Oral Answers to Questions

Cathy Jamieson Excerpts

Tuesday 1st February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

There is a formal structure relating to decisions about openings and closures of language services; those will remain the same, and the objectives and priorities of the BBC World Service will continue to be set in the same way. To respond to my hon. Friend’s point, that structure does not guarantee the absolute level of expenditure or investment by the BBC, but I would point out again that Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, has said that his intention, subject to approval from the BBC Trust, is to increase the level of investment in the BBC World Service, and therefore I am sure that bringing the BBC and the World Service together is the right move for the future.

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Henry Bellingham)]

The southern Sudan referendum is a momentous step towards the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. We welcome the positive reactions of the north and of observers of the referendum as we await the formal results. We will support north and south as they work on the remaining CPA issues, but obviously we will not be taking our eye off Darfur, as we work tirelessly to establish a lasting peace in that troubled province.

[Cathy Jamieson]

I thank the Minister for that answer, and I am sure he will be aware of the concerns shared across the international community on the continued presence of the Lords Resistance Army in south Sudan. A joint non-governmental organisation briefing in December 2010, entitled “Ghosts of Christmas Past”, documented some of the atrocities committed by that organisation on Christmas eve 2008. What assessment can the Minister can give us of the efforts of the international community to prevent the rise of that organisation in south Sudan and across the region?

[Mr Bellingham]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising the subject of the Lords Resistance Army. It is an organisation comprising about 400 fighters, under the leadership of an extremely evil commander, and although it is small, it can wreak havoc; it is able to displace many communities and terrorise many people. We are sparing no effort at all in helping those countries who are on the front line of tackling the LRA, and we are doing all we possibly can to bring its leader to justice in the International Criminal Court as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cathy Jamieson Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Browne]

This is my first opportunity to welcome the hon. Gentleman to his Front-Bench duties. We have something in common, of which not everybody in the House may be aware. We both contested Enfield, Southgate at the 1997 general election, although that contest is remembered primarily for somebody who is not present.

We raise Burma with the Chinese on a regular basis, as I have already said, and yes, the Prime Minister did raise the matter during his recent visit to India.

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What recent representations he has received on the UK’s obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)]

We have received no recent representations about the UK’s obligations. We welcome the result of the review conference in May, and particularly the final document, which the UK played a leading part in negotiating. We were able to announce for the first time our nuclear warhead capability and a re-evaluation of the declaratory principle, which has now taken place.

[Cathy Jamieson]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but does he have any concern that the announcement of a 50-year Anglo-French nuclear deal undermines in any way our commitment to achieving nuclear disarmament at an early date, as outlined in article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty?

Reconstructing Gaza

Cathy Jamieson Excerpts

Monday 8th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Dr Huppert]

I thank the hon. Lady for commenting. It is great to have the vision of somebody who was there and saw what happened. Whatever we think of the election result, Hamas clearly won it.

That led to the situation that we see now—a Fatah takeover in the west bank, and a Hamas takeover in Gaza, and to the events with which we are all too familiar: the rockets fired into Israel; Operation Cast Lead, with Israel killing 1,300 Palestinians, including 352 children; brutal repression of Hamas by Fatah and of Fatah by Hamas; the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit; the illegal blockade and siege of Gaza by Israel and Egypt; and the assault on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza.

In our visit to Gaza, we saw a population who felt under siege, trapped inside their own small strip of land, and overcrowded—an intelligent, peaceful population, desperate for education and opportunity.

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can the hon. Gentleman say a little more about what the young people told him and what message they sent about what they want us to do to ensure that they are assisted with their education?

[Dr Huppert]

I thank the hon. Lady for intervening on that issue, and I shall come on to develop some of those points.

I was struck by the tolerance. We attended a human rights lesson at one of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency-run schools, where the pupils were asked about tolerance. One of the questions was, “How should you respond to people who are not tolerant of you?” and I thought that the response from one young lady was fantastic. She said, “You should be tolerant of them to show them what they ought to be doing,” and a lot of that is taking place, certainly in the UN schools. The message was, “We should be acting and listening. People should pay attention and help.”

We did not see a huge humanitarian crisis while we were in Gaza, but that is largely down to the excellent work of UNRWA, which has been in place, providing housing, food and education since 1949, and its excellent director, John Ging, who has been in place for a rather shorter period. In that short time, however, he has already had to witness his own UN compound being shelled by Israel.

UNRWA does amazing work, and I think that I speak for all of us who went on the visit when I say that we were very impressed by the range and quality of provision, from housing for refugees to schooling for their children, from women’s centres to summer camps. It was clear as we drove around in UNRWA vehicles that its work is well supported by the general public, with children cheering the cars as we drove by, but its ability to play that critical role is under threat.

Although the blockade around Gaza has been lifted somewhat, there are still great concerns, because the construction equipment that should be able to enter Gaza legitimately comes under a lot of scrutiny and is often not allowed in. The crossing at Sofa, which is intended for construction materials, has been closed since 2008, and, although some material is allowed in at other crossings, it is fairly minimal and unreliable. We were told of UNRWA-led housing schemes, which aim to deal with housing shortages and to replace refugee homes that have stood for too long and buildings that were destroyed or damaged during Operation Cast Lead. Those schemes are funded by the international community, including the European Union, but they either cannot go ahead or they go ahead very slowly, because Israel will not allow in the cement and steel bars to build them.

We heard of a crisis in UNRWA-led education, which is far more liberal than that in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority schools and even includes a course on the holocaust. However, despite the fact that most UNRWA schools are double-shifted, with separate classes in the morning and the afternoon, there are about 40,000 refugee children who should be educated by UNRWA but are not, because of a lack of buildings. The money for eight much-needed new schools and two extensions has been obtained, the plans have been prepared and the contracts have been let, but the materials struggle to get in. While we were there, of the 48 trucks bringing in materials for the schools, 47 were turned back for no clear reason.

I raised the matter in International Development questions on 13 October, and the Minister of State, Department for International Development, agreed:

“Schools must be rebuilt, and we certainly urge the Israelis to ensure that any materials that can be used for the essential reconstruction of schools and the like can be allowed through.” —[Official Report, 13 October 2010; Vol. 516, c.316.]

I hope that he and the question have had some effect, because on Friday I heard from the Israeli embassy that approval had been granted for the eight schools, the two extensions and for two clinic centres, and that building materials will be allowed into Gaza in accordance with the building work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cathy Jamieson Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

There are hopeful signs, I am glad to say. I visited Belgrade two weeks ago to ask Serbia to join a common European Union resolution in the UN General Assembly, rather than sponsoring a resolution of its own. The resolution asked the EU High Representative to facilitate practical talks and a constructive dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. I am glad to say that, because of pressure from across the European Union, Serbia agreed to do that, and the resolution was carried unanimously in the General Assembly last week. At last, there can now be the beginnings of a dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo—an important step to bringing peace and security to the Balkans.

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

T7. As the Foreign Secretary will be aware, Chernobyl Children’s Life Line, the UK charity, provides support for child victims of the Chernobyl disaster. One way in which it does that is to bring children to the UK for recuperative breaks, including regularly to my constituency of Kilmarnock and Loudoun. Unfortunately, there increasingly seem to be problems in allowing safe and easy passage for children coming from Ukraine. Will the Minister agree to meet Her Majesty’s ambassador to Ukraine to discuss how some of those issues can be dealt with and ensure that the situation is ameliorated in the near future?

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I am very happy to follow up the concerns expressed by the hon. Lady and to take advice from Her Majesty’s ambassador in the way that she suggests.