Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 6th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

I congratulate the Foreign Secretary on his personal commitment to human rights, which is becoming a hallmark of his tenure and is extremely welcome. If we are to have an international order that promotes not just our economic interests but our democratic values, there have to be consequences for people who violence those principles, which is why this statement matters. Will the Foreign Secretary look at whether the process for deciding who gets designated should become an independent process, as we have with compliance with the consolidated criteria for arms exports? That could be a way to disentangle the decision from the complexities of diplomatic relations, which we have to have even with nefarious states.

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question and pay tribute to him for all the work that he did at the Foreign Office to promote human rights, particularly in respect of the media freedom campaign, which we continue to champion. He makes an interesting point. I have not seen another jurisdiction that has done it as autonomously as he suggests but, as I said, we want to take sure-footed steps and will look at ways in which we can strengthen the regime, including making it more resilient, in the weeks and months ahead.

Hong Kong National Security Legislation

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I think the hon. Gentleman is a bit confused. The EU does not have an autonomous human rights sanctions regime, but the United Kingdom will do by the summer recess with our first designations. We are engaged in a conversation with our European partners—[Interruption.] He is shaking his head, but he is just not right about this. None the less, we are engaged with our European colleagues to encourage them to follow suit and take this step. He raised a range of other issues, which we are very happy to look at, but I draw his attention to the statement—an unprecedented statement—that was made at the UN Human Rights Council with 27 states signing up to make our concerns clear in relation to human rights not just in Hong Kong, but in Xinjiang.

[Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

I salute the outstanding leadership being shown by my right hon. Friend on this issue, and, indeed, the superb leadership being shown by Dame Barbara Woodward as our ambassador in Beijing. It is one of our most difficult posts and we are truly lucky to be led by a diplomat of such calibre. The basic difference is that we believe that freedom of expression and peaceful protest support social stability, whereas the Chinese Government think that they undermine social stability. When we look at what is happening in the rest of the world, we can see that it has never been more important to stand up for those values, so will he tell the House what other steps the Foreign Office is taking to support freedom of expression and media freedom across the world?

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my right hon. Friend and pay tribute to his work not only on the issue of media freedoms, but in relation to China and Hong Kong. This has been a long time coming and we have hoped for the best, but we have been prepared for the worst. He is right to pay tribute to Dame Barbara. It is a difficult posting. She has performed exceptionally well. He asked, in particular, about media freedoms. He will know, because it was established under his tenure rather than mine, that we have a media freedom campaign, which we, along with the Canadians, lead. We are swelling the ranks of that. It provides support for countries that want to protect media freedoms, and it also provides support for journalists. We also have a campaign to protect freedom of religious belief and the third element of this will be the Magnitsky sanctions regime, which I will bring before the House with the first designations before the summer recess.

Covid-19

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his warm words about the FCO’s efforts and the practical advice he has given us; we will certainly take that back. One point I will mention is that we are not talking about tens of thousands—we are talking about hundreds of thousands abroad. We need to work up as granular a picture of the vulnerabilities as possible, but we also—this is a contributing factor to the change in the travel advice—need to give a clear message, given the scale of the challenge and the unprecedented nature of covid-19, that people need to be realistic about what we can do.

[Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

Following the Foreign Secretary’s comments about Iran, does he know whether Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is among the political prisoners whom Iran has released today? Does not the ability of a highly dangerous disease to spread through a prison highlight the immorality of detaining people who are wholly innocent?

[Dominic Raab]

My right hon. Friend did an incredible job as Foreign Secretary, in particular in pressing for the release of not just Nazanin, but all our dual nationals suffering in Tehran. I spoke to the Iranian Foreign Minister yesterday. I have made it clear, not least as Iran considers releasing prisoners on a pretty large scale, that there is no excuse for not releasing all the UK dual nationals on furlough. We are waiting for confirmation regarding individual cases, and I want to be careful and to wait until I have confirmation, but I assure my right hon. Friend that this is a high priority for the Government. As I said, I raised it with Foreign Minister Zarif yesterday.

Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 14th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the right hon. Lady for her support for the action we have taken today and the action that we are taking as part of the E3. She made a number of valid points at the outset of her remarks about holding Iran to account for the technical failures, and also about the importance that we certainly attach to leaving a diplomatic door ajar for Iran to come back from its non-compliance into compliance and to live up to its responsibilities.

The right hon. Lady made a whole range of comments about the Prime Minister, which I will address. First, it is Iran that is threatening the JCPOA, with its systematic non-compliance. The Prime Minister fully supports the JCPOA and bringing Iran back into full compliance; that is the clear position and he has said so on many occasions. [Interruption.] The right hon. Lady should draw breath and allow me to respond to her remarks. As usual, she made a whole series of attacks on the US Administration, which seemed rather to cloud her judgment in this area. In fact, not just President Trump but also President Macron has argued for a broader deal with Iran—a deal that would address some of the defects in the JCPOA, which is not a perfect deal but is the best deal we have on the table at the moment, and that would address the wider concerns that the US and many other states, including the United Kingdom, have about Iran’s broader destabilising activities in the region. The US and our European partners want us to be ambitious in our diplomatic approach with Iran, and I fully subscribe to that. I fear that the right hon. Lady is rather confusing her attacks on the US Administration with sober and sensible policy making in this area.

