Human Rights Update

Debate between Flick Drummond and Dominic Raab

Monday 22nd March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman made a whole range of remarks that suggest he lives in a parallel universe. I have to say that some of what he said was just pure nonsense. I made it clear that we would never do an FTA with a country with a human rights record that is beyond the pale. Through the recent action we have been taking under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, particularly in relation to supply chains, we have demonstrated that we will not allow businesses that profit from modern slavery either here or abroad to do business in the UK, and we have introduced the Magnitsky sanctions.

The hon. Gentleman raised the question of whether we would ever trade with countries that do not have ECHR-level human rights; I put it to him that neither he nor the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) has ever once suggested that we should tear up any of the free trade deals that we have with countries that still have the death penalty, which of course does not comply with the ECHR. If he wants to keep making that argument, will he tell me which of the FTAs—whether with Korea or Japan, or the negotiations with the US—he is opposed to?

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con) [V]]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his welcome statement. Does he agree that it is because a Conservative Government put in place Magnitsky legislation that we are able to make these designations, and that by working closely with the United States, the EU and others we can lead the charge against authoritarian regimes that have poor human rights records?

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Of real significance today is not just the groundbreaking measures that we are taking but the fact that 30 other countries are taking action in concert. We are far more likely to have impact that way and far more likely to get China to think twice.

Belarus: Presidential Elections

Debate between Flick Drummond and Dominic Raab

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I am not quite sure what action the hon. Gentleman would propose. We can certainly talk to our partners, including in the ILO, but the fact is, with an election having been rigged to stay in power and with all the authoritarian might of the Belarussian state having been exerted against the people because of that, we cannot in all honesty provide the support we would want to the workers, who among others will be those who will suffer as a result. What we can do is put the pressure on, try to support media institutions and try to press for a path towards a peaceful resolution so that Belarussians can elect their own leaders, who can provide economic support to the workers of that country.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. The situation in Belarus has an impact on neighbouring countries such as Lithuania, to which Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has fled. What support will we give our NATO allies in the region? Will we recognise the leadership of Mrs Tikhanovskaya, who claimed to have won 60% to 70% of the vote in the places where results were properly counted?

[Dominic Raab]

We have made it clear that we do not accept the illegitimate election that took place. We will watch carefully. The consistent practice of the UK has been to recognise states rather than Governments, but we have been clear that this is an illegitimate election that cannot produce a legitimate result.

On the Baltic states, they are our friends and NATO allies, and I recently saw the Lithuanian Foreign Minister. We have been working closely with them because not only do we share the same values but they will feel under threat as close neighbours to Belarus and indeed Russia. They need stalwart support now from the United Kingdom.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Debate between Flick Drummond and Dominic Raab

Wednesday 2nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The hon. Gentleman is right to put the challenge, but I am not quite so pessimistic as he is about whether we can overcome it. If he looks at the Magnitsky sanctions, he will be surprised at some of the designations—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Lloyd Russell-Moyle) chunters from a sedentary position, but he has absolutely nailed it: people did not expect us to apply sanctions in the Khashoggi case or in some others. The approach that this Government and the Prime Minister have taken on Hong Kong has been intuitive but well planned. Opening up to British nationals (overseas) and offering them a path to citizenship shows that we absolutely will be robust on our values, even when some may argue that there is tension with, for example, our economic or commercial interest.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con)]

Taxpayers’ money should always be directed towards our national interests and security, so can my right hon. Friend confirm that aid directed towards state-building in developing countries is in our best interests? As we help to build economies and democracies, people will be able to stay in their own countries, rather than making the perilous journey towards Europe.

[Dominic Raab]

My hon. Friend makes very powerfully the point about the connection between our values and our practical interests—stemming conflict and being true to, living up to and having confidence in our values abroad, without engaging in what can be caricatured as a neo-imperialist agenda, are important not just for the health and vibrancy of the countries in which we operate, particularly in Africa, but in stemming the flow of potentially harmful groups, such as terrorist groups, and the wider volume of migration, which can have negative impacts in the UK.

Hong Kong National Security Legislation

Debate between Flick Drummond and Dominic Raab

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. It is always a pleasure to be lectured by the SNP on Margaret Thatcher. Amidst all the differences that we may have, I think we agree on the fundamental points of principle at stake in relation to our commitment to BNOs and the people of Hong Kong.

The hon. Gentleman said that the EU had been more active than the United Kingdom, which is nonsense. However, we do welcome the fact that the EU, which has different views among member states in relation to China and the specific issue of Hong Kong, is being more active. I was in Berlin recently to meet my French and German opposite numbers. One of the issues that we work together on, including within the G7, is taking as clear a position on Hong Kong as possible. We will continue to work on that. It is incredibly important that it is not just a small minority of western states making this point, because China will seek to ignore that. That is why we have tried to expand it as broadly as we can, as we did in the Human Rights Council only yesterday.

I was not entirely clear what the hon. Gentleman was suggesting beyond proposals that the Government have already indicated they will make, but if he does, in due course, want to come back with something specific, I would be very happy to consider it.

In relation to Magnitsky, these were proposals of the Conservative party in our manifesto back in December. We will be passing the relevant statutory instrument before the summer recess, with the first designations. I will not speculate on or pre-empt who or what will be in those designations.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con)]

Canada has today updated its Hong Kong travel advice to its citizens, stating:

“You may be at increased risk of arbitrary detention on national security grounds and possible extradition to mainland China.”

Will the Foreign Office be changing our advice? Can my right hon. Friend assure me that we, along with our international partners, will continue to speak out against this violation of Hong Kong’s autonomy?

[Dominic Raab]

I thank my hon. Friend and welcome all the work that she has done on human rights. She is right to draw attention to the specific issue of extra- territoriality. It is not clear, given the opaque way in which this is drafted in the national security legislation, how it was intended to be applied. We will take a very close look at it. We keep our travel advice under constant review. I hope that she has had the positive reassurance, given the statement made by 27 members in the UN Human Rights Council, that we are working actively and energetically with all our international partners to be very clear that China must live up to its international obligations when it comes to the people of Hong Kong.