Middle East
Debate between David Lammy and Paul Waugh(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Lammy
The right hon. Gentleman follows these issues very closely, and has sometimes been a lone voice on his own side. He will know that the Labour Government have had to take very difficult bilateral decisions because of our concerns about breaches of international humanitarian law. My own reflections are that, in some ways, this has been the most challenging of political environments for this conflict, partly because there was an election campaign in the United States for much of 2024. Had we been able to achieve a more bipartisan approach sooner, we might have seen the pressure that was necessary to bring both parties to the deal that we have finally reached. None the less, I am very pleased that the President-elect’s envoy was able to work with Joe Biden’s envoy and bring this deal over the line, but it is fragile and I await the decision that will necessarily come from the Israeli Security Cabinet at this time.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
May I thank the Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Development and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend, the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), for all the hard work that they have done both in public and in private to secure today’s attempt at a ceasefire, to bring the hostages home, and to get as much humanitarian aid in as possible? Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, has said today that the deal could have been done a year ago, and that the ferocity of the killing by Israel and Hamas has been “a 21st-century atrocity”. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there will be lasting peace in the middle east only if the Israeli Government and the international community treat all lives—a Palestinian child’s life and an Israeli child’s life—as equal?
Mr Lammy
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that he has done on these issues both before coming to this place and within the context of his new constituency. I thank him very much for bringing to mind the role of my dear colleagues, the Minister for Development and the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer). Let me thank also previous colleagues and shadow colleagues with those portfolios. Many of us have played a part to ensure that we get to this end. My hon. Friend is right, too, that there will be time for a lot of reflection on how we got here and why we got here, but the critical thing at this moment is that the ceasefire holds, that we get beyond the first phase to the second phase, and that we get to the third phase. The third phase, it seems to me, can hold only if we have a political process. That is where attention must be paid to bring about a lasting peace.
Syria
Debate between David Lammy and Paul Waugh(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
I join the Foreign Secretary, the shadow Foreign Secretary and everyone across this House in welcoming the demise of Assad’s brutal regime. Unlike my predecessor in Rochdale, Mr George Galloway, who tweeted his support for Assad this weekend, much to the disdain of many in my constituency, I do not mourn Assad’s demise. We should not be surprised by Mr Galloway, given that he has long been a friend of dictators across the planet. I remind the Foreign Secretary that Assad was no friend of the Palestinian people—he bombed, tortured and murdered Palestinians who stood up to him. Does my right hon. Friend also recognise their bravery today?
Middle East
Debate between David Lammy and Paul Waugh(3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is right: the humanitarian situation is dire. That is why I was at pains to emphasise what we are doing. It was important that we led the way on getting the pause so that children could be vaccinated against polio. I was very distressed to see that pause broken just a few days ago, and we are urging for it to be resumed once more so that those children can get their second vaccination dose. That is why the work of UK-Med is very important; it is why the current DEC appeal is also very important; and it is why we will continue to support people who are sick and injured to be evacuated from the area.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
The suffering of the people of Palestine and northern Gaza is truly horrific. Every day, children are not just being bombed: they are being starved. That is not the kind of treatment we would expect for our children, let alone any other country’s children, so does the Foreign Secretary agree that it is time Israel ceased using food, hunger and siege as weapons of war—all contrary to international law—and for it to be given that message loud and clear by this House?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He will recall that when I suspended sales of arms that could be used in Gaza, the criterion under our regime was a clear risk that there could be a breach of international humanitarian law. When I was looking at the assessments, I kept coming back to humanitarian access as the clear risk, so my hon. Friend is right: we have tremendous concerns about the inability to get aid in, the restrictions that Israel is putting in place, and the man-made starvation that is now coming about as a result.
Israel and Gaza
Debate between David Lammy and Paul Waugh(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to the hon. Lady not just for her remarks, but for how she took up these issues in the last Parliament, which I am sure she will continue in this Parliament. We are all reminded of her family’s plight in Gaza, particularly in those early months. I welcome her support for restoring funding to UNRWA. Many of our allies made that decision months ago, back in April and May, and I am sorry that it has taken a change of Government to look at it clearly and reach this point. She is absolutely right to raise the huge concern about polio now taking hold in Gaza, alongside the tremendous growth in respiratory disease and diarrhoea, which can both lead to death if untreated.
There is no confusion on this party’s position on Palestinian recognition. We are committed to Palestinian recognition. We hope to work with partners to achieve that, when the circumstances are right. I say to the hon. Lady that it is my sincere hope that the Biden plan is adopted in the coming weeks, and that we get the immediate ceasefire that this party has been calling for—it is now a good almost eight months since we have been calling for an immediate ceasefire. Under those circumstances we can work with others, because Palestinian recognition is not the end, in and of itself; it is actually a two-state solution that is the end that we want to achieve.
The hon. Lady is right that the chief prosecutor at the ICC has made his intention clear in relation to arrest warrants, but she will know that there are further hearings to determine whether they will actually be issued. We have been two weeks in office. It is right that I allow Treasury solicitors, lawyers and the Attorney General to assist me in any judgments that we have to make in relation to that. I said in my statement that there is a process; it is a quasi-legal process that must be followed with all integrity, and I intend to do that.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement. It is a real relief, particularly his description of the hell hole that is Gaza. Many of my constituents in Rochdale feel deeply appalled by the ongoing deaths and suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, but they are also deeply appalled by the rising tide of settler violence and expansion in the west bank. Many of them are desperate for peace in the region, as are many of us in this House today. What specific steps is the Foreign Secretary taking to actively promote and uphold the independence of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice?
Mr Lammy
I welcome my hon. Friend to his place. It is great to see him here—I know he long held an ambition to move from journalism to this House. We are clear that the International Criminal Court is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious international crimes. We fully respect the rules-based order and the ICC’s independence and impartiality. We are aware that the ICJ is likely to issue an advisory opinion shortly and we will consider it very carefully.