Israel and Gaza
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I thank my noble friend for her remarks. She is right: there has been speculation on this and whether the words are binding or non-binding. We are very clear that there are two elements here: Chapter VII and Chapter VI. This was made under Chapter VI, but there is a convention that goes back to 1971 which confirms that decisions passed by the UN Security Council are binding.
Lord Walney (CB)
The Government will obviously not take Hamas’s casualty figures at face value, so what is their own best assessment of the current number of casualties in the conflict, the ratio of combatants to civilians, and how that compares to other conflicts recently?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
The noble Lord raises an important point. Of course, he will recognise that some of the numbers of Hamas combatants who have been killed by Israel are Israel’s figures. When Israel talks of the numbers killed in Gaza, it also talks of a proportion, and that is why it feels it is important that it continues with its operations. We have said very clearly, particularly with the operation in Rafah on the horizon, that it is important that Israel thinks very carefully. As we have seen previously, there are ways and means of having targeted operations. One hopes that with the loss of life that we have seen and the killings we have seen in Israel and Gaza, we will see no more. When the United Kingdom Government talk of numbers and casualties, we make an independent assessment of the situation in Gaza, which is difficult because there is no access, and we also rely on information provided by agencies on the ground, including the UN.
Israel and Gaza
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(9 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I think I have made our Government’s position clear: it needs to happen. The Palestinians deserve a state, and that is what we are working on. My noble friend Lord Cameron articulated the important issue of recognising Palestine at the appropriate time within the process that is currently under way. It does not need to happen on day one, but nor does that mean it will happen at the end of the process. It is important that we work with key partners, and the issue of recognising Palestine, including at the UN, is part of that process. It is not just the United Kingdom that has articulated that very clearly to Israel but our key partners and, importantly, the United States. The noble Lord will have heard Secretary of State Blinken be very clear that the United States rejected Mr Netanyahu’s proposals for Gaza, including security buffers. We share that position. Equally, we will implore and advocate. The noble Lord is quite right: the existence of Israel and a future Palestinian state is enshrined in UN Security Council resolutions and constitutes international law. That needs to be abided by.
Lord Walney (CB)
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Pannick’s question raises an important tension in the Government’s position. It is hard for the Minister to maintain both the laudable position that there must be no future for Hamas in Gaza, and that its capability to repeat the 7 October atrocities must be removed, and the position that the only way to a sustainable ceasefire is if both sides agree.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I do not think there is a contradiction per se. First and foremost, Hamas has kidnapped Israeli citizens. As challenging as it may be, we need to ensure that, when it comes to a negotiation, those people who can deliver an outcome that we all desire—the release of the hostages —are pressurised, advocated upon and implored. That is an important bridge that the Qataris are providing. We are clear that, for the here and now, that first pillar that needs to be delivered—hostages being released and aid going in—depends on Hamas agreeing to it. We are very much focused on that. I have mentioned the important role of Qatar and, for that matter, Egypt.
Equally—and I think this is consistent—Hamas does not believe that Israel should exist. That is totally incompatible with the position of not just the UK but many countries around the world. There is a need for a reality check here: terrorism does not result in recognition as a state. We have seen in our own British history that violence is never the means to the end. The only times when organisations such as the PLO and the IRA made real progress was when they recognised that an armed struggle is no longer valid. Hamas does not believe that, which is why we believe it cannot be part of a future Palestinian Administration.
Chinese Consul General: Attack on Protesters in Manchester
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(1 year, 11 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, if the noble Lord has not yet received the letter from that debate, I shall of course follow that up. On the specific issue of the planning application, he will be aware that my right honourable colleague the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has a direct quasi-judicial obligation. The noble Lord referred to a specific planning application. At some point, that may be referred to him, so I cannot comment on it.
On the noble Lord’s earlier point, I cannot speak for the Chinese Communist Party, but I can say that I am absolutely honoured to speak for His Majesty’s Government, because our moral compass is markedly different from that of the Chinese Communist Party.
