Jammu and Kashmir: Human Rights

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) for bringing forward this important debate.

The Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned about the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir. This is not a new conflict; it has been a long and oppressive one. It affects many in the UK, particularly those in communities with strong personal ties to the region. We are concerned by the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers, and we want the UK Government, with the international community, to play an active role in advocating for peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan in this troubled area, and in recognising the human rights of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. But it is up to the Governments of India and Pakistan to undertake to engage in a peace process that delivers a sustainable, just and lasting settlement. Our Government must play their part to help find the best way forward.

We are profoundly concerned by the Indian Government’s abolition in 2019 of Kashmir’s special status under article 370 of the constitution of India, along with the continuing unrest and human rights abuses. We believe that the UK must use its influence to support UN inspections and engagement in Kashmir. The Liberal Democrats believe in defending human rights and equality across the globe and think that UK foreign policy should promote these values internationally.

The UK must also reverse cuts to official development assistance and ensure that aid focuses on poverty reduction and protecting human rights in places such as Kashmir, where an estimated 655,000 people are living below the poverty line, with about 47% of the population living without adequate sanitation. The UK’s international development spending must be used effectively, with a primary focus on poverty reduction as we reverse the ODA cuts and get back to 0.7% GNI, putting the United Nations sustainable development goals—including access to clean water, sanitation and health and to quality education, and achieving food security—at the heart of our international development policy.

The Kashmir crisis is a long-standing issue that cannot be ignored. The UK Government must use their diplomatic channels to promote peace, hold human rights violators to account and support those affected by the conflict. We stand for a peaceful, just and humanitarian approach to resolving the situation and helping to build a better, more prosperous future for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

I believe the UK’s international development spending must be used effectively, with a primary focus on poverty reduction, and we must reverse the ODA cut and get back to 0.7% of GNI, which was probably our proudest achievement as Liberal Democrats in the coalition Government. We must put the United Nations sustainable development goals at the heart of our international development policy, including access to clean water, sanitation, health, education and achieving food security.

However, for now we are where we are, and with our total aid budget likely to be cut to around £9 billion a year, we must strive to get the very best value for our money—not just for the sake of the Exchequer, but for the massive good that British aid can still do in the world if it is not squandered. For example, approximately £4.3 billion is spent on asylum seekers arriving in the UK each year, a large proportion of the overall aid budget, leaving only £4.9 billion for actual aid work overseas. Now that budget has been further depleted to increase defence expenditure, it is vital that we bring down the costs associated with asylum seekers urgently. That could be done in the following way.

Asylum seekers arriving in the UK illegally, in small boats or by other highly dangerous means, need protection. They need support, they need compassion—they are people—but what they do not need is to be put in hotels with no plans for their future. As anyone who has been cooped up in a hotel for more than a few weeks will know, that will cause their mental health to suffer, and their drive and determination to wane. Asylum seekers come here full of hope for a better future for themselves and their families. They want to work. We should give them the chance and the support to do so, instead of leaving them in administrative limbo in hotels around the country, costing the taxpayer billions. If they have the chance to work their way into our society, instead of remaining a burden on the Exchequer and a burden to themselves, it would free up a large part of the remaining aid budget that could be spent on improving lives in the developing world, so that people do not need to risk their lives to come here in the first place.

People come here risking their all and that does not cease once they enter our borders. To protect them from the clutches of human trafficking—[Interruption.] I had better sit down.

Gaza and Humanitarian Aid

Brian Mathew Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Brian Mathew (Melksham and Devizes) (LD)]

I speak as someone who knew Gaza in the happy times when, as a young university researcher, I went with my Israeli friends from Kibbutz Re’im to meet their Arab friends in Gaza City to drink coffee and trade. We have heard in the debate about the horror and the passion. We have also heard of solutions, a recognition of the state of Palestine and, indeed, the inclusion of the evacuation of wounded children.

War is a horrible thing, and it makes people behave badly, especially when they feel—and, indeed, have been—hurt as the Israelis have been by the events of 7 October last year. There are things that can be done, which we have heard today, including the release of the hostages and the end of the war, but there are also things that must be done in the future to see Palestine’s future assured, such as the closure of the illegal settlements in the west bank and the rebuilding of Gaza itself. For that to happen, trust needs to be built, and for that to be built, our Government need to be talking to not just the leadership but the opposition in Israel. Jaw-jaw is indeed better than war-war.