Yemen: Famine

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 6th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

My noble friend raises an important issue. Some of the armaments that have been fired, including ballistic missiles, have been traced back to Iran. Essentially, if we are going to address the humanitarian crisis, which is the urgency, all parties to the conflict need to get round the table and, rather than seeking to apportion blame, seek to find a solution that provides a de-escalation of the situation, leading to a ceasefire.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, events in Turkey are influencing the situation, and no doubt the US initiative on peace is an important one. But it has to be sustainable peace. The Minister has mentioned that some parties are not participating, but how closely are we in contact with the US authorities to make sure that any peace deal that is made is sustainable and that all parties will be properly involved?

[Lord Bates]

We are in very close contact on this. As the noble Lord knows, we are the penholder at the UN Security Council on this issue. My right honourable friend Alistair Burt is doing a terrific job in trying to get the parties moving through dialogue and debate. Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary made an announcement that might be helpful for the UK’s discussions with the UN Security Council, in which he said:

“For too long in the Yemen conflict, both sides have believed a military solution is possible, with catastrophic consequences for the people. Now, for the first time, there appears to be a window in which both sides can be encouraged to come to the table, stop the killing and find a political solution that is the only long-term way out of disaster. The UK will use all its influence to push for such an approach”.


That is a strong statement and we look forward to it being implemented.