Lord Walney (CB)
The reprehensible actions in Manchester are part of a pattern of the Chinese Government testing the resolve of the UK and our allies through very deliberate transgressions of our legal system. Can the Minister give an update on the unofficial police stations that his colleague the Security Minister made an announcement on last month? What has been done to formally identify that they are acting in this way, and to shut them down?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I will have to follow up on the specifics, but on the noble Lord’s more general point about these so-called unofficial police stations, they have no basis in the United Kingdom and where they and such actions are identified, we shall take appropriate action to shut them down, as he said.
Ukraine
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(2 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I assure my noble friend that the Government are working with key partners, including in the Commonwealth. I sat through the Foreign Ministers’ meeting where we negotiated the communiqué. It was the United Kingdom, along with key allies, that ensured the importance of language in the communiqué on Ukraine and made the case for it very strongly. More broadly, as the Minister for the United Nations, I know that our diplomats have done an excellent job. As I am sure my noble friend noted, 143 nations of the United Nations recently voted with Ukraine on the issue of annexation. The engagement and unity being shown on the diplomatic front is being co-ordinated extensively with key partners; we will continue to make the case to other allies as well.
Lord Walney (CB)
Further to that question, what discussions are the Government having with allies on what comes next? Specifically, there can be no return to normal international relations, with Russia in a position of leadership, given the flagrant way in which Putin is systematically breaking humanitarian law and all the rules of warfare to pursue this conflict.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I agree with the noble Lord’s points. I assure him that we are using all our engagements, both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. As I mentioned earlier, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary will meet our G7 partners. Indeed, on a more medium to long-term basis, we will once again host the Ukrainian reconstruction conference here in London next year; again, that will be an opportunity to bring a lot of partners together to look at what economic support Ukraine needs. However, the noble Lord is right: we must stand in unity—and there is some unity. I remember that, when we achieved 140 and 141 votes at the UN, we were told that we had reached the pinnacle of international collaboration. Many thought that it could not be reached again, but we did; we reached 143. That shows the absolute abhorrence towards Russia’s action against Ukraine across the world.
Ukraine: War Crimes Allegations
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(2 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, that is why we are working very closely on ensuring that the work of the ICC has as wide a scope as possible. That means also securing the support of a wide range of countries. Indeed, when we first approached the ICC, 30-odd countries were supportive of this; that has now gone up to 40. I hear what the noble Lord says about the wider Commonwealth, and I am sure that, with the CHOGM that will take place in Rwanda in June, this will be one of the issues that will continue to dominate the discussions of the Commonwealth leaders.
Lord Walney (CB)
My Lords, does not the evidence that a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is using the massacre and torture of civilians as a considered military strategy potentially fundamentally undermine that security apparatus? Will the UK work with allies to radically rethink what we can do about our global security governance in the aftermath of these atrocities?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
I totally agree with the noble Lord’s point—this is a fundamental challenge to the order that was established after the Second World War, and it is posed directly by a P5 nuclear state. It has tested and continues to test the very premise of the workings of the United Nations. The appalling and abhorrent nature of it is in not just the conflict and the abuse of the UN system but the fact that even the humanitarian provisions for conflict resolution and humanitarian support for the victims of war are being impeded by Russia. I will be at the UN next week, and this will be part and parcel of the discussions that we have with not just Security Council members but the wider UN family.
Russia: Sanctions
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
On the noble Lord’s last point, I suppose I should declare an interest: I am a property owner in London and the south-east. In all seriousness, without going into too much detail, as I said—and I know that the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, had to leave, but I recognise the courtesy extended by his note to me—we are looking at the broader impact, as the noble Lord indicated.
On the issue of engagement in Washington, I assure the House that we have been engaging on the front foot. Let us not forget that we have been engaging on this issue longer than the current US Administration. We have always made the case as strong partners of Ukraine—one can ask Ministers present and past in the Ukrainian Government. I have sat with a number of them at the United Nations who have indicated their strong support, not through us asking them, but quite genuinely, for the leadership the United Kingdom has showed in solidarity, support and friendship for Ukraine.
