Interpol Presidency Election
Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Tom Brake(6 years, 1 month ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Harriett Baldwin
It is a UN organisation with a very wide membership—193 states, if I remember the figure correctly—but it is also possible to be a member of Interpol without necessarily being accepted internationally as a state, through observer status. The point I will make to my hon. Friend is that organised crime does not have boundaries, so it is really important that Interpol’s coverage is wide. We would not want parts of the world to be safe havens or exempt from the ability of police forces to co-operate with each other. It is an important aspiration that Interpol’s coverage be as wide as possible
Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)
Given the concerns that already exist about the way in which Interpol red notices work, will the Government undertake to secure confirmation in advance from countries that people like Mr Browder will visit that they will not seek to apply any spurious or bogus red notices that might be issued through Interpol at the instigation of, for instance, the Russians?
Harriett Baldwin
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will appreciate that I cannot possibly make a sweeping statement of that nature from the Dispatch Box about all possible future examples. That would be too wide, but I think that, in terms of the use of the red notices, one can refer to the framework with which one is dealing, the reassurance given by article 3 of the constitution of Interpol and the checks and balances that I referred to.
Yemen
Debate between Harriett Baldwin and Tom Brake(6 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Harriett Baldwin
My hon. Friend raises a very important point. The UK welcomes the approval by the Yemeni authorities in Aden allowing the import of oral cholera vaccines, which should allow 400,000 doses to be administered in southern Yemen. Discussions on vaccinations in the rest of the country are continuing. The partnership with UNICEF in Yemen is allowing UK aid to be spent on vital immunisations against other outbreaks, including diphtheria, as well as helping to train staff on the ground on how to deal with new cases.
Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)
First, I join calls from the Opposition Benches for arms sales to Saudi Arabia to be suspended, and echo the condolences to those killed in the wedding party.
The Ministry of Defence has previously confirmed that British forces are in the Saudi-led coalition operations room to provide training and advice
“on best practice targeting techniques to help ensure continued compliance with International Humanitarian Law.”
What went wrong? Was this latest strike in compliance with international humanitarian law, and what are its humanitarian consequences?
Harriett Baldwin
Of course, we welcome the fact that the Saudi-led coalition has acknowledged that a full investigation needs to take place to answer the questions that the right hon. Gentleman has asked. We urge that that investigation happen as quickly as possible. It does need to be published so that lessons can be learned.