Afghanistan: Women Debate
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Lord Callanan
Main Page: Lord Callanan (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Callanan's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
For reasons that we have touched on today, that is incredibly difficult. The focus for us when it comes to Afghan women is to make sure that the eyes of the world are on this issue and that we get the aid to them now, because the need is desperate. That is why we are planning £161 million in aid to Afghanistan this financial year.
Lord Callanan (Con)
My Lords, the situation for women in Afghanistan is truly dreadful, and I am sure the whole House agrees that there are no easy or simple solutions. Perhaps the Minister could expand on the answer she gave earlier on whether the Government have considered targeted sanctions or providing diplomatic incentives to encourage the Taliban to change course.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We consider anything that might work. Obviously, we do not comment on future sanctions designations, but I can say that we keep the situation under very close review.