Bangladesh: Attacks on Hindu Community

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West]

The protests following the student-led events in June, July and August were deeply troubling and led to the fall of the Government of Bangladesh. The Opposition spokesperson is quite correct to emphasise the nature of these worrying protests. Our constituents are concerned, which is why my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West brought this important question here today. They include reported cases of retaliatory attacks against allies of the former regime, including the Hindu minority. Some of the attacks are allegedly politically motivated and are of concern. That is why I had it at the top of my agenda when I met Professor Dr Yunus and why the effort was made to set up the policing unit. Our high commission is active—more than any other that I could see when I was there—in guiding, helping and supporting a peaceful transition to a new Government, elections eventually and a harmonious future. Anywhere in the world where freedom of religion or belief is at risk, there we will be standing up for the rights of minority groups.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

Many constituents in Aylesbury have raised concerns about the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh. They have shown me extremely concerning social media content containing threats to Hindus to leave the country or face extermination. Does the Minister agree that that is unacceptable? Will she outline what representations she has made to the Government of Bangladesh to ensure that those who incite and perpetrate violence are held to account?

[Catherine West]

My hon. Friend is doing excellent work representing her constituents who are concerned about these acts of violence. I impress on her that the UK was one of the first with ministerial support to arrive in Dhaka, speak with the chief adviser Professor Yunus and be vocal in support of minorities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Chris Curtis (Milton Keynes North) (Lab)]

11. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to demonstrate leadership on climate change.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to demonstrate leadership on climate change.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

I was proud to join Ministers across Government to show UK leadership on the climate and nature crisis at COP29. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced our ambitious 2035 emissions reduction target, and I reaffirmed our commitment to the global south through £11.6 billion in climate finance.

[Mr Lammy]

It was important that our Prime Minister was the only G7 Prime Minister to attend COP. My hon. Friend will recall that, last year, the Prime Minister at the time did not attend. It is hugely important that we reach the £300 billion for climate finance, which will help the global south get to clean energy. We hope that our global clean power alliance will be able to work with them, as they now have the money to do it.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

The world’s forests are the lungs of the earth, but we are losing them at an alarming rate. An area the size of Azerbaijan, where COP29 was hosted, is destroyed every year. Will the Foreign Secretary explain what the Government are doing to preserve the world’s forests and to support those who protect them?

[Mr Lammy]

I was very pleased to speak at COP on the issue of forests and to join inspirational indigenous leaders on that subject. That is why we found £3 billion for nature, of which £1.5 billion is dedicated to work on forests.

Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Hamish Falconer]

I do not support the actions of Hamas—I condemn them outright and utterly. The actions of Hamas, including the continued keeping of hostages, represent unspeakable cruelty, both to the Israeli people and to British nationals. We do not forget Emily Damari, who is still held more than a year since she was taken. That being said, we can both condemn terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah and encourage our allies to keep to the very highest standards, and our commitment to international law is part of that contribution.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

I have just returned from the west bank, where I met Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs, and saw UNRWA’s work at first hand. In the west bank alone, that work includes running 97 schools and 43 health centres and providing public services such as clean drinking water and rubbish collection. Does the Minister agree that there is no viable alternative to UNRWA, and will he do everything in his power to ensure Israel allows its vital operations to continue?

[Hamish Falconer]

I do agree. There is no alternative to UNRWA, and we will raise those points, both directly with Israel and in company. It is vital that UNRWA, underpinned by a succession of UN Security Council resolutions, is able to continue its vital work, both in the west bank and Gaza and across the wider region.

Middle East

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

The right hon. Gentleman is right: this story began on 7 October, and it is important for us to keep it in mind that Hamas is a proxy funded and supported by Iran, that Hezbollah is a proxy funded and supported by Iran, and that the Houthis, who are currently causing huge disruption in the Red sea, are also funded and supported by Iran. We should also keep it in mind that Iran is a regime that perpetrates all sort of atrocities on its own people. It suppresses freedom of speech, it suppresses women—the list goes on. The right hon. Gentleman is entirely right to place Iran at the centre, as the major threat to the region.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

On Saturday, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said:

“The entire population of North Gaza is at risk of dying.”

She also said:

“ What Israeli forces are doing in besieged North Gaza cannot be allowed to continue.”

Does the Foreign Secretary agree, and what representations has he made to the Israeli Government to that effect?

[Mr Lammy]

I reminded the Israeli Government that 42,000 people have now been killed; that more than 90% of the population have been displaced, many of them repeatedly since 2023; that as we head towards winter we have been unable to ensure effective and safe distribution of aid across Gaza; that we need to increase the volumes of the types of goods that are reaching Gaza, and we must stop restricting the aid flows; and that there is a responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect a civilian population, to minimise harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure that aid workers can go about their business free and unfettered.

