Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lidington and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 3rd September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

T4. This morning the Azerbaijan all-party group, which I chair, met Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the recently announced BP-led trans-Adriatic pipeline further augments our relations with that country, and say what further steps the FCO can take to cement our relations with that important player in the south Caucasus?

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Yesterday I talked to our ambassador-designate to Azerbaijan, who will go out to Baku within a matter of days. We warmly welcome the work of the BP consortium on the pipeline, and it is a further development of what is already a substantial British economic relationship with Azerbaijan. The Government will do everything they can to foster that relationship, while at the same time having open conversations with our Azerbaijani counterparts about other issues that matter to us both, including security and human rights.

Azerbaijan (Human Rights)

Debate between David Lidington and Christopher Pincher

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

It is always welcome, and right, when citizens of a country who have been obliged to flee feel that they can return freely. As my hon. Friend knows, however, one of the tragic legacies of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is that people on the Azerbaijani and the Armenian sides of the conflict remain displaced decades later. That is why the United Kingdom strongly supports the continuing efforts of the Minsk group to bring about a resolution to that tragic human story. It is in the interests of both countries, and of the Caucasus region more generally, that we should achieve a settlement of the conflict and create political stability. That would attract greater investment and create more prosperity in the region and allow those people who were displaced by that bloody war to return to their homes.

[Christopher Pincher]

Does my right hon. Friend support the activities of the Azerbaijan forum for democracy, freedom and human rights in encouraging a free press in that country? Ironically, some people here do not support a free press in our own country. Indeed, some Members of this House would like to change the rules on defamation to make it more difficult to defame the dead.

[Mr Lidington]

In my conversations with Ministers, not only in Azerbaijan but throughout the eastern partnership, I certainly make clear the importance not only of electoral freedoms but of journalistic and broader media freedoms, so I can give my hon. Friend that assurance.

We share the disappointment of our European partners at the slow progress that is being made in Azerbaijan on implementing reforms that would improve the human rights situation there and bring the country closer to the international standards to which she has committed herself. In addition to our bilateral engagement with the Government of Azerbaijan, we work with local civil society organisations to identify areas in which we can make a positive difference. Our embassy in Baku and officials in London regularly engage with non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders, and we will continue to support a range of projects inside Azerbaijan through our embassy. So far, these have included projects to advance property rights, highlight gender issues, promote media freedom and support monitoring of the legal system. For example, officials from our embassy in Baku met independent media organisations to discuss media freedom in the city of Ganja last month.

The United Kingdom also continues to raise human rights with Azerbaijan multilaterally. We welcome the human rights action plan, which President Aliyev has approved. The test is going to be translating that action plan into concrete reality and everyday practice. It is important that those commitments start to produce significant results.

Earlier this month, the Government delegation at the Council of Europe raised a number of human rights issues with the Azerbaijani counterparts, including free and fair elections, press freedom and the need to tackle corruption. We are also reminding Azerbaijan in the light of its own upcoming presidency of the Council of Europe in 2014 of the need to fulfil its obligations, including in relation to strengthening institutions and increasing the accountability of public officials.

We support, too, the extensive work inside Azerbaijan of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, especially its work on media freedom and the rule of law. Last November, the OSCE office in Baku organised two workshops bringing together print and e-journalists and other media professionals, officials from regional police departments and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to promote further understanding and co-operation. Last month, the OSCE organised a training event on how to bring human rights cases effectively to the European Court of Human Rights.

The European Union, too, has an important role to play in Azerbaijan’s future. It has, after all, an excellent track record of assisting post-communist countries to achieve European democratic values and norms. Promoting democratic reforms, fundamental freedoms and human rights are key priorities in EU-Azerbaijan relations. We welcome the commitment President Aliyev made to political reform and democratic process in his recent meeting with EU Council President, Herman van Rompuy, and we encourage Azerbaijan to use the EU’s experience in democracy building. Azerbaijan’s membership of the eastern partnership provides her with an opportunity to get the kind of support and experience that will help her to carry through that democratic transition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lidington and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 4th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

T5. As chairman of the all-party group on Azerbaijan, yesterday I met representatives of the Azerbaijan Foundation of Democracy Development and Human Rights Protection. They made clear to me their strong desire to see the development of a free press in Azerbaijan. What can Britain and the British Government do to promote a free and unregulated press in Azerbaijan and the south Caucasus?

[Mr Lidington]

I share my hon. Friend’s view that a free press is integral to democracy in any country. The British Government have provided funding for professional training for journalists in Azerbaijan, and we support vigorously the work of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe to encourage and promote media freedom both in Azerbaijan and more widely in the southern Caucasus region.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Lidington and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 17th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

We raise with Russian leaders and Russian officials, at every opportunity, our concerns about human rights in their country, and we have certainly raised with the Government of Russia our concerns about how the presidential elections, and indeed last year’s parliamentary elections, were conducted.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Following the results of the Russian elections, does my right hon. Friend anticipate any change in Russian policy towards the oil and gas producing countries of the South Caucasus? What can the British Government do to further broaden and deepen our relationships with those countries?

[Mr Lidington]

We continue to press for reconciliation between Russia and Georgia following the conflict between those two countries, but we are firm in our belief that that has to be achieved in a way that recognises Georgia’s territorial integrity.

European Union Bill

Debate between David Lidington and Christopher Pincher

Tuesday 25th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Of course, we must look at the question of whether the franchise for a particular referendum should include the people of Gibraltar in the context of whether it would affect Gibraltar. As he will appreciate, although Gibraltar is in most respects treated as part of the EU, some parts of the treaties do not apply to it. It is therefore right that the Bill specifies that the electorate in a referendum should include the people of Gibraltar when the subject matter of that referendum also applies to them. To provide further reassurance, I call tell him that I have consulted the Chief Minister of Gibraltar formally and discussed the matter with him face to face, and he has assured me that he is content with the arrangements for Gibraltar as set out in the Bill.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

This is not the time to talk about changes to the Representation of the People Act 2000, although it is probably the place, but the Minister will be aware of the great concern here and in the country about extending the right to vote to prisoners. My understanding from the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights is that that applies only to general and European Parliament elections, so is it not possible to include in the Bill a specific disfranchisement of prisoners, who otherwise would have an opportunity to vote on constitutional matters?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lidington]

There is a principle in the interpretation of the law that the singular can include the plural. If the wording proved to be an obstacle to what the Government of the day and the Electoral Commission considered to be the best way to operate a referendum, it would certainly be open for a change to be made in the Bill authorising the referendum. I am prepared to have a look at that question between now and Report. I am reasonably confident that we would not run into the problems that the right hon. Gentleman described, but I am prepared to seek detailed advice and come back to it on Report.

[Christopher Pincher]

I suspect that the number of occasions on which multiple referendum questions are on the ballot paper will be quite rare, but on those occasions will the Government agree to spend more money to publicise the referendum and allow campaigning organisations more money to spend campaigning for or against the questions? The more questions on the ballot paper, the more complex the issues are and the more money needs to be spent to explain them.

[Mr Lidington]

That is one of the very good reasons for not trying to cover all the ground in this Bill. That kind of detail will be a matter for the application of the 2000 Act or its successor statute, and for the Government of the day to authorise a referendum or combination of referendums. That might depend, for example, on whether one lead campaign organisation could be said fairly to represent the views of the yes or no camp on more than one referendum, or whether separate lead organisations were needed. It is reasonable for my hon. Friend to ask those questions, but answers to them can be provided only when we come to consider a specific case in due course.