Lord Walney (CB)
My Lords, the House will understand when the Minister says that it is not in the Government’s gift alone to remove Russia from the SWIFT financial system, but he can say, can he not, if they believe it would be a proportionate measure, if the invasion of Ukraine goes ahead?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I know the noble Lord is probing me for more details, but I shall not say any more. I am fully aware of the sensitivity and impact where such steps are taken. As noble Lords will have followed, and as I sought to inform those on the other three Benches in your Lordships’ House, the broader nature of what we can do once the legislation is effected will allow us to sanction organisations and individuals much more broadly and at direct cost to those entities which are Russian or which are owned by Russian entities and operating within the UK.
Arctic: Security and Co-operation
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, I agree with the points made by the noble Lord, and we will be working with key partners to ensure that the very areas that he just highlighted remain a key part of our focus in the build-up and planning for COP 26 when we discuss issues in and around the Arctic region.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl) [V]
My Lords, it was good to see the recent defence Command Paper commit the UK to funding the next generation of nuclear submarines, which will give the Royal Navy vital capability in this region into the latter half of the century. Is the Minister in a position to confirm, as reportedly set out in recent RN planning papers, that these submarines are expected to incorporate the Atlantis hybrid underwater capability concept, based on a crewed mother ship in tandem with remote autonomous uncrewed platforms?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, I will ask my colleagues from the Ministry of Defence to write specifically to the noble Lord on that question.
Russia: Alexei Navalny
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Walney
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Russia regarding the treatment of imprisoned Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)
My Lords, on 19 April the Foreign Secretary underlined that Russia is responsible for Alexei Navalny’s deteriorating health, and that Mr Navalny must be given immediate access to independent medical care and released from his politically motivated detention. We continue to raise Mr Navalny’s case regularly with Russia, most recently through the British embassy in Moscow on 15 April, and to work with partners to hold Russia to account in multilateral fora, including via the OPCW.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl)
I thank the Minister for that Answer but let us be clear what is happening here: Vladimir Putin is directing the slow murder of his main rival as the world looks on. This is not simply an internal matter. The Russian troops amassed on the Ukraine border point to the consequences of letting Putin think he can trample on the rule of law without comeback. Will the Government undertake to increase the number of individuals—Putin’s cronies—being sanctioned by the UK every day until Mr Navalny is released?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord. It is a rather perverse situation, with the ruling of 2 February meaning that the very person fighting for democratic rights, who was himself a victim of a direct attack by the Russian state, is now being imprisoned. I agree about increasing pressure and we are doing just that bilaterally and through multilateral fora. On the specific issue of sanctions, I cannot speculate on the future but, as the noble Lord will acknowledge, we have already taken quite specific sanctions against six individuals and an institution because of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.
Chinese Government Sanctions on UK Citizens
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, first, the solidarity that has been shown in your Lordships’ House and the other place with colleagues across both Houses and beyond reflects the unity of purpose and action in support of those who have been sanctioned. The Government are offering direct support, as I said in response to an earlier question, to all those organisations and individuals who have been sanctioned, and we will continue to do so. Because there is ambiguity in what the sanctions actually mean for those individuals, we continue to press the Chinese authorities for that further detail.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl) [V]
While these outrageous sanctions persist, is it not incumbent on Ministers—and, indeed, all parliamentarians—to formally suspend any co-operation in the various bilateral mechanisms that we have between parliamentarians in the UK and China, such as the people to people dialogue and the UK-China young leaders bilaterals?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I can speak from my experience as a government Minister, and we have been very clear in calling out the human rights abuses in China. We have called out the issues within Hong Kong. However, equally, I recognise, as we do in multilateral fora, that there are issues such as the environment and conflicts such as the situation in Myanmar which require direct dialogue with the Chinese authorities, because they are part of the solution. There are many things we disagree on but, equally, we recognise the important role China continues to play in the international community.
