Aleppo and Syria
Debate between Mike Gapes and Andrew Mitchell(8 years, 2 months ago)
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Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)
The right hon. Gentleman mentioned Guernica. In the 1930s, there was united condemnation of what the Nazis and their air force were doing in Spain in support of the fascist regime. Is it not time that we had a united, unambiguous, explicit, direct condemnation of what Putin is doing in support of Assad in Aleppo at this moment, not just from the Government but from the Opposition Benches unanimously?
Mr Mitchell
The hon. Gentleman is on to an extremely good point. What is needed is a concerted effort by the international community uniting to make Russia feel the cost of its support of and participation in the barbaric bombardment of Aleppo.
Humanitarian Emergency Response Review
Debate between Mike Gapes and Andrew Mitchell(13 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Mitchell
My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. He rightly identifies that problem as one of the critical pinch points, as it was particularly in Pakistan last summer. We are considering that and a number of similar issues, and I hope to have more to say in due course.
Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)
In his introduction, the Secretary of State said that “we will intervene directly where the UK can contribute in ways that others cannot”. I welcome that, but will he clarify whether that means intervening for the sake of the responsibility to protect agenda? If so, does he agree that often humanitarian disasters occur in areas of conflict or failed states, and that we therefore have a responsibility to recognise that we must sometimes act quickly and without the agreement of the relevant Government?
Mr Mitchell
In respect of the responsibility to protect, the hon. Gentleman will know that that is a technical UN term that triggers certain other actions. The point that I was making was narrower and it was that if Britain has a unique skill or the capacity to intervene in a humanitarian situation, we should always consider whether it is right to do so. That was my point and it is narrower than the basis on which he seeks to get me to proceed.