Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Sarah Dines Excerpts(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Dominic Raab
I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has raised that case. He knows that we have been working very hard on behalf of his constituent and I know that he has been a doughty champion of him. The broader point that he makes is right. We have a stronger impact in Yemen, bringing our aid influence with the diplomatic work that we are doing, working with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, but also trying to alleviate the humanitarian plight and talking to all our international partners—Saudi Arabia, the other countries of the region and the Five Eyes—to try to get this conflict resolved. It is the right thing for all the protagonists to that conflict, but above all it is the right thing for the people of Yemen. Yes, in those circumstances, we have a greater chance of securing the outcome that he wants for his constituent.
Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree with me and my constituents in the Derbyshire Dales that the guiding purpose of the new Department will be to promote UK interests abroad and that the use of UK aid will be linked to that?
Dominic Raab
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that the people who fund our aid programme—the people who are represented by a democratically elected Government—expect to see the British national interest, the UK interest, delivered. I do not see any contradiction in relation to raising international funding for a vaccine that is equitably distributed. I do not think there is any conflict. In fact, I think the two elements of moral responsibility and the grittier national interest of the United Kingdom go hand in hand.
Hong Kong National Security Legislation
Sarah Dines Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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Dominic Raab
I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman. We obviously need to consult with the DAs on any significant measure such as this that comes into force. We will do that, and I know the Home Secretary will do that. One of the things that will give a fillip to the people of Hong Kong on a very dark day will be the statements of support right across the House from all parties that we stand with them. They will know, if they come here and when they come here, that we support them, we value them and that we understand the plight they are fleeing.
Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. As we have heard, the first arrests have already been made under Beijing’s sweeping new powers, for offences that all of us here consider to be basic freedoms. Those arrested face life imprisonment, sham trials, no jury and an Executive-appointed illegitimate judiciary. I thank my right hon. Friend for all the work he has done. Will he give his assurance that he will continue to keep us updated about what he is doing at the UN Human Rights Council and about false imprisonments, poor sentences and the numbers of arrests, so that we can lead the way internationally in this field?
Dominic Raab
I will certainly update the House as regularly and as consistently as we can, based on the data that we can reliably glean from what is happening on the ground in Hong Kong. As well as Her Majesty’s ambassador in Beijing, our consul general in Hong Kong is doing an exceptional job in difficult circumstances. The No. 1 thing, though, is that we will need to work with our international partners to try to alleviate the situation as best we can, and that is why, come what may, we need to make this direct, clear, unequivocal offer to the BNOs, which is what we are doing today.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Dines Excerpts(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Wendy Morton
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We served together on the International Development Committee several years ago, but to be absolutely clear, when it comes to the FCO and DFID merger, as the Prime Minister set out on 16 June we retain our commitment to spending 0.7 % of our gross national income on official development assistance, but it is through closer integration that we will maximise the impact of our aid budget. At the recent Gavi event—the global vaccine summit on 4 June—we mobilised the collective influence of diplomacy and development; it is an excellent example of what the two Departments working together can we achieve.
Miss Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)
Mark Logan (Bolton North East) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab)
Today China has enacted national security legislation. We are waiting for it to be published so that we can see the details and assess it against what we have said before. When that is the case, I will make an oral statement to update hon. Members. None the less, at this stage what I can say is that the imposition of national security legislation on Hong Kong, rather than through Hong Kong’s own institutions, lies in direct conflict with China’s international obligations under the Sino-British joint declaration.
Miss Dines
From what we know so far, it appears that Beijing has just voted to impose new hard-line national security laws on Hong Kong. They are widely thought to include a new law enforcement and intelligence agency to operate there, and to give the Chief Executive power to appoint judges to hear national security cases. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is only through an internationally co-ordinated action that we will be able to safeguard the hard-fought-for rights and freedoms of those in Hong Kong?
Dominic Raab
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and of course it is contrary to, we believe, China’s own interests and also China’s articulation of the relationship with Hong Kong through the one country, two systems policy. As she rightly says, we have been working very closely with our international partners, the EU and the G7, and, indeed, we are raising the issue with like-minded partners in the United Nations Human Rights Council shortly.