Yemen
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, as I have said on repeated occasions from the Dispatch Box, we look at our arms exports very carefully and take our responsibilities in this respect very seriously. We assess our export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria. We also welcome, as I am sure the noble Baroness does, the announcement from Saudi Arabia of a nationwide ceasefire. We hope that all sides of the conflict will now adhere to it.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl)
My Lords, the humanitarian crisis could be greatly worsened if the oil tanker FSO “Safer”, currently off the Yemeni coast, is allowed to continue to decay. We face the greatest environmental disaster of the century. Can the Minister say whether the Islamist Houthi regime is continuing to stall on allowing UN experts to inspect this ship?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, sadly, the short answer is yes. The UK has already contributed £2.5 million to fund this mission, but it is for the Houthis to facilitate the mission’s access and deployment.
Alexei Navalny
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
As someone who worked in the City of London for 20 years, the integrity and robustness of the structures of the City of London are of paramount importance to me, as they are to the UK Government. Therefore, I share the noble Lord’s view that it is important we take constructive steps to stop the use of illicit financing and stop money flowing through London in the manner he suggests.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl)
President Putin’s abhorrent disregard for international law has turned his great nation into a pariah on the global stage. I accept what the Minister said about keeping specific measures under review, but do the Government at least accept that the current suite of measures from the UK and our partners is not, thus far, proving sufficient to rein in this behaviour?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
While I note what the noble Lord has said, the steps we have taken within the context of the OPCW and with the G7 partners does, I believe, demonstrate to the Russians a strong international response. It is important we continue to strengthen our alliances in this respect so Russia does take notice and, more importantly, does so with regard to courageous individuals such as Alexei Navalny, who is being held without detention. Just to update your Lordships’ House: as I was coming in, I was informed that in his hearing, his appeal was not upheld, so he remains in detention. I will, of course, update the House as we get more details. We hope Russia will take note of these international actions, and I believe in certain quarters it is doing just that.
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness that we are fully aware of the challenges that currently confront us on the global stage and the importance of ensuring that we see non-proliferation. There are major challenges with this treaty, including the fact that it does not look at the existing security architecture, including our obligations to NATO. It does not look at how we deal with the threats from nations such as the DPRK. My Answer was very clear about what our belief is on the treaty. If parties to that treaty engage with us bilaterally, of course, we will continue to engage with them on wide range of matters.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl)
The Minister is being characteristically courteous but does he not agree that every Member of this House, not least the right reverend Prelate, has a responsibility not to deceive themselves that this treaty could be an effective mechanism for achieving our shared goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons? Indeed, suggesting that it is undermines that very goal.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I have to disagree with the noble Lord. I accept that the treaty the right reverend Prelate talks about has noble intent but there are existing mechanisms, treaties and obligations that have ensured the decline in the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Indeed, with the treaties that we are part of and the partnerships that we have forged, since the end of the Cold War we have seen a 50% reduction in our own arsenal. While respecting the right reverend Prelate—and, of course, all noble Lords in this House—on this occasion I do not hold the same view.
Hong Kong: National Security Law
Debate between Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon and Lord Walney(3 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, let me assure the noble Lord that human rights will be paramount in our discussions on a range of trade deals around the world. On the specific issues of our work with the EU and the decision it has taken on its trade deal, of course we make representations with European colleagues and will continue to do so while working closely with them in this respect.
Lord Walney (Non-Afl)
My Lords, does not this further egregious breach of the treaty between us show that China has wilfully broken the friendship that we have long nourished and is firmly set on a path to be not a friend but an adversary of this nation and all who wish to maintain a rules-based order in the decades ahead?
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con) [V]
My Lords, China continues to be an important international and strategic partner, but where there are abuses of human rights or other challenges, issues and concerns, we will raise them candidly, both bilaterally and through international fora. If we look at issues around the environment and climate change, for example, it is important that China also acts in this respect.