take those legal responsibilities seriously because we know the impact that they can have.

Ukraine

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I very much share my hon. Friend’s deep concern about the human impact of Putin’s illegal war on Ukraine. In February 2024, we heard from President Zelensky that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Very large numbers of civilians have been killed, too. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that over 11,000 civilians have been killed and over 23,000 wounded—as of the start of August this year. On ensuring that we take action on assets, this new Government are absolutely committed to doing everything we can in this area. As I mentioned, the UK sanctioned over 2,000 individuals and entities. We estimate that, without sanctions, Russia would have over $400 billion more to fund its illegal war. Of course we will continue to keep this under review and work with partners to ensure that our sanctions are as strong as possible.

[Brendan O’Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) (SNP)]

The Minister is of course right to say that who will be the next US President is a matter solely for the American people, but a Trump presidency would, without doubt, have a significant impact on the course of the war in Ukraine, and given Trump’s cosy relationship with Putin, I doubt very much that it would be a positive impact. Can the Minister reassure the House and the people of Ukraine that this Government are, or soon will be, speaking to our European allies to ensure that, in terms of procurement and engagement, Europe will be prepared to plug any gaps in what Ukraine needs to defend itself should the worst case become a reality after November?