Oral Answers to Questions

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Dr Zubir Ahmed (Glasgow South West) (Lab)]

16. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

Yes, I can. A resolution to this conflict has been a priority since day one of the new Government. We are calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas, and much more aid to enter Gaza. The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable and we have made that clear at every possible moment.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

I declare an interest as a former board member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. I am delighted to see the British public’s generous response to its appeal. I know that its member agencies are doing everything in their power to get aid to those who need it, but one of those agencies, Islamic Relief, told me yesterday about the situation in Jabalia where people are being “starved, bombed and shot on sight”. What conversations has the Minister had with Israeli counterparts to end the indiscriminate attacks on people in Gaza and let in the lifesaving aid that the British public are so generously supporting?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. Again, I express our gratitude to the DEC for its work in ensuring that there has been that emergency appeal for the middle east. I should have mentioned earlier that that is covering not just Gaza, but Lebanon and the broader middle east where there is also that urgent humanitarian need. I can reassure her that, on issues of access to aid, the UK Government have been crystal clear on the need for the maintenance of international humanitarian law across the region, which of course includes Israel as well, as the Foreign Secretary underlined at the end of last week.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Negotiations

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

When the former Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Braintree (Mr Cleverly), was leading negotiations with Mauritius, he said:

“Our primary objective is to ensure the continued effective operation of our defence facility on Diego Garcia.”—[Official Report, 13 June 2023; Vol. 734, c. 151.]

This Government have now delivered that. On that basis, should the Conservatives not be welcoming the agreement?

[Mr Lammy]

My hon. Friend is completely right, but she knows that the Conservatives have got a leadership contest on, and this is a bit of a beauty parade. That is why they are stepping away from a negotiation that they began, had 11 rounds on and failed to deliver on.

Middle East Update

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

We have one of the most robust export licensing regimes in the world. The process requires us to make an assessment of the clear risk in the theatre of conflict, which in this case is Gaza. We therefore made an assessment of the licences that could be used in Gaza, and I made this announcement today. Notwithstanding the concerns around international humanitarian law in that theatre of action, the hon. Gentleman should recognise the real threats that Israel faces from Lebanese Hezbollah, recognise what the Houthis are doing in the Red sea—in just the last few days, we saw a terrible attack on a Greek oil tanker—and recognise the long-standing relationship that this country has with Israel, particularly as regards the intelligence and military co-operation that keeps much of the middle east and the world safe. On that basis, my remarks are measured, and I defend that.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s decision to suspend certain arms sales to Israel. I also appreciate his acknowledgment that Israel could do much more to allow aid to reach people in Gaza. What further conversations has he had with the Israeli Government to ask them to ensure that aid workers can do their vital work safely and effectively, and that aid can get to those who desperately need it?

[Mr Lammy]

I have raised the issue of aid workers, and the tremendous loss of aid workers’ lives in this conflict, directly in all my meetings with the Israeli Government. Another issue sits alongside this: the issue of deconfliction. In any war, there are rules, and one of the rules is that aid workers should be able to get medical supplies and aid to the civilians who need it. There have been real issues with deconfliction zones, and the number of aid workers and UN workers who have died in this conflict, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

10. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

[Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this matter, because we are clear that UNRWA is the only humanitarian organisation that is able to operate at the scale required in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary, as hon. Members will be aware, confirmed to the House on 19 July that the UK would resume funding to UNRWA. On the same day, I met UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to understand more from him about the situation on the ground and the reforms that UNRWA is undertaking. We also talked about this Government’s release of £21 million in new funds to UNRWA to support its lifesaving work in Gaza and the provision of basic services in the region.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

My constituents are appalled by the death and destruction in Gaza. They know, as we do, that only an immediate, permanent ceasefire in exchange for the return of the hostages will put an end to this unacceptable and unbearable suffering. In the meantime, despite the Israeli Government’s promise to flood Gaza with aid, which the Minister mentioned, the reality is that they are putting in place repeated and deadly obstructions. What conversations have the Government had with Israel to ensure that the Israelis end this denial of lifesaving assistance?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I know that my hon. Friend has a personal interest in this issue, and, indeed, experience of it following the humanitarian work in which she was involved before coming to this place. When the Foreign Secretary was in Israel he pressed Prime Minister Netanyahu to open all border crossings, including Rafah, to facilitate a significant increase in aid and to allow its safe, effective distribution within Gaza, and we will continue to press for that as a matter of urgency.