Armed Conflict: Children

Debate between Kirsteen Sullivan and Jim Shannon

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon]

I was talking to the Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland spokesperson, the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler), last night, and he asked me a similar question. We have the urban and the rural: in the urban areas—Belfast, Londonderry and the big cities—the influence on people is perhaps more direct and harder to get away from. If people are living in the smaller towns or villages, as I have, there is not the same direct influence. Government collectively are trying to work to ensure that we can deliver a better life. Some of that involves such things as Catholics and Protestants playing together, going to school together, and playing football and other games together. Lots of things are being done, but there is more to do, and we have to influence that. There is a role for churches to play as well. I thank the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) Gentleman for that intervention.

I draw the House’s attention to the particularly harrowing context of Nigeria. Boko Haram’s sustained campaign of violence, particularly against religious minorities, has devastated countless lives. Children have been forcibly recruited into armed groups, while many more have lost parents, families, access to education and even their own childhoods. Some girls have borne children while still children themselves, as a direct result of captivity and abuse.

In 2024, the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, which I chair, and our secretariat, the Freedom of Religion or Belief Foundation, had the privilege of leading a parliamentary delegation to Nigeria, alongside other hon. Members and Julie Jones, the director of the foundation. We worked with the Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, and met women and girls who had survived Boko Haram captivity. The Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation continues to work tirelessly to secure the release of those still held by the group, often at great personal risk.

One of those children is Leah Sharibu. I pray for that wee girl every day. Leah is now in her eighth year of captivity, having been the only student not released following the abduction of 110 Dapchi schoolchildren by Boko Haram on 19 February 2018.

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that kidnap is increasingly being used as a tool of war in areas of conflict, whether Ukraine, where thousands of children have been abducted and torn from their homes, or in Nigeria and Sudan? This is becoming more prevalent, and it is causing immense worry.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right. In Ukraine, some 30,000 children have been kidnapped and taken away from their parents—that cut-off between parents and children is devastating.

In Nigeria, young Leah has given birth to three children. Her freedom, and the freedom of many like her, remains unresolved. Too often, children affected by armed conflict are forgotten once the headlines fade, yet their suffering does not end when the world looks away.

I am therefore grateful that we can use our voices as Members of this House, in this debate and others, as well as on the global stage, to advocate for the protection of these children and to press for accountability, rehabilitation and long-term peace for them. I say honestly to the Minister and the Government that I am proud to support a Government who recognise that every child, wherever they are born, has the right to grow up in a safe, healthy and protective environment. We should be encouraged by a Government who state that.

Finally, to those children who, in the face of relentless adversity, continue to hope for a better future, I end with scripture. John 16:33 says:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Lisbon Maru Memorial

Debate between Kirsteen Sullivan and Jim Shannon

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Kirsteen Sullivan (Bathgate and Linlithgow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for her time and attention on the debate.

On 1 October 1942, an unmarked Japanese freighter called the Lisbon Maru was carrying over 1,800 British and allied prisoners of war—hundreds were from the Royal Scots regiment. The prisoners had been captured after the fall of Hong Kong and were destined for internment in Japan. Conditions for prisoners on this ship, and many freighters like it, were brutal and unsanitary. They became known as “hell ships” because of the suffering of those on board.

For many, including the freighter, that was their final voyage. On that day, the Lisbon Maru was torpedoed by a submarine in the east China sea. Although the Japanese troops on board the vessel were rescued, the POWs were locked in the ship’s hold. As the vessel sank, many were trapped, and those who escaped were shot by guards who remained board, or from nearby Japanese vessels. Many others were gunned down in the water as they desperately tried to survive.

Amid that horror, a glimmer of humanity emerged: Chinese fishermen from nearby islands risked their lives to rescue hundreds of survivors, and gave them shelter in their homes. Their efforts speak to a spirit that we know well, one that reminds us of our own Dunkirk evacuations, showing common humanity in the face of unimaginable horror.

This tragedy was not known to me until this year, when a constituent reached out. For Gerry Borge, his father John and uncle Eddie’s extraordinary experience on board the Lisbon Maru and their miraculous survival was a story he needed to share. John and Eddie were unfortunately recaptured and imprisoned for the remainder of the war, but they finally returned home, unlike so many others.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. She has put forward this story with so much passion and interest in the people, and I congratulate her on that. Again, I remember and pay tribute to the victory over Japan. I commemorated it at an event just last week, and so this is a timely debate. I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her passion for establishing a fitting tribute. I will support her as she tries to achieve that goal. Does she agree that the tragedy, resulting in the deaths of more than 800 prisoners —many of whom were from Scotland and, in particular, areas such as West Lothian—makes a memorial seem appropriate as we understand the loss to families throughout Scotland that took place as a result of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru? It would be appropriate to do something like that now.

[Kirsteen Sullivan]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and one that I will come on to. I agree wholeheartedly with his sentiment.

Gerry wrote to me in a plea to shine a light on the tragedy when the Lisbon Maru sank, which impacted many families. I spoke to him last week in my office and the message he wanted me to convey this evening is the timeless one that, even during the horrors of war, the actions of the Chinese fishermen exemplify the human instinct to reach out and to help our fellow human beings.

Many who experienced conflict, especially in the Pacific theatre, never felt able to share their stories, yet each town and village in this country will have its own relationship with conflict and a loss to remember. Honouring our history and the conflicts that have often defined it is something I believe Britain has done well over the years. The dedication of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the monuments that we erect are a powerful legacy of the sacrifices made and the lives cut short. However, that is also a promise: wherever one dies in conflict around the globe, they will be remembered back home for their heroism, their service and the legacy that they leave.