As of now, we—the Prime Minister and the whole Government—believe that the JCPOA is the best available deal for restraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and we want Iran to come back into full compliance. Equally, as was discussed in Biarritz last year, the Prime Minister, the United States and our European partners are fully open to a broader initiative that would address not just the nuclear concerns, but the broader concerns about the destabilising activity that we have seen recently, in particular in relation to the Quds Force.

The choice of the regime in Iran as of today is very simple. It can take the diplomatic path. It can come back into full compliance with the JCPOA and thereby give this country, our European partners and our American partners—and, crucially, many partners in the region—reassurance about its nuclear ambitions. If it wants to, it can also take the diplomatic path to resolve all the outstanding concerns that the international community has about its conduct. That is the choice for the regime in Iran. If it is willing to take that path in good faith, we will be ready to meet it with British diplomacy.

[Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his support for the Iran nuclear deal, because the simple truth is that if Philip Hammond had not negotiated it, Iran would have nuclear weapons today and the middle east would be immensely more dangerous. However, it has caused a lot of stresses in the western alliance, and I would like to ask the Secretary of State’s view as to the best way to strengthen that alliance, because however tattered and strained it is, it is a vital foundation of our peace and prosperity, and has been for the past 70 years.

[Dominic Raab]

My right hon. Friend, of course, knows a lot of the recent history of this situation as well as—if not better than—I do. As always, the answer is for Britain to exercise its judgment and the full energy of its diplomacy to ensure that we forge common purpose with our European and American friends. I have been in the US and Brussels over the last two weeks, and will continue that endeavour. The worst thing that we could do right now would be to allow or foment divisions in that partnership, because that would only encourage the hardliners in Tehran.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 5th November 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the right hon. Lady for her letter. As she knows, the Government and Ministers do not comment on security clearance, but the insinuation in her letter that No. 10 is somehow in the grip of a Kremlin mole is frankly ridiculous, even by the standards of the loony left. What is troubling is that the leader of the Labour party sided with the Kremlin when it denied responsibility for the nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018—one more reason why this Labour party, under this leader, can never be trusted with Britain’s security.

[Mr Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

The question is about NATO. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that one of the biggest fault lines in NATO at the moment is the fact that the largest partner is spending 4% of its GDP on defence, whereas no one else is spending much above 2%? Does he agree it is time for the UK to show a lead and commit to spending 3% of our GDP on defence in the next decade?

[Dominic Raab]

I pay tribute to the work my right hon. Friend did as Foreign Secretary. We are committed to and, indeed, are meeting our 2% commitment. Not all NATO members are, and we therefore continue to sympathise with the concerns of the US in that regard and encourage others to meet the commitment. I am sure the Chancellor of the Exchequer will look fondly and with interest at his suggestion of a 3% commitment.

Iran

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We certainly agree that we want to be in partnership with our EU partners, but again I gently push back on this idea that that is enough—it is not. We need the broadest international response to provide the clearest signal to Iran about its behaviour and to deter any future attacks, as we have seen in relation to Aramco. He is absolutely right that if we are going to talk about adhering to international law, we need to practise what we preach. In relation to any judicial proceedings on export licences, we will adhere to them meticulously and fully. Ultimately, the most important thing in relation to dual nationals is that we are absolutely clear not just with Iran, but working with our international partners, that this behaviour is unacceptable. There is no quid pro quo in any of this. The treatment of our dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is unlawful and unacceptable and it must end. They cannot be treated, in the words of my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), who did such a great job on this, as “political hostages”, which is tantamount to what is being done at the moment. We will be absolutely unwavering in raising these cases.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister raised these cases with President Rouhani yesterday, so I hope that he can be reassured that we take this matter seriously and raise it at every possible opportunity.

[Mr Jeremy Hunt (South West Surrey) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his appointment, for which I was delighted to be the warm-up act. Does he agree that western policy towards Iran is, unfortunately, basically failing? It is failing to stop malign activity, as we saw with Aramco, failing to stop re-nuclearisation, and failing to stop hostage taking, which has sadly continued long after the case of Nazanin. Is not the answer close alignment between the United States and Europe, clearer consequences for wrongdoing, and a ladder for Iran to climb down so that we can get out of this incredibly dangerous situation?

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my right hon. Friend and pay tribute to the professionalism, dynamism, and the values and integrity that he brought to the post in his time as Foreign Secretary. I am very lucky to have taken over a team that is at the top of its game, owing in no small part to his efforts. I agree with the basic ingredients that he has set out. We need the widest possible international support—not just from the EU, not just from the US but the broadest international support—and very clear consequences for Iran if its unlawful behaviour in all the different areas that we are talking about—nuclear, dual nationals, and the attacks on Aramco—continues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 1st April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The honest factual answer is that we got rid of that target because when it was in place the number of people actually being able to see their GP within 48 hours was falling, so it was not working. I am afraid that this is the same old Labour problem: thinking that the solution to every problem in the NHS is another target. That is exactly what led to Mid Staffs and exactly what we will not allow to happen.

[Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to diagnose brain tumours in children.