Sudan and Eastern DRC

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and David Lammy

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I met African ambassadors yesterday to discuss those very issues. We talked about the security and resilience of the African continent and of how, after a relatively peaceful period a decade or so ago when most of the discussion was about development, they are now concerned about those who are fighting proxy wars in different ways. That is not to say that regional powers will not have different interests, but when we see the behaviour of mercenaries and we look at the problems of arms sales in Africa and the damage that does to civilian life, we have to hold out for a political solution. We have to get back to dialogue and we have to get back to diplomacy. That is what I am seeking to emphasise in the statement.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I echo the praise for the Foreign Secretary’s visit last week. It is important that we continue to keep the spotlight on Sudan. Last week, I was able to visit an exhibition called “Children’s drawings”, arranged by Waging Peace and hosted by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell). It showed a series a pictures painted by young children—powerful images of child survivors of the genocide. One picture showed two army men fighting and an attack by the Janjaweed militia on a hut in a village. Inside the hut, at the bottom of the drawing, a soldier was raping a woman. The 80-page book details the resilience of those survivors, and also the trauma that those young children have gone through.

It is good to see cross-party support in the Chamber on this important issue. The Foreign Secretary is right—where is the outrage and the constant media coverage? There should be no hierarchy of conflicts. Every life is equal. Will the Foreign Secretary commit to the House that he will stand by the victims in Sudan for as long as it takes to get that stability?

[Mr Lammy]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work to press these issues. I repeat again: where is the liberal outrage? Where are the marches? Where are the emails flooding MPs’ inboxes? They are nowhere to be seen. Just a few years ago, the world rallied because of what it saw as horrendous events in Darfur. It is unbelievable that a few years later, the world seems to have forgotten. This is the moment to step up. This House has come together this week to remember those who were massacred in genocide during the Holocaust. These are very serious issues. Just as we have called out horrendous acts against humanity in the past, so we must call this out.

Israel and Gaza

Debate between Florence Eshalomi and David Lammy

Friday 19th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I am very grateful to have been asked a question by the new occupant of Robin Cook’s seat. He was a stalwart and a champion of this cause. I was grateful to come into this House when he was serving as Foreign Secretary, and in an article I wrote recently in Foreign Affairs I paid tribute to his work over many years.

The vote by the Knesset yesterday was hugely disappointing. We believe passionately in two states. I say to those who reject two states, “If you are a proponent of one state, you have to explain how everyone enjoys equality under the law. And if you are a proponent of no state, you are effectively suggesting that occupation continues.” That is unacceptable, I would have thought, to all Members of this House.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on becoming Foreign Secretary, and I welcome his statement outlining the restoration of UNRWA funding, for which Labour Members have been calling for a long time. He will remember that many of us have raised the issue of humanitarian aid. We met many aid organisations throughout the last Parliament, including Islamic Relief, which is based in my constituency, who told me, two days after 7 October, the harrowing story of losing contact with all their staff on the ground. We know that blockades and restrictions are key issues, so will he outline how they will be lifted so that urgent aid can get to the people who need it?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question, and may I congratulate her on her remarkable speech at the beginning of the debate on the Address? She has also raised these issues before. We certainly share a Christian faith and have talked about our deep concern as people of faith, and I pay tribute to Islamic Relief for its work. One issue is that Rafah is now closed, and it needs to reopen. Another issue is not just the trucks getting across but the distribution once they are there. Very sadly, the picture that is now being painted is one of lawlessness in Gaza: widespread looting from the trucks that get across, and, very sadly, a driver losing his life yesterday. Her question is, as the people of Vauxhall and Camberwell Green would say, on point.